Imagine being one of Jesus’ disciples, and watching him pray. We know that just before the crucifixion, he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane – and sweating blood. It must have been quite a sight. And so, one of his disciples came up to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” I bet…
Imagine with me for a moment that you have just woken up in a hospital. You have no recollection of what has happened to you, but the doctors and nurses tell you that you were assaulted, beaten, and robbed of all your possessions. It’s a good thing that they brought you when they did, the…
In missionary-speak, and even in evangelism-speak, people may often use the phrase, “A Person of Peace.” What they mean by this phrase is that this person is open to the good news of Jesus Christ, and receptive to the person sharing the message. It is not guaranteed that this person will believe right away –…
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the…
Many of you probably remember the Disney movie Bambi, about a young deer, who joins his friends – a rabbit named Thumper, and a skunk named Flower – in exploring the forest he lives in. One of the most quoted lines from the movie comes after Thumper says about the newborn Bambi that “He doesn’t…
Today we celebrate the life of Alban, the first Christian Martyr of England, and the saint for which this church is named. We celebrate his life, and we try to learn from his example of courage and faith. It is for this reason that the altar colors are red, because they symbolize the blood that…
Today is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday that we celebrate the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – The Godhead, according to Christian doctrine. On this day, throughout the church, pastors, deacons, or lay preachers, will get up and do their very best to explain the concept of the Trinity in a way that makes…
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.…
My sister lives in Zambia, in Africa, and I had the pleasure of visiting her there twice. One of the first things I noticed while there, was the way people approach time. One of the strangest things to get used to is people telling you that they will be coming over “now.” In my mind,…
Several years ago, I worked as a teacher’s aide in a Special Needs department. I worked with kids who had everything from fetal alcohol syndrome to severe autism, and other forms of intellectual disabilities. It was tough work. We had to work with these kids every day in order to give them a basic understanding…