Prayer
Prayer Changes Things
Prayer changes things. Making requests of God changes how things are and will be. This is the consistent claim of scripture and a concept that we see Jesus attempting to get across to his followers on nearly every page of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – the parts
Look To God
Throughout scripture, God and pursuers of God continually implore us to “look to God.” This is such a constant encouragement in scripture that “look to God” could very well be the summation of the life of faith or the Christian Life – a life spent looking to God. Looking to
Why Pray
Here is a confession – I get pretty frustrated about prayer sometimes and angry and frustrated with the ONE I am praying to. I know I’m not supposed to. After all, I’m a pastor and a longtime Christian. I think the expectation is that I’m supposed to have unwaveringly serene
Pray Like Schmemann
Orthodox priest, professor, and author, Alexander Schmemann, has a wonderful book called “For the Life of the World.” I would encourage anyone to read it, especially any Western Christian who is less familiar with the Eastern half of the family of Christianity. There is so much to share from this
Singing in the Dark
Singing in the dark has been a central and distinctive habit of the Christian life from the beginning. People of other faith traditions sing for sure, but Christians have the habit of singing loud and long and joyfully, triumphantly no matter the circumstances. We sing our songs all the more
An Antidote for the Evening News
Does it ever feel like the world is falling apart? I know a lot of people have just given up on listening to the news because it always sounds this way. I’m not there yet (though I do need to take breaks sometimes). I still try to stay informed and
An Alternative to New Year’s Resolutions
At one point or another I think pretty much everyone gives up on making New Year’s Resolutions. We get tired of mapping out what our ideal self would be like, giving it our best, falling back to some level of reality, and then living with a sense of disappointment that
Christmas – A Savior & an Un-Saved World
The angels declared almost two thousand years ago that God had broken into our world in a special way, that the savior of the world had come. Peace on earth was declared and it was foretold that this baby would save his people from their sins – save them from
Chutzpah
Although Chutzpah is a Yiddish word – not one of the Biblical languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic – it is an important word for understanding the Biblical concept of faith. Chutzpah is a word that means audacity, gall, nerve, fierce determination, refusing to quit or let go even when you
Prayer of Names
“The Lord remembers us and will bless us”- Psalm 115:12 Sometime soon try this simple and powerful way of praying for people – offer people’s names up to God. If done out loud it might sound like the reciting of names at a memorial service, but the intent is different.