Have you ever sat in a class lecture, a business presentation, or even a sermon and realized that you haven’t a clue what the speaker is talking about? I have.
I just completed a summer sermon series in the Psalms, a common practice among churches. I was motivated by the need to preach more from the Old Testament and a desire to keep up my skills with the Hebrew language.
If you were to describe prayer to someone who knew nothing about it, how would you describe it? You might say, “Prayer is talking to God,” and, indeed, it is. Talking to God in prayer is the privilege of those who are God’s children in Christ Jesus.
If you were to drive by my home, you would see a brown paper lunch bag hanging from the ceiling of the front porch. No, this is not part of my hurricane preparedness, nor is it a declaration of solidarity with those who “brown-bag-it” for lunch every day. The lunch bag, stuffed with paper, is there to discourage wasps from building nests. Apparently, it is close enough in appearance to a wasp’s nest that other wasps decide to build elsewhere.
My wife and I had houseguests not long ago, decades-old friends from southeast Florida that we had not seen in years. Our friends had never been to this part of Florida, so a significant part of our “catching up” conversation was dedicated to describing what life is like here on the Florida panhandle.
I have noticed a recent trend – well, a trend I call recent because I just noticed it – people thanking the universe. I first heard it a few years ago from the lips of an acquaintance, who had just come through a very dark period of depression. He emerged thanking the universe for his recovery. My initial, unspoken reaction was, “I wonder where he got that notion?” Since then, I have noticed an uptick in the number of people, celebrity and average Joe alike, thanking the universe.
Unless you just fell off the proverbial turnip truck, you are aware of the controversy surrounding the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director, presented a tableau of DaVinci’s Last Supper that featured drag queens and dancers in the role of the apostles, and DJ Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon, playing the Christ figure.
“If in doubt, sing louder!” I told the volunteer church choir at a rehearsal. The look on their faces said, “Oh, really? Why would I do that?” They knew that I had been a professional musician, but they also knew that I had zero choir-directing experience. I explained, “If in doubt, you hold back, even if you are singing your part correctly, it will sound wrong. So, if you are going to make a mistake, make it a good one, and we’ll fix it!”
As I write this column, I am in the last third of a two-week vacation. What exotic or exciting destination did I visit? Well, first, my yard, then my office, and soon I will be visiting my garage. Mine was a “staycation” involving yard maintenance, office and garage de-cluttering, and an unanticipated repair project in the master bathroom. No, it has not been the most restful vacation I’ve ever taken, but it has been refreshing, nonetheless.
A relative recently asked for my opinion on her pastor’s Bible commentary recommendation to her. Of course, the commentaries he recommended are those he uses for his own personal study. I considered his list of three and, whereas they would provide a reader with some interesting information on the Bible, in my opinion, they were not the best for helping someone better understand the message of the Bible.
