Pulpit Reflections “Jewish Lives Matter.” Look at that sentence again. “’JEWISH’ Lives Matter.” Those three words were printed neatly on a small sign. The sign was held by a middle-aged man. The man, wearing a suit, hat, and eyeglasses, looked dapper, as well-dressed,...
Pastor’s Patter
Pulpit Reflections Two heads are better than one. Right?? Well, maybe. Maybe not. Josh Mitchell was clearing brush early in September in Clay Center, Nebraska, when he came upon a small snake with a very rare characteristic. It had two heads! The garter snake also had...
Paster’s Patter
There is an elephant in our house. It is old and heavy and black. It is only about a foot tall, and it has always been in my life. Before the pachyderm resided in my house, it was in my grandparents’ house. Although it belonged to both of my grandparents, whom I...
Pastor’s Patter
Pastor’s Patter February, 2021 I read an advice column which appears in the Lincoln newspaper. Seeing how stupid some people can be makes me feel better about myself. I realize that I have plenty of company in my lapses of judgment and in my deficiencies regarding...
Pastor’s Patter
Pastor’s Patter January, 2021 According to legend, a man goes out to build a bridge so he can more easily travel from one end of his property to the other, but when he arrives at the creek with his measuring tape, he discovers that none of his poles is long enough to...
Pastor’s Patter
Pastor’s Patter December 2020 Some people place bowling trophies on their mantles. It’s okay to put your accomplishments on display, as long as you don’t brag about them. After all, you worked hard for them. Be proud, but don’t gloat. Although I was never even an...
Pastor’s Patter
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) John the Apostle expresses in short form the truth that God became a human and lived among the human race in a specific time and place. This extraordinary event is called “The Incarnation,” a term which...
Pastor’s Patter
In two consecutive years, 1846 and 1847, a quarter of Ireland’s population perished in what is called the “Potato Famine.” That misnomer attributes that disaster solely to natural causes; whereas, the blame can be ascribed to something even more sinister. Other...
Pastor’s Patter
Theodore Roosevelt served as President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. One of his achievements prior to becoming president was being recognized as a well-informed naturalist, having begun collecting specimens of plants, insects, and other animals as a child....
Pastor’s Patter
“Love one another.” (John 13:34) This is Christian love: Behaving in such a way that one’s actions are beneficial to someone else. By that definition, love can be something simple, such as holding a door for someone who is carrying a package or putting a few coins...
Pastor’s Patter
Jesus had a lot to say about wealth. There was a story about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Each had his own reward. The rich man in this life, and the poor man in the next. The lesson has something to say regarding immediate versus delayed gratification....
Pastor’s Patter
Pastor’s Patter May, 2020 A group of men was struggling up a steep hill. Lungs sucking in the night air. Thighs burning from exertion. Sweat streaming down grimy faces. One of the men was named “Reems.” This was no ordinary hill. It was in Korea in the early 1950’s,...
Pastor’s Patter
Pastor’s Patter March, 2020 R.V. Burgin was born and raised in East Texas. He worked hard on the family farm yet found the time to play football on his high school team. His parents took him to Sunday School and church. He grew up believing in God. When war came on...
Pastor’s Patter
A young man sat, angry and alone, in a prison cell. The heavy door opened. An old priest entered the dank cubicle. Without ceremony, he greeted the prisoner with these words, “What did you do?” “The police say I killed a man,” the young man replied. “Was it...
Pastor’s Patter
He was sixteen years old and, although he could not swim, he heard the sea beckon to him. He wanted to be a sailor. There was a problem, however. He resided a few hundred miles from the nearest ocean. But he was determined. As he saw it, the first step to reach his...
Pastor’s Patter
On April 1, 1974, for the first time in the history of the United States, a national speed limit was put into effect. The purpose was to conserve gasoline during the energy crisis. At first, having to drive no faster than 55 miles per hour seemed like an April Fool’s...
Pastor’s Patter
If you were lucky enough to survive the Bataan death march, then you would have found yourself a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, the most brutal prison camp in the Philippians during World War II. Thirty percent of Allied prisoners held in Japanese camps did not...
Pastor’s Patter
Bob, weary from a long day and half a night behind the wheel of his eighteen-wheeler, down- shifted off the California interstate and listened to the engine growl toward a parking spot in the rest area. To him, the non-descript, nearly deserted pit stop seemed to be...
Pastor’s Patter
How then shall we live? After Martin Luther had finished explaining a passage of scripture in a sermon or a lecture, he would ask this question: How then shall we live? Truth had been revealed to Luther’s parishioners or students. They had been enlightened, but the...
Pastor’s Patter
It was battered and scarred and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while, to waste his time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. “What am I bid, good people,” he cried, “Who starts the bidding for me? One dollar? One dollar. Do I hear two? Two...