silencing the barren womb
Dear Sheridan,
cross ’n’ dagger
Heavy-metal music, motorcycles, and muscle cars. All of these things were present at the annual Cross ’n’ Dagger church service held at the Life Bridge Church. The congregation created this special service for people who might not attend a “regular” Sunday morning meeting. Senior Pastor Bill Campbell said, “[People] can come in their leathers, if they’re bikers . . . . However they’re dressed, they’re welcomed.”
who’s seeking whom?
Zach was a lonely guy. If there was a party, he wasn’t invited. In fact, when he walked down the city streets, he could feel the hostile glares boring into his back. But his life took a turn one special day. Clement of Alexandria, one of the church fathers, says that Zach became a very prominent Christian leader and ended up a pastor of the church in Caesarea. Yes, we are talking about Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who once famously climbed a sycamore tree.
patience
I’ve figured out that secondary school boys are part of God’s plan to increase patience in my life. In my job I go from one extreme of teaching sixth form students to the corridors of insanity in teaching year 8 English. I enjoy most of my students, but there’s something unmistakably stretching about working with young men who totter uncertainly…
accepted
Ephesians 1:3-6: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt…
encouraging the rejected
Several years ago, a 30-something new believer attended our worship service. He had long, multicolored, spiked hair. He was dressed in dark clothes and had multiple piercings and tattoos. It was a good thing that only the pastors knew he had AIDS. Some people openly gaped and others just gave him that “It’s good to see you in church, but…
