Bishop's Blog

If there is any word that in fact describes the active, present-day living priesthood of Jesus, the One who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25), the one who stands before the throne of the Godhead praying on our behalf, it is the word “shepherd.” This word describes one who, by the very…

In the previous two blogs about “Facing a Task Unfinished,” (Part 1, “The Call”; and Part 2, “Holding the Ropes”) we’ve examined the call to missions and those who hold the ropes in prayer and support for missionaries. Today, we’ll learn from two who responded to this call: Henry Martyn and William Carey. They were…

(Check out Part 1 of this series, “The Call.”) Have you ever been on a ropes course? If so, you may remember an exercise where one person went across a rope strung like a tightrope, and others held ropes below. These smaller ropes connected to the tightrope and helped provide the rope-walker with balance and…

 “Facing a task unfinished, we bear the torch that flaming/Fell from the hands of those/ Who gave their lives proclaiming/That Jesus died and rose/ Ours is the same commission/The same glad message ours/ Fired by the same ambition/To Thee we yield our powers.” —“Facing a Task Unfinished,” words by Frank Houghton   You know, if…

In the previous blog, we met the two main characters in one of Jesus’ parables from Luke 18: the Pharisee and the tax collector. We learned quite a bit about each of them from their posture and attitude as well as the content of their prayers. But remember? “It’s complicated.” So when Jesus says, speaking…

  The parable I’m focusing on is from Luke 18 and involves two main characters. They both come up to the temple—literally, because they had to walk up a hill. The Pharisee The Greek infers that the Pharisee knows his way around; he sort of strides right in. He’s been here before; he knows where…

I’m using a particular collect to frame this message. From the start, it acknowledges both the mercy of God and our need for that mercy, because we have not just gone but are going astray from his ways. You see, if I as a believer in Jesus am somewhere “out there,” away from God, more…

Last week, I wrote about how the phrase “I am Second” speaks to those entering the ministry—and actually, to all of us who follow Christ—about submitting to Jesus, serving Jesus and being strong in Jesus. The strength, as I wrote, comes from the secret place of time spent in the presence of the Lord. And…

Not long ago, God gave me a wonderful reminder about ministry through a woman named Deacon Pat. She is the youth minister at St. John the Baptist in Orlando, and she has served as a deacon for many years. I wouldn’t put anybody beside her in terms of passion, talent and genuine heartfelt love for…

John uses a technique in his Gospel where in his sermon forms, he does more than address his historic audience. He’s also addressing the reader. In fact, there are times where you almost get the impression that Jesus is talking to someone in the context of the story, and—just as if it were a play—he…