I’ve been spending a good amount of time the last week or so looking over maps for the East Coast to get familiar with the lay of the land before Alex and I head out for a long weekend trip there the end of the week. One thing that stands out as you look at a map of that area, or really in a lot of places in the United States, is how often the “New” prefix is added to the front of place names. New York, New Hampshire, New England, New Mexico. All of these exist because people were going from their home to a new place, and they had the goal to make the new place like their home, but better. It’ll be like York—but new and better. The region will be like England, but new and better.
"Behold! The Victor!" (Sermon on Revelation 19:11-16) | June 1, 2025
When the clock ticks down on the championship game, it’s not too hard to figure out who won and who lost, even if you don’t look at the score. The body language on both teams will make that clear. In one, you will see joy springing from out of a well of energy they didn’t know they had. In the other, you will see the weight of disappointment hang heavy.
"Absolute Power for Our Eternal Good" (Sermon on Revelation 1:4-8) | November 24, 2024
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If you are watching a movie or reading a book and a character in the story has or acquires the ultimate power to rule, and they don’t start to use that selfishly, at least a little bit, your suspension of disbelief may flounder. We can’t believe anyone who had control of everything around them—all the wealth, all the political and social power—would be truly generous, selfless, and altruistic, using the power to help others rather than helping themselves. It doesn’t make sense because we know that’s not the way things work in this life.
