My first experience with an Advent Wreath was when I came as Pastor to Altadena Baptist Church in 1972. It wasn’t part of my Christmas tradition growing up, and I had never been involved with a church that used it in its Christmas celebration. It seemed vaguely Catholic to me, because of its candles and […]

I usually try not to express my opinion on things I know nothing about. Today I’m breaking that rule. I’m only vaguely aware of the pop music scene, and I have no idea what’s in and what’s out with Gen Z-ers. To me, TikTok is what a clock does (or used to do). I’m, at best, […]

[I wrote this article on Tuesday, before election results began coming in, because I didn’t want it to be seen as a response to whoever the winners and losers are.] If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear […]

I decided that this article, less than a week from our National election, should not be about politics. But I wanted it to be timely, so I’m going to write about the only other thing in the news these days: the COVID-19 virus. The Bible has a lot to say about sickness and disease, but […]

It was somebody’s birthday, and our whole extended family (30 plus) were gathered at Grandma’s house. I was in the living room goofing off with my cousins, when I heard Aunt Ella shriek, “George, look what you’ve done!” I went to the dining room, where I saw the horrifying sight: A bottle of black India […]

I don’t know how or why I became fascinated with the lyrics of the old blues classic Nobody’s Fault But Mine. This was first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927, and it seems to be his reflection on his spiritual journey. Johnson was born in 1897, and there’s not much known about his upbringing […]

Last Sunday, Pastor Connie introduced us to our new sermon series, which we’re entitling “TALL TREES, DEEP ROOTS.” She talked about our magnificent California Coastal Redwood and Giant Sequoia trees, which are the tallest and largest living things in the world. Recently, we’ve been asking you to identify your favorite Bible verses, those you repeatedly […]

We’ve been asking people to share favorite Bible verses that have helped carry them through these difficult months of adjustment to the pandemic threat we’re dealing with, and we’ll begin using some of these in our new sermon series. They’ve come from all over the Bible: the Old Testament Books of Moses, the Psalms, the […]

Does that phrase roll off your tongue without much thought? Yeah, she likes to hear it, and it settles a lot of potential arguments. Or, how about the way you start a letter — even to someone you hardly know — with the word Dear? Like, “Dear IRS. . .” I’d like to remind you […]

The Great Awakening is a name given to a distinctly American religious movement. Actually, three different spiritual outbreaks are given this title. The First Great Awakening (1730-55) was a time of religious revival in the Colonies before the Revolutionary War, associated with names like Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley and George Whitefield. The Second Great Awakening […]