I’m sure you remember the well known phrase above from the lips of “Tiny Tim” in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It may seem like a strange title for an article in the July “Trinity Tidings,” I suppose. It’s not one of those ‘Christmas in July’ attempts, I assure you....
Over the first three weeks of June we will be exploring and investigating what Biblical Christian Stewardship truly is and means. “Oh boy! Here we go,” some might think and even say. “The church is trying to get more out of me, my money and my free time!” Sadly, too...
“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the gardener. Remain in Me, as I remain in you. I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1,4a...
(Continued from last month) Then Jesus rises from prayer in Gethsemane and awakens his disciples to face his destiny. “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane is explained by his lonely cry at Golgotha: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” recalling the...
Sometimes I wonder why the Garden of Gethsemane is included in the Gospels. Frankly, it’s easy to misunderstand. Jesus is struggling, sweating profusely, so torn up inside, so exposed, so human. At first glance, Jesus seems weak, actually asking the Father to help him back out of the plan forged...
This year Ash Wednesday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. And if that isn’t awkward enough, Easter Sunday is on April 1st, April Fools’ Day! The last time this happened was in 1945. The next time it happens will be in the year 2029. So, I think I’ll...
“Let us all with gladsome voice praise the God of heaven, Who, to bid our hearts rejoice, His own Son hath given.” Christmas is the season we praise and thank our heavenly Father for the promised and wondrous gift of the Messiah, Christ-child. The giving and receiving of Christmas presents...
O Come, O Come Immanuel “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 The ancient and prominent Advent hymn bids God to fulfill His promise and come to us in His incarnate...
In a number of Paul’s epistles he says that he gives thanks to God for the people of the church to whom he is writing. The specific reasons vary a little, but the core reason is the same. He is thankful to God for the faith that He has given...
This year, especially this Fall, we are celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the nailing of Luther’s 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. Many see this as the beginning of the Reformation that unfolded and evolved over the next several decades. The Reformation was not about a new...