Remarks at the Rally for the Bayview Cross
June 27, 2017 § 2 Comments
In the early evening of June 27 I had the honor of standing alongside a host of liberty-loving men–pastors, a rabbi, talk radio personalities and politicians–at a Pensacola rally in support of a cross that, in one form or another, has stood in Bayview Park since 1941. U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson ruled June 19 that the cross in the city park violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution and must be removed within 30 days.
The Pensacola community was largely stunned and responded quickly. Supporters of a proposal that the city lease the area around the cross to a private historical association helped to organize the above-mentioned rally and came out in force.
Below is the full text of my prepared remarks, which I gave in an abridged and partially improvised fashion due to the time constraints. My voice was but one of many–and, again, it was a great honor to add mine to theirs. « Read the rest of this entry »
Glory to God! Part 4: The Glory of God in the Return and Reign of Christ
December 28, 2016 § Leave a comment
But the sadness would be broken as the song of life arose,
And the firstborn of creation would ascend and take His throne.
He had left it to redeem us, but before His life began
He knew He’d come back, not as a baby, but as the Lord of ev’ry man.
— Bob Kauflin, “In the First Light”
« Read the rest of this entry »
Glory to God! Part 3: The Glory of God in the Gospel
December 26, 2016 § Leave a comment
God had indeed promised deliverance; he had indeed promised his glory would be revealed. But the most important part was the fact that this promise was a Someone.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) « Read the rest of this entry »
Glory to God! Part 2: The Glory of God in the Promise of Redemption
December 26, 2016 § Leave a comment
God’s glory shines in his Creation; anyone who has beheld in the wilderness a clear night sky has glimpsed that glory. The Psalmist exults: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). But nowhere is the glory of God brighter in our dark world than in Gospel, the fulfillment of God’s promise: « Read the rest of this entry »
Glory to God! Part 1: The Glory of God in Creation
December 21, 2016 § Leave a comment
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.–Genesis 1:1-4
God spoke—and where there was once nothing there was at once the heavens and the earth. It is must not escape our attention that the first thing God did with his creation as he began to form it was shine upon it with the light of his glory: “Let there be light.” This is not the light of the sun or stars—those were yet to be created. The Scripture tells us that God is light; not the light of luminescence, that is, the physical shining by which we see the physical things in our world, but the light by which we understand, the light that gives meaning to our world. God is with us by the light of his presence in his world.
It is God’s essence to shine his light, so that, even when sin came crashing into creation, his mercy shined a promise of redemption to those responsible for that sin. That shining promise to Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham—to all who would believe its unfolding glory—gave hope that the darkness could not overcome the light. It could not because he who is the light stepped into his creation as himself a creature. No wonder, then, he would make the promise that “the Sun of Righteousness would rise with healing in his wings”! In his becoming flesh and bone, the light of life who shines into the world, dawns.
Glory to God!
December 21, 2016 § 2 Comments
This past Sunday the Sanctuary Choir of McIlwain Presbyterian Church presented its annual Christmas program. This year’s offering was entitled Glory to God! In addition to both classic carols and music by Keith and Kristyn Getty arranged by McIlwain Music Ministry Coordinator Donny Monk, I supplied a series of narrations designed to explore the glory of God in four progressive themes: the glory of God in creation, the glory of God in the promise of redemption, the glory of God in the Gospel, and the glory of God in the return and reign of Christ. Although these were summarized in the program, we explored the themes respectively each Sunday of Advent this year. « Read the rest of this entry »
Trump vs. Jesus?
November 4, 2016 § 5 Comments
Recently The Greenville (SC) News ran an opinion piece by Clemson University Ph.D. student William McCorkle that, as I see it, sums up rather well the assessment of many religious-minded “Never Trumpers.” McCorkle’s thesis is that Christians have either to twist or abandon what Jesus taught in order to defend their support of Donald Trump. « Read the rest of this entry »
A silly–but fun–indulgence
July 5, 2016 § Leave a comment
The title says it all–except for a few necessary caveats:
- I am no singer, no matter what part I’m singing!
- No studio was involved–only the back bedroom at my in-laws, a MacBook Pro, an electric guitar and a bass guitar. Not even an external microphone
- The drum track is pretty cheesy, but I found it online.
- I have no clue about mixing…I am totally lost.
- There a few stinker moments and inaccuracies…so let’s just call this an “interpretation”!
All that said, it really was a lot of fun! Who knows what I might accomplish with some real musicians, a little more practice time and some good equipment?
“Good Times Bad Times” Project
Happy Day.
2016: A Year In the Word
January 1, 2016 § 1 Comment
I am not a believer in reinventing the wheel. What follows is my post from a year ago today. Nothing new, nothing fancy. Same charge: Read the Word!
Few things are as satisfying as a good story. From the time we incessantly begged, “Just one more before bedtime, pleeeze!” to “I think I can get this next chapter done before I have to get some sleep”—stories have captivated us. Although different people are drawn to different types of writing, the common attraction among all is, I believe, the development of the story itself. It’s what keeps us reading. Heroes in impossible predicaments, sleuths combing through the scenes of “perfect” crimes, thawing of frozen relationships, tripping through the twists and turns of international intrigue—whatever the situation, we both love the story and want to see how it ends.
Why, then, is it that we don’t approach the Bible this way? « Read the rest of this entry »
How could a good God allow evil?
November 19, 2015 § Leave a comment
As we approach the first full week since the Paris attacks, it is apparent that far too much has become all too familiar. There is the initial news of the attack, followed by conflicting information about deaths and injuries, then the ubiquitous and continual television coverage for the next 12-24 hours, and, simultaneously, the flooding of social media with messages of anger, shock, condemnation and, for the victims and for Paris, of solidarity and prayer. It all has a numbing, regular rhythm because we have been here too many times before. « Read the rest of this entry »
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