This week I welcome guest blogger, Jeff Byerly. Jeff is my pastoral colleague, friend, ThD classmate, and traveling partner! He and his wife Tasha have two daughters, a son-in-law and new grandbaby! As we continue studying the lament of Psalm 137, the psalmist recalls the vicious attack from Israel’s enemies that led to Israel’s captivity.Continue reading “How to have hope amidst evil in the world – Advent Psalms of Lament, Part 4”
Tag Archives: ministry
Introducing the Advent 2023 blog series
If you were at Faith Church this Sunday November 26, 2023, you would see our sanctuary floor lights shining the color now purple, as this Sunday is the First Sunday of the Christian Season of Advent. Why do we use the color purple for Advent? When I see the color purple in the sanctuary, IContinue reading “Introducing the Advent 2023 blog series”
Resources for learning how to …Pray in the Spirit, Part 5
This week we have been learning what it means to pray in the Spirit. There are some helpful resources I would recommend. For the beginning of the day: The Daily Prayer services in the Book of Common Prayer. For the end of the day: St. Ignatius’ Prayer of Examen. It has five steps. There areContinue reading “Resources for learning how to …Pray in the Spirit, Part 5”
What to do when praying seems difficult or impossible – Praying in the Spirit, Part 4
When my wife and I are sitting on the sofa in the evening, and she is talking, I will admit to you that sometimes I fall asleep. Not good. She is gracious. Not necessarily happy about it. But gracious. I will also admit to you that when I practice meditative prayer, gazing on the beautyContinue reading “What to do when praying seems difficult or impossible – Praying in the Spirit, Part 4”
How to have two-way communication with God – Praying in the Spirit, Part 3
More than praying through lists, we were built to commune with God. He doesn’t want us to be like the spouse that just gives him a to-do list (as I mentioned in this post). God created us for communication, for a two-way relational conversation, not just with other humans, but also with him. He createdContinue reading “How to have two-way communication with God – Praying in the Spirit, Part 3”
What I learned in a prayer class about…Praying in the Spirit, Part 3
In my sophomore year of Bible college I took a class on Prayer, and we had to pray for 30 minutes every day. 30 minutes! That sounded impossibly long. My history with prayer as a child and teenager, for the most part was those 5 minute or shorter prayer sessions, where I did all theContinue reading “What I learned in a prayer class about…Praying in the Spirit, Part 3”
To-Do Lists and…Praying in the Spirit, Part 1
There was a husband and wife who were having marital difficulties. One of the spouses would wake up in the morning, lean over to their spouse and start listing what they wanted the spouse to do that day. The list wouldn’t take long to recite. Maybe five minutes at most. Some days less. Some daysContinue reading “To-Do Lists and…Praying in the Spirit, Part 1”
Why I don’t like the phrase “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us” – Praying in the Spirit, Preview
Have you ever heard that phrase, “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us”? Frankly, I don’t like that quote. Well, to be precise, I don’t think the quote is nuanced enough. The quote is attributed to Danish Christian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), whose work I generally appreciate, that is, when I understand it, which isContinue reading “Why I don’t like the phrase “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us” – Praying in the Spirit, Preview”
You can have victory over temptation – Sword of the Spirit, Part 5
I started this week talking about Tolstoy’s short story, How Much Land Does a Man Need. Read that post here. The main character of the story, Pahom, is hiking around land for sale. As he hikes, he stakes out the land. He has from sunup till sundown to make it back to his starting stake,Continue reading “You can have victory over temptation – Sword of the Spirit, Part 5”
How to use scripture to fight temptation – Sword of the Spirit, Part 4
I believe we need to have a balanced approach to studying the Word. We need community study where we can study and discuss it together. We need Sundays where we hear the word from preachers and teachers. And we need personal study. Psalm 119:9-11, for example, says, “How can a young person stay on theContinue reading “How to use scripture to fight temptation – Sword of the Spirit, Part 4”
Engaging Scripture 