The dynamics of discipleship (part 30)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Nothing like that childlike wonder

Welcome, friends, to the “front porch.”Kids have something that most adults only dream about.It’s what we call “childlike wonder.”Childlike wonder is a child stepping up to home plate in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, bases loaded, down by three. And two strikes.

OUT TO PASTOR: The great divide – between brain and tongue

As my Uncle Fred used to say, one of the great benefits of getting old is that you know everything.If you had ever met Uncle Fred, you would easily conclude that he certainly wasn’t getting old.

The dynamics of discipleship (part 29)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.” – LUKE 4:18As disciples of Christ, we too are anointed to preach the good news to the poor of this world. Problem being, most want to preach to the rich who for the most part don’t need God.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Rob the beehive without fear

Welcome, friends, to the “front porch.”On Oct. 21, I asked my class (yes, I have started back teaching a couple of English classes) to write a thank you note to someone.My daughter Rachel told me about a writing guru she had heard at a seminar that gave the idea. I wanted to do the same.

OUT TO PASTOR: Who’s the clown now?

As a young person, I was fascinated with clowns.My first encounter was at a circus I attended with my family. The main character in the circus was the clown.When I first saw those clowns, I was scared almost to death. I’ve never seen anything as scary as those circus clowns.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Is that the old ship of Zion? (part 3)

Welcome, friends, to the "front porch."In our last visit, we climbed aboard that “Old Ship of Zion,” examining the deck of the church of our Lord.Zion, of course, stands as a great emblem of the city of David of the Old Testament and now reminds us of the church of the New Testament.

OUT TO PASTOR: See cookie, will sneak

For more years than I care to remember, I have been on a diligent pursuit.My quest – is to find a cookie I don’t like.Throughout the years, I have eaten every cookie I could find, and have loved them all.My biggest obstacle in this pursuit is The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.

The dynamics of discipleship (part 28)

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Is that the old ship of Zion? (part 2)

In our last visit, we introduced the idea of Zion’s being a beautiful name of “Zion” that is splashed throughout the deep writings of the Old Testament prophets.