Several of you were sick last month and it registered on our attendance records. Thankfully, most are back. February 2013, was twenty-eight days of coughs, aches, pains and sniffles. Let’s pray March delivers us from the evil cold and flu season. No one likes to be unhealthy. The body has several ways it tells us..
read moreThere are some words we just do not like to hear in church. One is the “C” word … CHANGE. This presents a predicament since the church yearns to experience growth while resisting change. Of course the idea of growing and not changing makes no sense. The simple truth is; growing things change! Children’s bodies..
read moreAbusa is the Chichewa word for pastor. The Chichewa language is widely used in the African nation of Malawi where my brother-in-law and sister-in-law serve as missionaries. On my desk sits a handmade sculpture of an abusa given as a gift from them. The little authentic piece is precious to me because it is a..
read moreNow may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NASB) Hope, joy and peace are words often associated with Christmas. Biblically, they are more than decorative speech. According to this verse hope, joy..
read moreOur church’s picture is on page seventy-one of the latest Pittsburgh Magazine. It is part of an article highlighting Brookline titled “The Perfect Neighborhood for a Little Peace and Quiet”. The piece mentions, among other things, Pittsburgh Baptist’s history of starting churches. Page eighty-eight of the issue has an ad, “Play Games with Drag Queens..
read moreThe 1954 federal Johnson Amendment to the tax code prohibits a pastor from talking about candidates from the pulpit. The amendment, crafted by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, faced reelection opposition by conservative Christian groups. By leading the IRS to implement the new regulation Johnson successfully silenced the pastors who advocated for his adversaries. Senator..
read moreRecently I wrote an article on the strengths of our State Convention from the perspective of having served churches in four different ones. Three of them, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia are considered some of our denomination’s strongest while Pennsylvania/South Jersey remains dependent on the Cooperative Program (missions funding) to function. Our comparative financial vulnerability does..
read moreI love junk food. Big Macs, Reese’s Cups, potato chips, Dove Bars, need I write more? These are just a few of my favorite things. News flash, eating them or any of my many other gastronomic vices distract me from keeping healthy. Their flavors trick the pallet into a false sense of benefit. How can..
read moreIn about two-and-a-half weeks this place will be CRAZY! There will be people that have never before been to PBC trying to find their way around. Children with separation anxiety will be left by parents for nearly three hours. Adults will experience the terror of a spiritual melt down. Yes, these are all typical of..
read moreThough the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I..
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