I grew up in a musical home, sort of. Neither of my parents played any instruments, but music was quite important to them. This came out primarily in their love of hymns and gospel songs. They also had ...
My Musical Career, Such as It Was
My First Sermon, and Welcome to It
My sentiments concerning my first sermon are comparable to the sentiments that the late Patrick McManus had toward his first deer . . . so please allow me to relate to you how it all happened. I ...
Fifty and Climbing
So today marks the occasion of our fiftieth wedding anniversary. Fifty years ago, on New Year's Eve, Nancy and I exchanged vows, and what a good run it has been. Considering this, on a day like ...
Dad’s Band . . . Tomorrow Night
In what has become something of a tradition here in Moscow, tomorrow night will see yet another Dad’s Band concert. The evening is filled with covers from the classic rock era, and and there will be lots of fun for the whole family, and harmonic loudness. This is where I would usually embed the promo …
Logos Bible Software News
I have been using Logos Bible Software for lo, these many moons. I don’t remember when I first started, but I think that my first one was 4.0. This was, in Bible software years, pre-Cambrian, and so I think that I may speak in the words of a grizzled old-timer. But whether or not I …
Holiday Hiatus
Given the way that Christmas lands this year, I think we should let it interrupt our regular blogging schedule. There will consequently be no posts next Monday or Wednesday, and there will be no Letters posted on Tuesday. Go celebrate with your family. Attend a worship service. Have a cinnamon roll. I will resume the …
Coming Up on Forty Nine
Nancy and I got married on New Year’s Eve, 1975. It took us a few years to figure out why the restaurants were always so crowded on our anniversary dates. But because we got married New Year’s Eve, that being the case, we will be marking our 49th anniversary in just a few weeks. And …
Summers
As I was growing up, my family was a road-tripping family. My father was not yet a pastor, but he was an evangelist and conference speaker, and so we would often accompany him on speaking gigs, and roll a family vacation into it. As I was just a kid at the time, and not yet …
Jim and Bessie
Honor is not an invisible thing. When the Bible tells us to honor the emperor, or to respect all men, or to honor our fathers and mothers, this is not referring to an invisible attitude tucked away somewhere in our hearts. Honor must be expressed and shown, and not some cliched and trite greeting card …
True Gratitude Can Bend
True gratitude can bend beneath the weightOf graces given to the undeserving,Men stagger as they come to goodness lateAnd learn to walk, and with no conscious swerving.True gratitude can stand upon the graceThat comes from God and puts conceit well underThe blood that trickled down the wretched faceOf Jesus Christ, who came to put asunderThese …