Have you ever heard someone ask “Who are you to judge?” Generally someone asking that question is hoping the mere asking will deflect judgment that they don’t want, often over behaviors they don’t want judged. God won’t and can’t be dissuaded. He is the one to judge and He’ll judge by His own standard: the truth. […]
Service Order for 9:00 AM Sunday, February 17, 2013 Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell Welcome–Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park Worship in Song – O Worship the King, (Hymn 21 verses 1 and 4) Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn 25 verses 1 and 4) Are Ye Able, Said the Master (Hymn 383) Scripture […]
I must have lived under a rock in 1990. Not until I started working on today’s devotional did I realize The Monty Hall Problem was ever such a national fixation. The question was loosely based upon Monty Hall’s program “Let’s Make a Deal” and explored the odds of picking correctly among three doors of which […]
What exactly is sin? Well, for starters, it’s a word that has fallen out of favor except in some Jewish and Christian circles where we have a general idea that it’s not a good thing and it results in our being called sinners. In the world at large, people don’t use the word sin anymore. […]
At the risk of revealing my age, I remember “Flower Power” and brightly colored flower decals all over my school notebooks. The term “Flower Power” was coined by Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means of transforming the image of war protests into something that appeared to be peaceful and affirming. Flower Children appeared on […]
“I’m all in!” Can you say that about anything in your life? What might you say commands your total devotion? What occupies your thoughts? For Paul, he was devoted to the Gospel. His writings have a combination of urgency and passion that says he’s all in! Today’s passage, Romans 1:8-15, is no different. Paul had focus. He […]
I received ashes this morning at church, but I waited until the last of the others had received theirs. I was struck by listening to the pastor proclaiming Genesis 3:19 over each person “For dust you are and to dust you will return.” The drumbeat of the reminder, almost dirge-like, spoke the truth that in a […]
“Don’t touch the dinner bell!” was their family’s unspoken rule. When I was a kid, one of my friends had a big bell hanging on the side of her house. No one was allowed to ring that bell but my friend’s mom. Maybe the dad could use it too, but I never saw him touch […]
As a general rule, we spend plenty of time in self-reflection, typically about things that don’t matter. I’d like to offer a brief word about Lent and the devotional series beginning Ash Wednesday (February 13, 2013): Lent is a time of self-reflection as we ponder our need for a Savior. Lent is different than just […]
