Ellen explains:
“On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…. Away in a manger!! 
One of my faves. (And as is apropos to this imperfect Christmas tiding, I mistyped the title in the video.. So you get a sneak preview of another hymn we’ll be sharing later!) Continue reading Le deuxieme Moment Musical – Away in a Manger
My (professional singer) daughter was home this past weekend armed with the intention of reviving (and recording) a family Christmas tradition. With her permission, I will sharing twelve Moments Musicaux over the next several days in the place of a standard blog entry. (The description of this blog includes music, after all). You will hear and see my wife, Continue reading Twelve “Moments Musicaux” for Christmas
Saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace – Jer 8:11
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with nine “Beatitudes” that readers often unfortunately reduce to platitudes. The seventh, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” for example, can sound like a call to passivity and placidity: “Blessed are those who accept life with serenity, remaining calm, preserving calm, spreading calm.” Both the context and Continue reading “Blessed are the peacemakers” – Matt 5:9
“For it is the time to begin judgment with the household of God;if we are first, what will be the end of those who not believe in the gospel of God?”
1 Peter 4:17
How one negotiates times of crisis often reveal fundamental truths about one’s character. New Testament scholars identify 1 Peter, along minimally with 2 Peter, Titus, Hebrews, and Revelation, as “persecution literature,” literature produced during a period in which Christians faced oppression and persecution simply because of their faith. Typically, such literature admonishes believers, tempted to escape persecution by renouncing their faith, Continue reading A Time of Testing
The end of the semester rushes up to meet me; the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature with its editorial board meetings and panel presentations begins at the end of this week; Thanksgiving will be waiting as soon as I return. You will forgive me, I trust, if I take a couple of weeks off from blogging.
Instead, I have just posted in the “Sermons and Lectures” section recordings of the first two of five sessions I led in October on the topic of “Israel’s Ancestral Narratives” at First Presbyterian Church here in Richmond. Have a listen. I will post sessions three through five next week.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! If you will be travelling, please take extra precautions on the highways. Rest well before setting out, stop frequently to refresh, and drive defensively.
“For God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound judgment” (2 Tim 1:7)
I went to vote first thing this morning on the way into the seminary for an early meeting. I cast my ballot. When I asked, the precinct workers reported that turnout was up somewhat over recent elections even at the early hour. I stuck my “I Voted” sticker on my lapel. I left. Continue reading What Now?
1 Thess 5:2
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” – Chicken Little
Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, which scholars date to the early 50’s CE making it probably the oldest document in the New Testament, largely to send greetings and encouragement, but also to assuage a fear that had arisen in the church. The New Testament provides ample evidence that the early church eagerly anticipated the Continue reading “Like a Thief in the Night” 1 Thess 5:2
We teach children the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” to equip them against hateful and harmful things that people say. The saying means to remind people – the adults passing it on and the children learning it – that what people say about us does not necessarily have anything to do with who we actually are. Continue reading Sticks and Stones
Do Unto Others
Read in tandem, Genesis 1 and 2 state perhaps the most fundamental polarity of human existence. Genesis 1 describes God’s creation of humankind in God’s very own “image and likeness.” It is difficult to imagine a more definitive declaration of the dignity and significance of being human. Humans bear God’s image; every human being is like God. Of Continue reading Dirt to Dust
Matt 28:19
The pendulum swings to and fro in the field of (higher, including theological) education from extreme to extreme, returning briefly to the center only to pass through it again. Early in my teaching career, the watchword was “transformational education.” The primary object of education, according to proponents of the philosophy, involves changing Continue reading The Syntax of Discipleship