A place that is very dear to me stands before the wrecking ball. I learned the sad news last week that the historic Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church and former seminary building complex in West … Read More
A few strings of days
In the middle of this string of long, beautiful, warm and sunny days in Berlin, it is sometimes hard to imagine the short, dark days of Berlin winter. I’m sure, however, that it won’t be … Read More
Are the Gospel Resurrection accounts reliable?
Jesus of Nazareth rose physically from the dead on the third day after He died on a cross outside Jerusalem some 2000 years ago. This is the central doctrine of the Christian faith. But can … Read More
Reducing Resources to Learn Trust
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:1 Three particular spiritual disciplines help us in our role as co-workers with God in the work of new creation—the … Read More
fasting experiences
Last night at our small group meeting, we shared our respective experiences in fasting this week. Some of the descriptors of this week’s experience: weakness, distraction, lack of focus in prayer, bad mood, temptation . … Read More
Fasting during Lent
Our Thursday home group has been discussing the spiritual discipline of fasting in recent weeks. We have decided as a group to fast together on Wednesdays (or Thursdays, if work prohibits on Wednesdays) during the … Read More
Green with Envy
Today in my old home city of Philadelphia a victory parade of epic proportions is taking place. For those of you completely out of touch, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl on Sunday! I … Read More
Two Witnesses to a Marriage
In our recent consideration of the Glory of the Bridegroom, we saw how Jesus manifested His glory in His first miracle at the wedding in Cana–how He came to fulfill the old marriage covenant (the … Read More
A Profitable Lent
Have you noticed the daylight hours are already lasting a little longer? That means the season of Lent must be near at hand! “Lent” derives from the old English word for “spring” (“lencten”), the season … Read More
The Glory of the Bridegroom
Our Gospel reading on Sunday was John 2:1-11: Jesus Changes Water to Wine. The key to understanding the full significance of the miracle at the wedding in Cana is in understanding how closely it corresponds … Read More