When faith is like fireworks Two very different people. The first runs to Jesus with urgency. “Save my daughter!” The second never runs or meets Jesus’ face. No words are shared. Instead, she comes in from behind with an outstretched arm. Suffering physically and emotionally, she is just able to...

  No wiggle room. No different way of interpretation. Psalm 22:6 is clear. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it (NIV).” Church congregations get the tremendous importance of VBS (Vacation Bible School). No one anywhere near...

  Images of God’s wrath in scripture are sobering for most of us. For example, when artists depict such gruesome scenes as drowning animals in the story of Noah’s Ark, we wonder why those animals who never did anything wrong had to die. With heavy hearts, we even ask, why...

He could peel back his heavy framed glasses and reveal the clearest, most intentional eyes. Eyes that held you. Eyes that cared for you. In a gesture he must have done 200 times a day, you could see this Clark Kent become Superman right in front of you. When he...

Whose light is it?  “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” Sunday school students of all ages quickly and easily identify this first line in this timeless classic. It’s clear from the lyrics that the little light is ours. It’s also clear that Christians should let...

  The building was not much larger than the modest Cape Cod style homes around it. The other homes along the block were clad in siding. This was brick. Two other differences between this house and the others were as notable. A modest steeple reached a few feet from the...

  Soft rain falls for hours. The gentlest showers touch down now and then. Cool morning temperatures linger. Clouds and peaks of sun appear. Midday warmth is common. That’s right. It’s the season where lawns grow best. Hello mid-May in Susquehanna County. During this season (and beyond), an obvious surge...

        The Apostle Paul sets the groundwork for a true community when he says, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7).” We can’t talk with the apostle now, of course, but if I could meet with him, I would...

He’s 44. Married. Father. Stepfather. Blue collar. Business owner. Hard worker. With a crew of three, he’s a professional drywaller. I know a few things more about him. He is good at math and his back often aches, for example. He recently had a birthday that he celebrated after the...

  There are ins with design choices these days. There are outs. A cornerstone in ancient building practices? Always an in. The longevity of any structure constructed thousands of years ago depended on this stone for two reasons. One, its position bore the weight of what was gathered to it,...