Good evening, friend! As you know, I write this blog each evening because I want to offer you encouragement and comfort as you prepare to take your night’s rest. On this third night of Holy Week, I would like to offer a different kind of encouragement…and forgive me for taking longer than I normally do; […]
Read More… from Sleep on This: Virtual communion‚Äîis it permitted? (April 7)
Good evening, friend. As we enter Holy Week, I pray your soul is well, that you are learning to live in shalom, regardless of your circumstances, and that you are soaking in the teaching of Rabbi Paul who models for us what it means to live in hopeful joy even when—ESPECIALLY when—life circumstances are hard. […]
My dear Chapel Hill family, 2 Chronicles 7:14 makes this promise: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Well, our land needs healing. Our […]
I wish I were more tech-savvy! Especially right now when so much of our Chapel Hill community is being handled virtually. But honestly, I’m still figuring this stuff out. For instance, did you know that if you subscribe to the Chapel Hill YouTube page and select the bell icon, you can be notified about all […]
Read More… from Virtual Maundy Thursday and the confessions of a tech-stunted pastor
Good evening friend. There are parts of this COVID-19 journey that are a pain, of course. But there are many aspects of this rhythm that have become sweet to me. Among them is this: my father calls me nearly every day to check on me. One might argue that it ought to be the other […]
Read More… from Sleep on This: April 3 – the Name above all names
Good Evening Friend! How is your soul this night? I pray that these bedtime chats will be helpful in realigning your thoughts and prayers before you enter into that great gift which is good sleep. I’ve said repeatedly that Philippians 2 is holy ground. In the opening verses, Paul admonishes his readers to: live humbly; […]
From 1935-1937, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hung by the Nazis in the closing days of World War II, served as the leader of an underground seminary called Finkenwalde. There, young pastors were prepared to serve the Confessing Church, the German Christians who ultimately stood in opposition to Hitler and his state-sanctioned church. During that time […]
Good evening dear friend. Crises such as that which we are facing bring out the best and the worst in people, including Christians. As I mentioned two nights ago, when we turn to Philippians 2, we are standing on scriptural holy ground, both for what it teaches us about ourselves AND about Jesus. For that […]
Read More… from Sleep on This: Having the Mind of Christ (March 31)
Good evening friend! I ask it frequently, but how is your soul? Truly? Are you at peace? Are you finding yourself adapting to this new normal? I pray so—and I pray these little evening conversations are a help. I feel so much better, physically! I fought a bronchitis-cough for three weeks but have finally begun […]
Read More… from Sleep on This – March 30: walking in the harbor
At the time of Jesus, shepherds often had a kind of co-op sheep pen. Several shepherds would all put their sheep in the pen together at night. But how, in the morning, could they separate their sheep, one flock from another? Simple! The sheep knew the voice of their shepherd. All he had to do […]