Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘But wait…!”
By John Pierce The early bird gets the worm. The early Saturday morning TV viewer gets infomercials. Ladders, jewelry, teeth whiteners, hair removers, facial regenerators, coins, food processors, ovenware, exercise...
“Skyfall”
Considering the marketing excess and product tie-ins behind any Bond movie, not to mention the Red Bull extreme stunt, I was half expecting Felix Baumgartner to be falling from the sky in the new Bond film. Look...
After the Election, Let’s Discuss Ideas with Civility
The election season has finally, mercifully come to an end. Whether "your" candidate won or lost, we all share the same circumstances - namely, a divided and polarized nation. If you thought the inflammatory rhetoric,...
“Flight”
Sometimes a movie's marketing doesn't do it justice. "Flight" is a good example. Watching the trailers and ads for it makes it seem like the movie is about a plane crash and how a brave pilot saved the passengers. But...
Great Themes of the Bible: People of God
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 4, 2012. 1 Peter 2:1-12 Morning Prayer: Good and Gracious God, we continue to pray for the residents of the East Coast. We ask...
Investing in God’s Kingdom
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Senior Minister, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on November 4, 2012. Ephesians 1:15-23 This morning, however, I will be addressing the confluence of two topics...
Precious Memories
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on November 4, 2012. Luke 22:14-23 Communion Devotion Did you grow up in a church which observed All Saints Day? I did not, but have...
The Least and the Lowly
A sermon delivered Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on November 4, 2012. The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost Ruth 1:1-18 Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44; Hebrews 9:24-28 This is the day...
Balcony People
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 4, 2012. All Saints Sunday Psalm 24:1-10; Revelation 21:1-6a Heidi Neumark, a Lutheran pastor in New York City,...
Ruth: an Unlikely Saint
A sermon delivered by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., on November 4, 2012. All Saints’ Sunday Ruth 1:1-18 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain...
The Kingdom of God, Public Policy, and Judgment
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 4, 2012. Matthew 25:31-46 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on...
Great Themes of the Bible: Faith
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on October 28, 2012. Hebrews 11:1-3 Meditation Text:There is no faith, as such, apart from conduct. Real faith always means obedience to God;...
Election Night Brings Marriage, Marijuana, More of Same
After months of campaigning and billions of dollars spent, Americans woke up Wednesday morning to a familiar political landscape. Although few changes will occur in the makeup of leaders in Washington, critical...
U.S., Global Evangelicals Differ on Obama’s Win
This is kind of a sermon on Romans 14, only without any direct reference to that text. "I shall never forget a night in New York City in which Enda [McDonagh; Irish Roman Catholic theologian] told a group of...
Baptists Respond to Severe Flooding in Nigeria
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has awarded $10,000 for flood relief in Nigeria after torrential rains killed more than 360 people, injured more than 18,000, caused widespread property damage and displaced more than...
Pillar of the community
By John Pierce Community is a really good word. It may refer to a hometown, a congregation or any group of persons who share life and love. Finding or creating community keeps us from living in isolation. Community is...
All together now …
As a huge sigh of post-election relief sweeps over the nation (except for the Sandy-pounded areas about to get slammed by a snowy nor'easter), the question is no longer "Who will get elected?" but "Will anything...
Church Attendance Wasn’t Always Robust in Past
Suddenly it has dawned on pundits and publics that decline in religious affiliation and participation demands notice. Editorials on the subject abound. Some of these celebrated the liberation of society from religion,...
Skype Interview: Sister Simone Campbell on Justice in Democracy
"Justice is all about everyone having access to the basic necessities of life that serve their human dignity," says a Catholic sister. Sister Simone Campbell is executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social...
Faith Communities May Help Bond Fractured Country After Election
What holds us together? Ray Waddle, editor of Reflections, a publication of the Yale Divinity School, addresses that question with a story. He writes about artist Michael Seri, who was traumatized after 9/11 and sought...
Will Sandy’s Havoc Lead Us to Care for the Earth?
Hurricane Sandy was worse than anyone had imagined it to be. I have seen countless horrible images of mayhem. I can barely believe the reports. I cannot believe that some homes were burned down while others were buried...