By Kate Honeycutt “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” – 1 John 4:12 (NRSV) “What the hardest thing about following Jesus?” I ask a group of first and second graders. A bright 7-year-old boy enthusiastically answers: “You can’t see … Continue reading
By Paul Baxley Tuesday, August 20, will mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved persons in what was to become the United States of America. In 1619, about 20 Africans arrived on the Virginia coast at the end of a grueling, dehumanizing trans-Atlantic voyage. Unlike so many before and after who … Continue reading
By Sue Smith Migration isn’t new to Central America. With a long history of heavy-handed dictators and military presence, of abuses against peasants and indigenous peoples, and the growing influence of drug cartels and gangs, there has been movement of peoples between these small countries for many decades. And in recent years, we’ve begun to … Continue reading
By Andy Hale From time to time, I may stretch a sermon illustration for effect. It’s never intentional. More often than not, it is how I remember it happening. It’s kind of like in the 2003 movie Big Fish, in which a father retells his life story through fantastical anecdotes. (For a refresher on the … Continue reading
By Sarah Laurence Preparing for seminary was one of the scariest times in my life. I was terrified to be moving and starting this new chapter, but I was also so very excited. I knew that a strong calling had been placed on my life and while I wasn’t sure what the end result was, … Continue reading
By Marv Knox LEUPP, Ariz.—The love of God permeated a portion of the Navajo reservation in Arizona the first weekend in August. It looked like children smiling through painted faces, bales of hay stacked in pickup trucks and backpacks stuffed with school supplies. It sounded like laughter, plus sermons, hymns and prayers offered in at … Continue reading
From the church’s earliest days to the present, cooperation has been central to the church’s flourishing: we can do more together than we can do apart! That claim sounds radical in our competitive and increasingly isolationist culture, but it should come as no surprise to a people called to bear witness to the God of … Continue reading
