PastoralLetterfor a Distributed Church April 17, 2020 Dear friends, Since we're now five weeks into life in pandemic-land, Dr. Silvernail thought it would be a nice change of pace for me to put together this week's pastoral letter. This will be a bit different than the previous ones. I figured I would take this chance to share some of what I keep coming back to in ...
Keep ReadingThis week, we're back on schedule in The Gospel of Mark. We jumped around the last few weeks to have the right texts for Palm Sunday and Easter, but now we're back in Mark 9:14-29. If you remember, the last passage we studied in Mark 9 was The Transfiguration, which was a literal "mountaintop experience." But now the disciples have come down off the mountain, only to be me...
Keep ReadingPastoral Letter for a Distributed Church April 9, 2020 Dear friends, The above graphic is a good reminder of the season we're in. It's Thursday of Holy Week as I write this, and I don't know about you, but it doesn't feel like Holy Week. The reality of not being together seems to have sunk in a little more this week. We finished filming our Good Friday service this mo...
Keep ReadingThis week we're having multiple services for Holy Week. We'll start with a traditional Good Friday afternoon service that will look at "The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross." It will be a shorter service consisting largely of Scripture readings and prayers. It will be followed by a Good Friday evening service, with further meditations on the "Seven Last Words" from ...
Keep ReadingPastoral Letter for a Distributed Church April 1, 2020 Dear friends, The above description of God is a good kick-off to our 30 Days of Prayer for the month of April. The PCA Committees and Agencies, as well as pastors and elders of the General Assembly, want to invite you to join them in 30 Days of Prayer for our churches, our nation, and the world. The last few weeks h...
Keep ReadingThis week we're back in The Gospel of Mark. As it's Palm Sunday, we're skipping over to the text on The Triumphal Entry, Mark 11:1-11. Every year on Palm Sunday, children enter our worship service with palm branches, delightfully waving to the congregation in celebration of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. Obviously, we won't be able to do that in this year of social distanci...
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