To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here “I did an awesome job.” That would be a loose translation of what God said when he looked around at the newly created earth. Or as Genesis 1:31 puts it, everything was “very good.” The first not-good aspect of reality shows up in the middle of chapter two: “The Lord God said,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here There’s a lot of talking going on out there. Depending on who’s counting, there appear to be at least 3.1 million active podcasts, and 165 million episodes floating in the cloud. There has never been a moment in history when so many words are so easily accessible to so many listeners…. Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If you’re a chess player, you have probably experienced something of the despair depicted in this painting. The young man on the right is contemplating chess catastrophe. His remaining pieces are surrounded. His opponent appears to have just captured his queen. But there’s a good deal more happening here than first meets… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here The B-17 Flying Fortress was America’s workhorse heavy bomber during World War II. Before Germany and Japan surrendered, 12,731 of the planes dropped more than 1.5 million tons of bombs. Among the young men on those bombing runs were actors Clark Gable and James Stewart; NFL coach Tom Landry; Star Trek… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here I am a stark raving fan of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the 1970s British progressive rock group. Classic rock stars are a disappearing breed, of course, and in 2016 the world lost both Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Therefore my last chance to connect personally with ELP is Carl Palmer, widely… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Certain sermons have a way of getting stuck in your head. My colleague Tim Gardner preached a message almost 30 years ago that I have never forgotten. It was called “We Do Not Have” – a rather strange turn of phrase that springs from a rather strangely-worded text in the New… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Harry Truman was an “accidental” president of the United States. Plucked from obscurity to be Franklin D. Roosevelt’s running mate in 1944, no one realistically imagined he would ever sit in the Oval Office. But the little-known Missouri politician became America’s 33rd chief executive when FDR suddenly died the following April…. Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If you’re a fan of rap music, you probably thought last Sunday’s halftime show was the best ever. If you’re not into rap, you probably wondered why so many people were so worked up about Kendrick Lamar’s performance – and how anyone could figure out what he was actually trying to… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Can love come into our lives by means of a bottle? Craig Sullivan, a lonely man in Scotland searching for his soulmate, certainly hoped so. Inspired by The Police’s song Message in a Bottle, Sullivan sent out over 2,000 message-bearing bottles a few summers ago along local beaches. The good news… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Greatness was on display at last Sunday’s Super Bowl. The greatest number of viewers ever to watch a TV show on a single network tuned in hoping to see great football, great commercials, and a great halftime show. The Super Bowl, which is fixated like no other cultural event on the… Read more »