Psalm 1 – Bible Reading Notes

Posted on February 23, 2007

Psalm 1

Happy are those who stand with God. The wicked are not so happy. In this Psalm the wicked are giving faulty advice. They scoff at God and truth. In contrast the righteous meditate on God’s word and law. So they stand in the Judgement.

What do I do? Do I stand with the righteous or the wicked? Do I delight in the law of the Lord or do I scoff at it? Do I make fun of those who stand for truth come what may? Becasue if I am not on the side of the righteous then the Lord who watches over the righteous will execute Judgment on me.

Books for Learning to Preach in the Black Tradition

Posted on February 20, 2007

Well I did a Amazon Book list a few years ago and thought I would update it. I updated it there, but I also wanted to post the list here. So here are some books to help you learn to preach in the African American Tradition

Genesis 2 – God Created Community

Posted on February 20, 2007

Genesis 2

Genesis 2 gives us the second creation story. In this complementary story God goes through great pains to make all of the inhabitants of earth to live in community. The birds were made to be in community, the other animals as well had their community. And the final thing that God made was the man.

Genesis 1 – Order Out of Disorder

Posted on February 19, 2007

Genesis 1

Genesis 1 paints the picture of a God that brings order out of the disorder. The earth was “without form and void” and after God speaks the earth becomes a paradise. As I think about this I come face to face with the reality of the disorder that we still find in the world.

Matthew 1:18-25 – O Come Emmanuel

Posted on February 16, 2007

Matthew 1:18-25

O Come O Come Emmanuel, and Ransom Captive Israel. So goes the Advent hymn. God will be with us. Our story reminds us how this came about. God chose to become human in a way that is at the same time normal and abnormal. God became human by the Holy Ghost impregnating a young woman which is very abnormal. But God came into the world through a woman which is very normal. We all are born of a woman.

Acts 1:12-26 – Justus was there

Posted on February 13, 2007

Acts 1:12-26

Two individuals were chosen by the group as possible replacements for Judas. One Matthias and the other Justus. Both Matthias and Justus were only mentioned in the Bible in this one place, but they stood with Jesus and followed for the whole time. We know that they both were true followers. They had been with the movement from the baptism of John through the great difficulties of the death and resurrection.

Psalm 2 – Why Do the Nations Conspire?

Posted on February 10, 2007

Psalm 2

Why do the nations Conspire against the Lord and The Lord’s Annointed? This question has got to be a rhetorical question. Why do they conspire? They conspire because they are wicked. They conspire because they do not like what God is doing in the world. They conspire because God is threatening their hold on the world.

Yes the nations conspire against the Lord and our scripture tells us that God is going to set up God’s annointed to bring down these powers. Then the Psalm turns to these leaders and appeals to them, stand with God or be destroyed.

Matt 1:1-17 – Bible Reading Notes

Posted on February 8, 2007

Matt 1:1-17

This is a geneology of Jesus Christ. What is of interest to me is that most geneologies in the Bible do not include women at all. However this one does include women. Why the difference here?

Why Include Women?

Praying with Pure Praise

Posted on February 7, 2007

Let the Whole Church Say Amen!: A Guide for Those Who Pray in PublicThis book is for those who have to pray in public. I have decided to work my way through this book and post the exercises to this website.