Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
The Audacity of a Resurrection Testimony
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on April 24, 2011. John 20:1-18 The Resurrection of Jesus 20Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary...
For more than a day
Half-priced Peanut M&Ms — that I will now write off as a business expense. Photo by John Pierce. Easter is not over. The celebration is meant to last for more than one grand and glorious day. Three reminders: 1....
The morning after
Every year I wake up on Easter Monday morning and wonder how the people closest to Jesus felt on the morning after the most shocking event of their lives. Did they finally get a good night's sleep after such a restless...
Just How Long Did Jesus Stay in the Tomb?
(RNS) As Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Easter, they will follow a familiar chronology: Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on “the third day,” in the words of the ancient Nicene Creed....
Simple Churches Find a Foothold Across U.S.
(RNS) This weekend, Jeanne O’Hair, her friends and family will raise their voices in Easter hymns “as the spirit leads us,” she says, in her “house church”—O’Hair’s living room in Brea, Calif. In a metal outbuilding at...
Pope Says Comatose Can Still Feel Presence of Family
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI told a mother that her comatose son can feel her “presence” and “love,” even if he is “unable to understand the details” or her “words.” Benedict answered questions in a rare Good...
Polls Support Taxing Rich as Deficit Debate Deepens
President Barack Obama says he wants to end President George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Republican leaders say "no" to taxes. Americans say tax the rich. The debate over taxes has begun with...
Immigration: An Opportunity to Truly Love Our Neighbor
The other day, some fellow Georgians and I were informally discussing the potential effects of the recent immigration legislation (H.B. 87) passed by the Georgia House and Senate. The sub-topic was constitutional...
Personal Hospitality Not Enough to Aid Vulnerable
The other day we buried Mary O'Connor, a woman who lived her faith every day by living out the central teaching of the Bible: to love God and neighbor seamlessly. She lived with her eyes wide open and noticed every...
Easter has no equal
Photo by John Pierce By John Pierce It doesn’t solve all of life’s mysteries or remove our daily struggles. But Easter assures us that love ultimately wins out over all else. The worst things we can experience...
Sound familiar?
By John Pierce Periodical cicadas are now emerging in Macon’s Wesleyan Woods. Evidence of the variety that appears like clockwork on a 13-year cycle can be seen throughout our wooded backyard....
Digital Moses
So, it's Good Friday and I officially have the day off but a blog is due: how does one cope? Easy: by cheating, and just passing on a link to a ridiculously funny video from aish.com that I don't think has gone viral...
Good reminders
From the remains of the 14th century Coventry Cathedral in England., bombed in WWII. Photo by John Pierce.By John Pierce Good Friday reminds us of the deadly consequences of fear, ignorance and hatred. While...
Study: Congregations Slowly Recovering from Recession
(RNS) The recession was a double-barrel blow to American congregations: directly hurting their budgets while also stretching them thin due to increased needs for counseling, emergency housing and other social services....
Mormon Men Delaying the Walk Down the Aisle
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) John Evans is in no hurry to get married. The 25-year-old returned LDS missionary lives with his parents, works full time, takes night classes toward an English degree and, with law school looming,...
Supreme Court Limits Prisoners’ Right to Sue
WASHINGTON (RNS) Prison inmates who are deprived of their religious rights cannot sue states for monetary damages, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (April 20). Inmate Harvey Leroy Sossamon III said a Texas state...
Resurrection: More Than Just Life After Death
This week Christians around the world will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is viewed by Christian believers just about everywhere as the foundation of Christianity. They assert that by raising...
Finding a Way to Defeat the Fear of Death
I'll spare you the overworked cliché regarding death and taxes. It's only half true anyway. Anymore, taxes are as uncertain as the weather. The only thing about which you can really be certain is death itself. You will...
In World of Sinking Sand, Faith Keeps Us Grounded
Our faith is always on the move. Abraham is told to "go," without first knowing where he was going. Moses bounces back and forth between the wilderness and Egypt until he is finally commissioned and empowered to lead...
Do Not Weep for Me
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on April 17, 2011. Luke 23:26-43 Morning Prayer: Father, we ask your forgiveness for times when we are shaped more by the values of this age...
From Palm Branches to Open Palms
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on April 17, 2011. Matthew 21:1-11 From all over the world, Christians are gathering on the Mount of Olives about this...