Teach Us a New Song

Lord, our God, it's always the same song with us.
We know how we should be,
and then we go back to the way things were.
We know ourselves.
We know what our weaknesses are,
know our own excuses far too well.

O Lord our God, it's always the same song with us.
We call ourselves Christians,

Our Calling

Christians look at the world—especially the religion— of two or three thousand ago, and we imagine that it was looking forward to a day of fulfillment. We read the faith stories of what we call the Old Testament, and we think of them as incomplete. Completion would come with Messiah. To a certain degree, that’s what Christianity is all about, right? The old religion was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, who introduced a new religion. And what religion is that? The one we belong to, of course.

And that’s sort of the appeal of today’s reading from the scriptures. Jesus has

'Come and See'

The different parts of the first chapter of John are so different from each other, that some people think they may have been written by two different people. The first part, of course, is the most famous. We call it the prologue. And it’s as beautiful as it is well-known. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God.

That’s how it starts out.

And much of what follows is equally as deep. But, unfortunately, part of the prologue consists of a tangent about John the Baptist, which I always find most unfortunate as

A Pastoral Prayer for the Baptism of Jesus

Dear God, we praise you that you are with us, and that the reality we all too often sense around us is not the ultimate reality in which you would have us live. We are immersed in distrust and despair. Those around us do not keep their word. History seems to repeat itself. And so we feel that all we have to look forward to is more of what we have already lived through.

Baptize us, therefore, in faith and hope. Help us to see you at work in places where we had thought there was only bleakness. Show us that you are faithful, and that hope placed in you is never lost.

We are immersed in conflict and surrounded by violence. Voices crying out for

Jesus, Our Lens and Filter

Religious magazines and newspapers used to be very important. They were very often the mouthpieces of the various denominations. Back before we began to prefer radio and television to the printed word, we had all kinds of choices in what we might read. And the various churches were happy to do their part to supply us with reading material.

But even after we began to choose listening and watching over reading, churches still kept us up-to-date with denominational news or inspiring

Hiding Place

Corrie ten Boom ❦ Righteous Among the Nations ❦

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. 

❦ Psalm119:114 ❦ 

In 1942, after the Germans had invaded her native Holland, Corrie ten Boom and her family began to hide Jews in secret rooms above their watchmaker's shop. They called this hidden apartment the hiding place. In 1944, they were arrested by the Nazis, and her father died shortly thereafter. All were subsequently released, except for Corrie and her sister Betsy. But despite the