Month: December 2007

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath” (Psalm 39:4-5 NLT). “But

I know a lot of people have been upset in recent days that everyone doesn’t say "Merry Christmas." I surely have no disagreement with their distress. It is after all the name of the season we celebrate. Those who want to generalize things and leave the Christian message out by saying "Happy Holidays" are certainly

When I first felt called to do more than just be a pastor to our church, but to be a pastor to our whole city, I wasn’t sure what it would look like. What does a city pastor do? So, I decided to serve wherever doors opened. This past week they opened in places that

I learned today that Dan Fogelberg has died at age 56 of cancer. Back in the late 70s when I was attending college, Fogelberg was my favorite musical artist. As a guitarist and song writer myself, I felt a kindred spirit with him. I also sensed some similar musical influences in his mixture of electric

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. …The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… (John 1:1-3, 14 NIV) What if

I recently asked the children at a Sunday service, “Who gets gifts on your birthday?” Their answer was a loud, “I do!” Then I asked them, “Since Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, who should get gifts?” They shouted in response, “Jesus!” The logic was inescapable even for a child or maybe especially for a

“To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Timothy 1:2 NIV). This past Sunday Robin and I had the privilege of ministering at Awaken Church in Greensboro. Before the service began I was getting to know some of the people that

A couple of weekends ago my brother Barry, his wife Sabra, and their middle son, Jeremiah came to Wilson to visit us. They attended church with us and Barry sang at both services. Several of our WCCers wondered aloud on how much my brother looked like Jesus. This was no accident. Barry has been playing