“God spoke to Moses as a man does to his friend.  Christ calls his disciples friends, and that was a decisive and powerful moment in their relationship.  In a world where friendship is a sexual encounter or a tweet or a merely a means to enhancing one’s status, these moments in the scriptural narrative are... Continue Reading

“The Great Commission bestowed upon Adam entailed that his kingship would be in the service of his priestly office, namely, that he would “rule and subdue” for the sake of gathering all creation to the Creator’s footstool in worship. The Sabbath consummation was the heart and goal of the sixth day’s commission.”   Properly conceived as... Continue Reading

“Our whole modern way of life, in fact, might seem on reflection to have left behind greed altogether, as we spend rather than save, throw away rather than hoard, and entertain ourselves in the moment rather than invest for the future. Not only that, but one of the key evils of Greed in the classical... Continue Reading

“Worshippers are increasingly turning their backs on the centuries-old practice of attending worship on Sundays because of other leisure and social ‘commitments’, it said. The admission came alongside new figures showing that attendances at midweek services in cathedrals have doubled in a decade while numbers in the pews in parishes on Sundays continue to fall.”... Continue Reading

“Covetousness is seen in many of the accounts of Scripture. Achan coveted the things from Jericho devoted to God. David coveted Bathsheba. Absalom coveted the throne of his father David. Although the objects these three men covet are different, there is one common thread tying these examples together: dissatisfaction. Those who covet are unhappy with... Continue Reading

“My grandmother wasn’t telling me to not pray. She was telling me to really pray. I was asking God to guide my kid’s lives, but wasn’t entrusting them to Him. My grandmother was telling me to remember that I had taken all the precautions that I could, and needed to actually leave my children’s welfare... Continue Reading

“The Maker has wired music into the fabric of every soul, even those of us who are not especially musical by nature. It’s not just another way people artistically experience and express their gratitude and awe to God — like painting or journaling or fishing or serving. Throughout the Bible, God’s people — saved by... Continue Reading

“How, then, does the Spirit act on the believer? The Spirit comes to us as an earnest, a pledge, a down payment on final redemption. He is here and now the foretaste of future glory. But His presence is also an indication of the incompleteness of our present spiritual experience.”   How do we distinguish the... Continue Reading

“You are well aware of the actions of the Episcopal Church that have led to “tearing the fabric of the Anglican Communion.” In that respect, it will not come as a complete surprise that the National Cathedral has conducted both same-sex blessings of relationships, and, more recently in 2013 began conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies. I... Continue Reading

“Reading continues to be one of the most important duties of a pastor. Pastors are responsible to do the work of the mind, and their minds must have something with which to work. Reading is the door, and texts are the workmen through which the furniture of ideas enters the mind and organizes a pastor’s... Continue Reading