Christmas
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Poems of the Incarnation – A Reading
I had a great time explaining my series of poems Poems of the Incarnation: John the Evangelist at Lena Free Church. If you’re interested, here’s a recording from the time. The poems themselves are forthcoming at Foreshadow, a Christian poetry magazine, but they were intended for my church as an advent devotional. Continue reading
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God in a Manger
John 1:1-18 Sometimes the images of Christmas are too familiar to us. We see the story reenacted year after year: Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus, with their attendants, stable-mates, and visitors. We theorize and imagine who and what would be there. Of all the images we use, one almost always stays the same: the Continue reading
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The King Comes in Kindness
Isaiah 42 Justice is a loaded word. Get it on your side, and you’ve won the argument. In the Bible, the word “justice” is mis-pat, and it simply means judgment. It is the quality of kings and captains, fathers and friends, in which they judge issues, disputes, and even their daily life against the law of God. Continue reading
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The Wedding Procession of the King
Psalm 45 There’s nothing quite like a wedding. Look far and wide, and in almost every culture you’ll find traditions, celebrations, and rituals signaling when two people leave their father and mother and become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). The Bible is full of weddings, too. The Song of Solomon is all about two lovers and Continue reading
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Cursed and Waiting
The word “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “arrival,” and it is a time when the Church has prepared its heart for the arrival of the King. It is a time of waiting, of reminding ourselves where our hope lies, and re-focusing on our anticipation for the second coming of Christ. Tradition tells us that Advent Continue reading
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“In Christ” at Christmas
This week as we go into our family rooms, Christ goes there too. We take the fragrance of his love with us. Continue reading
Revival and Renewal 