“Who Says it’s right?” Judges 17:6 Begin with a reading from “Through the Looking Glass.” “What a beautiful belt you’ve got on!” Alice suddenly remarked. (They had had quite enough of the subject of age, she thought: and if they really were to take turns in choosing subjects, it was her turn now.) “At least,”…
Reconstruction: Introduction
We’ve all had friends who either never stepped over the line of faith to begin a relationship with Jesus or have started a relationship and then stepped back over that line and walked away from Jesus and the church.We used to say they had backslidden, but there is a new term that folks use these…
The Buts of Easter
Choices were made. That is the reality of life; choices are made. Good choices, bad choices and indifferent choices, but life is determined by the choices we make. And often, we don’t understand the consequences that might come as a result of the choices we make. We are simply living in the moment without concern…
The Buts of Good Friday
Choices were made. That is the reality of life; choices are made. Good choices, bad choices and indifferent choices, but life is determined by the choices we make. And often, we don’t understand the consequences that might come as a result of the choices we make. We are simply living in the moment without concern…
A Palm or a Cloak
Electricity filled the air as the people of Jerusalem pushed against one another to see the man that everyone was talking about. Some said he was a god, and others said he was a demon. Some claimed he performed miracles, while others proclaimed him a fraud, a charlatan, or worse. For better or for worse,…
Giving to Jesus
We’ve all heard the phrase, and perhaps you even used it and that is: "Put your money where your mouth is.” According to the Cambridge Idiom Dictionary, this means, “To show by your actions and not just your words that you support or believe in something.” Jesus said something similar but radically different in the Gospel of Matthew. We read Jesus’ words in…
Characteristics of Character.
If you’ve spent any time on Grand Manan, you have probably heard of the Dark Harbour Hermits. Their names were Lewis “Lucy” Greene and William “Darby” Greene. They were brothers who lived between 1861 and 1940, spending most of their adult living in camps they had built from debris collected from the shores on the…
Origins: Jacob
It was a beautiful August day in 1692. She was just there for the hanging, but then everything went sideways. She was part of the group that had gathered to see five convicted witches being hung when someone in the crowd accused her of causing a pinprick in their foot, and she was arrested for…
I Am Resolved (New Years 2023)
Well, it’s the last day of 2023; who would have thought it? And I would suspect that there will be a pile of New Year’s resolutions made in the next 24 hours. And if the truth be known, there will probably be a pile of New Year’s resolutions broken in the next 48 hours. We…
Origins: Shaking the Family Tree
His name was John Allen, and he was born on January 3, 1746 in Edinburg Castle. His parents were Major William and Isabelle Allen, and they had sought refuge in the Castle during the Jacobite rising of 1745. In 1749, John’s father accepted a position in Nova Scotia and moved his family to Halifax. When…