Philippians 2:1-13 I officiated at a baptism yesterday. It is the second one I have done since the onset of this pandemic. In both cases we had our masks on and kept our distance. (Pictured here is the family along with the sponsors who were with us via Facetime. Other than for the photographs, they kept …
Tag: Philippians
Counting Stars, Standing Firm in the Lord, Gathered Under the Wings of Jesus
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 A few days back, I sat down with a woman who is an avowed atheist. She shared where she was on the spectrum of faith without apology. I found that I respected and liked her immediately for her forthrightness. Indeed, I am confident this was not the first …
Even Death on a Cross…
Philippians 2:5-11 I know these words by heart by now, which is why, I expect, I find myself pausing in them again once more this year. For it had been a busy week and I found myself alone on a quiet drive home late the other afternoon. I had forgotten to bring a copy of …
The Mind of Christ
Philippians 2:5-11 I sat down with a group of leaders in a congregation a few months ago. This particular place, like many, has had its share of struggles. Indeed, those people who had come together that night shared that the congregation as a whole just wasn’t very ‘nice.’ They were, by then sitting on fifty …
Let the Same Mind Be In You…
Philippians 2:5-11 If I’m honest, the poetry and cadence of these familiar words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians almost always washes over me in such a way that I tend to lose track of its powerful and practical meaning for how I live in and interact with the world. It is easy to get …
Our Citizenship in Heaven
Philippians 3:17-4:1 It was one of those moments that always stays with you. I was 17 years old. It was early in the morning — I was on a field trip with a handful of other seniors from a high school history class. We were traveling west on Route 20 through northern Illinois just west …