Dark Night of the Soul by Ola Gjeilo

Wait for the climax that begins at 9:15

The Joseph Epic on the Emmaus Road: 16 Ways Luke 24 Echoes Genesis 42 & 45

The Joseph Epic on the Emmaus Road: 16 Ways Luke 24 Echoes Genesis 42 & 45

John 9.1–13 & 28–38 dramatized reading

This dramatized reading of John 9.1–13 & 28–38 is based on the CJB, Complete Jewish Bible © 1998 David H. Stern. Here's the altered text, followed by a 1-pager JPEG and then a PDF file: narrator — The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to

John Chrysostom & the Ten Commandments

In 387 CE [AD] in Syrian Antioch, now southeast Turkey, John Chrysostom preached a series of sermons to his fellow Antiochenes who had been charged with sedition for rioting against new taxes. Bishop Flavian of Antioch traveled to Constantinople to persuade Emperor Theodosius to pardon the city. On the Last

The Kind of Society Built by Bystanders

16 unintended but inescapable consequences for a society caught in the riptide of complicity

Stand Up for Jesus

Dudley Atkins Tyng was an Episcopal priest who had been deposed from his rectorship in Philadelphia for being an abolitionist. At a YMCA revival in March 1858, Tyng preached on Exodus 10.11 which in the King James Version is rendered: “Go now ye that are men, and serve the

Whence a Fur Coat

Of speechless seconds, lipstick, and becoming a bystander.

10 Quick Notes About Advent

1. What does the word advent mean? 
 The English word advent derives from the Latin ad “toward” + venīre “come”. So, advent indicates something coming (or approaching or proceeding) toward us. Most often, advent refers to the Messiah (Jesus Christ) coming to us. 2. When does the Messiah come to us?

Rebecca, Resurrection, and Seeing the Face of God — Luke 20.27–38

A sermon preached November 9, 2025. Rebecca Nancy and I will be at the funeral of Nancy’s 29 year-old niece Rebecca who died of heartbreak 6 weeks after a tractor trailer killed her husband riding his bicycle. Gospel Now, in today’s assigned Gospel reading, some rich people who

A Thanksgiving Prayer

How awesome to be in your presence, Lord; to sit at your feet; to nestle ’neath your wings. How fearfully and wonderfully the Potter is molding me. How abundant the indwelling Holy Spirit: igniting my broken heart, strengthening my feeble spirit, purifying my sin-sick soul. How privileged to glorify the

3 Drownings & 3 Faiths in Luke 16.19 to 17.10

He designed a tree that would serve Jesus not as a strawman that is easily blown down, but as a formidable target — not unlike God’s creation of Goliath.

What Baptism IS and is NOT

6 things baptism IS & 8 things baptism is NOT

Immigration

A Hymn for Immigration

I was really convicted this week when I came across these lines from an old-fashion hymn: "Thy voice calls me home, saying, 'There is room. There is room at my side for thee!'”

intertextual

8 Stations toward the Humility to See

"For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are." —C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew chapter X on Uncle Andrew's misperception 💡"For what you see and hear

Prayer

Prayers for Easter Sunday

Let us pray like we actually want the resurrected Messiah's reign and agenda -- which of course is submitted to God the Father's kingdom and will.

Hebrew

Yahweh & Yeshua in Psalm 118

Reading both Yahweh (or Yah where the abbreviated form is used) when the Divine name appears in Hebrew, and Yeshua where this Hebrew word for salvation appears brings Palm 118 alive for Palm Sunday and Easter Resurrection Sunday. Verse 25 hits us with new impact when we hear the opening

Translation

Opposite Version of Philippians 3.8–15

8 Knowing Messiah Jesus as my Lord 
is worth far less than everything else put together! In fact because of the Messiah, 
I’ve suffered the loss of everything. And I now calculate that loss as something worth grieving over. The Messiah is my loss. 9 And I would be

intertextual

Prodigal Texts: Psalm 34 & 2 Corinthians 5

The lens of Jesus's wisdom story about the Lost Son in Luke 15 illuminates Psalm 34 and 2 Corinthians 5 — these three scriptures are assigned readings in for Year C Lent 4 lectionary of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Here are two reinterpretations of Psalm 34

More Like Jesus

Crossing: Apologetics of the King

From Rose (the anonymous anointer in the Pharisee’s home) to a choir from first-century Philippi to John Donne's iambic pentameter — does making the sign-of-the-cross mean anything?

music

Ne Irascaris Domine & Civitas Sancti Tui

-my rough translation

Lyrics

Jordan River Is Flowing By — a new hymn

In the old-fashioned style of the camp meeting revival songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, here's my adaptation of a 1910 lyric by Ada Blenkhorn — find out a bit more about her here: https://hymnary.org/person/Blenkhorn_Ada. Ada's text followed a meter

If the shoe fits . . .

Narcissism + Power = Autocracy

When you give a narcissist power . . . you get autocracy. Narcissism + Power = Autocracy. Autocracy is the institutionalized manifestation of narcissism. The more narcissistic and the more power, the worse the autocracy. Narcissists care about only one thing: the Self. Self-actualization is the name of the game. The unfettered desires of the

Confession

A Confession from the Seoul Statement

Despite our claim to be followers of our crucified Lord . . .

Aligning with God's Truth

Lausanne's Seoul Statement — a creed

Here's a 275-word abridgment of Section V of The Seoul Statement from the Fourth Lausanne Congress convened in Korea in 2024 which is over 1,100 words long (see lausanne.org/statement/the-seoul-statement), intended for use as a creed or affirmation of faith in a worship service: We