Theology Driven Living
Christians sometimes offer false hope to struggling people because their theology is skewed. Browse a Christian bookstore and check out the titles. Are you drawn to titles like these: You Can be the Wife of a Happy Husband…
Why Could Paul and Silas Sing?
As a young man, Dr. J. I. Packer said: “Theology is bad for one’s soul.” What? This from a world-renowned theologian? Instead of a study of God transforming hard hearts into soft, tender expressions of God’s
Theology Fuels a Broken Hallelujah
Last week we took a quick look at Paul and Silas singing at midnight. Acts 16 tells their story. They were arrested under false pretenses; they were severely beaten, thrown into the inner prison and locked in stocks…
A Contemporary Broken Hallelujah
Several years after Mark’s death God seared into our souls a vivid image of the privilege of corporate worship within our covenant community (i.e., our circle of believing Christians friends) as described in Today’s Treasure - Hebrews 10:25…
Wrestling that Leads to a Broken Hallelujah
Our son Mark’s death stripped away all religious pretenses. I wanted, no I needed to know that everything I had taught, everything I said I believed about the love and sovereignty of God for me, for each of His children was true…
Will You Sing at Midnight?
I know what the title of your next book should be,” our friend said as she greeted us after church. She continued, “Read Acts 16 where Paul and Silas are imprisoned unfairly, and you’ll see why I think the title should be, Will you sing at midnight?”
A Hopeless Mess
Leonard Cohen, author of A Broken Hallelujah was Jewish. For a time he also practiced Buddhism. He was not a professing Christian and there is a dark message in this song as well. In explaining the message of A Broken Hallelujah Cohen said…
Pushing Hallelujah into the Mundane
Frederick Buechner, American author, theologian and preacher among many other things said that praise is not offering God compliments but that we “learn to praise by paying attention.” Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote Today’s Treasure…
A Broken Hallelujah
About a year ago, I was asked to teach a workshop on the topic of grief in the context of ONE Annapolis, a women’s regional conference sponsored by our denomination. As I thought about how to develop my topic, our son, Chuck, preached a message titled A Broken Hallelujah. As I listened…
When the Lights Go Out
It’s likely that I have never walked where you are walking, but I do know what shattered dreams and broken hearts are all about. My husband Chuck and I experienced four years of intense church conflict in an independent…