Incoherent Ramblings of an Insane Pastor

Pietro lorenzetti   Palm Sunday is the wind up to the big show. When I was a kid it reminded me that Easter was just a week away... Bring on the candy!!! But let's look back in time to Luke 19-28  where Luke describes the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus knew His time was near. The friction with the Jewish religious leaders was about to peak. His reputation as a Rabbi, healer and miracle worker were well known. It was getting hard for Jesus to go anywhere without drawing a crowd. It was time to celebrate Passover. So the disciples were instructed to find a young donkey. Jesus was fulfilling prophesy by entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey ( Zechariah 9:9 ). The people of Israel were looking for the Messiah. Excitement spread among the crowd who gathered. People began grabbing palm leaves and throwing their garments in the path of the donkey. They began to sing, Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the  Lord !      Pe...

I am doing my best to protect myself and others from COVID19. I'm working from home. I'm trying to limit my trips out. When I do go out, I have a pocket sized sanitizer that I diligently use. I hope that your are taking it seriously too. I read this week about Martin Luther. He was in Wittenburg living with his pregnant wife during the plague. The plague, black death, the pestilence, all names for the outbreak that killed 75-200 million in Eurasia. Can you imagine the stress that he was under? This is what he had to say, Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for ...

With the pandemic sweeping across the world, America is in a position of seeing this wave of sickness and death heading towards us. The news is filled with stories of doom from other countries. Yet we are almost powerless to do anything about it. In Matthew 8:23–27 , Mark 4:35–41 , and Luke 8:22–25 there is a story with a similar feeling. Ludolf Backhuysen: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee The disciples had gotten into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee . Jesus found a spot in the boat and fell asleep. Many of the disciples had been professional fisherman. These guys knew what they were doing. But as the ship had gotten underway, a storm was brewing. I can imagine the disciples, especially Peter, James, John and Andrew, jumping to action doing what sailors know to do. I've never been a sailor or even a decent fisherman, but I would have been pretty comfortable with these guys in charge. All the while, Jesus was sleeping like a baby. But after a time, the sto...

Are you tired of seeing this word yet. I know I am. But I am afraid we are going to see a lot if it over the next year. It's amazing how life can be going along normal and all of the sudden... BAM! Here's a new normal for you. So, we shelter in place. We practice social distancing. We work from home. But hardest of all, we suspend gatherings of people. This is the toughest for a Christian. We are meant to be together. In Hebrews it says... 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. -NLT Throughout the book of Acts, people gather together to learn, love, and help each other. That is what the church does best. But now, for public safety, we have to stay apart. We have to be creative. Find a church stream online and attend church there. Use every resource to reach out to others. Keep in contact with your local church and find out if there is a need you can fil...

I wander back here from time to time. Here's the latest update. My wife and I now have married daughters who are doing fantastic things in their own lives. This left us wanting to "downsize" and build a house in the country. We looked around the Jackson area and decided on Crystal Springs, MS as our place to plant. We tried to continue to support the church we were attending that was 30 miles away. The long commute had us "doing the math" every time an event was planned. We'll have to leave the house by... then by the time we leave the event to go home it  will be... then we won't get back home till... All that was too crazy. We needed to be in a community church, but where? We looked around and really prayed about this. In my mind the church had to be really doing the work of Christ. Just meeting on Sunday isn't a church. God stretched me again and I wandered into Crystal Springs United Methodist Church. I had no idea what to expect. I had o...