Thoughts on Life and Worship

I don’t know about your FaceBook feed, but mine has been filled with wedding anniversary announcements virtually every day of this month.   It is June, after all, and that’s when a lot of folks tie the knot with winter in the rear-view mirror and the joys of summer living just ahead.   I’ve seen ten-year, fifteen-year, up to fifty-five-year celebrations.   And we should celebrate.   A good marriage takes a good deal of work. Roman Catholics call marriage a “sacrament.”   I’m a Baptist and we’re not supposed to be sacramental.   But general Baptist distinctives can sometimes be difficult to define because freedom of individual conscience is one of our deepest held values.   I’m with the Catholics on this one.   Of course, as a Protestant, I probably define sacrament a bit different than my Catholic brethren.   No need to quibble.   Along with the Catholics, I see God actively working smack dab in the middle of Christian marriage....

This coming Monday is Memorial Day.   Not that you probably needed any reminder.   It traditionally marks the beginning of summer and is frequently celebrated with parties and barbecues.   But its original and real meaning is much more important and sobering.   Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day” as it was originally called, came into being shortly after the Civil War.   More American lives were lost in that conflict than any other and veteran’s cemeteries were established in every state to remember and mourn the nation’s great loss.   By the late 1860’s, towns and cities had begun annual springtime festivities to remember their fallen. In 1868, May 30 th was nationally designated as “Decoration Day” to honor the veterans.     In the twentieth century, Decoration Day eventually became known as “Memorial Day” and was extended to honor all veterans who had given their lives in conflict.   In 1971, Memorial Day was permanently fixe...

When Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie walked through the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ classic tale, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” they entered the frozen wonderworld of Narnia.   While they encountered many delightful characters there, it was a doleful world where it was “always winter and never Christmas.”   We’ve had a bit of our own Narnia experience here in Galesburg this past week.   Prior to moving here, my wife and I lived in South Dakota for six years.   Our frigid conditions, including the flat front tire on our car this week, brought back not-so-pleasant memories of the frozen northland.   But on the upside, conditions like these can also bring out the good in people.   I’m grateful for my church, First Baptist of Galesburg, because we were able to graciously open our doors Tuesday night as an emergency warming center for six people, displaced from their home by busted pipes.   Fire Chief Tom Simkins made the connection...