Devotional

Faith The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3 STORY On March 26, 1862, while the Civil War was raging throughout the United States, Pastor Joseph Gilmore stood and preached at the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He wanted the people to turn their eyes off the war for a moment and look to Jesus. His sermon text was Psalm 23, the Shepherd’s Psalm. His sermon became the title for the hymn He…

Witnessing Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips Isaiah 6:5 (NRSV) STORY A “postcard” is how Craig Wilson described his weekly column The Final Word. In the column, which was published every Wednesday in the newspaper USA Today, he excelled in presenting the news in a narrative style. Wilson was so adept at sharing a news topic as a story that a Language Arts curriculum was developed for students using his columns as study material. The program would teach the high school students how to write a narrative essay. Wilson, after writing The…

Faith Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)   STORY Corrie ten Boom is best known for her book The Hiding Place that was later made into a movie. The book describes how her Christian family hid Jews in their Netherlands home during the persecution of that religious sect during Nazi regimen. With their watchmaker business downstairs, upstairs in their living quarters a false wall was constructed to hide the Hebrews. It was Nazi government policy that anyone found hiding a Jew also…

Faith Now faith is the assurance[a] of things hoped for, the conviction[b] of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. Hebrews 11:1-3 (NRSV) STORY The idea for the Christian flag emerged on Sunday, September 26, 1897, when a speaker failed to show up for a rally at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island, the recreational area for New York City. Sunday school superintendent Charles Overton thought quickly on how to fill the void. He decided to…

WORSHIP 1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Psalm 150 STORY Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century priest and monk who began the Protestant Reformation, understood the importance of worship. One motivation behind the Protestant Reformation was the desire…

Relationships “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great…

Easter 1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? 2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Psalm 22 (NRSV) STORY In April 2007, I read a selection of Good Friday sermons preached at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, which is an African-American church in Philadelphia. There were seven preachers that afternoon, with the oldest and the most respected pastor being honored by mounting the pulpit last. That seventh preacher’s sermon became another watershed moment…

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5   STORY I was alone. Well, not really alone as the aquarium was crowded that morning; but, alone none-the-less as everyone rushed past me, up the ramp, to watch the mighty sharks. Was it their massive jaws or their huge and muscular gray bodies that drew such attention? I suspect it was a fascination with the creature that everyone feared, though now encountered through the safety of thick plexiglas. They marveled at the ruler of the depths of whom all those stories are told and movies made. Overlooked…