Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Part 2

By Rev. Dr. J. Patrick Bowman In verses 15-20, we see what had happened and what was happening. Woe for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destructionfrom the Almighty. (Joe 1:15 NASB) This verse is our first real clue that the judgment that came was not

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Part 1

By Rev. Dr. J. Patrick Bowman “OYEZ, OYEZ, OYEZ” is a cry originating long ago when a small village or larger city would appoint and pay men to act as town criers. Often, they would sound a bell with their cry, which means “Hear ye, Hear ye.” It would alert all hearers to be still,

Walking Circumspectly

Western society is in a time of upheaval and uncertainty. Mores and morals are being turned on their heads as forces, seen and unseen, attempt to implement a new way of thinking and living. The changes we are experiencing now have evolved slowly over the last half-century, a little here and little there, line upon

How to Handle Perceived Blessings

Have you ever received a gift and found out much later that what you thought was a blessing ends up a curse? Have you ever been deceived by a bad thing masquerading as a good thing? Have you ever put all your eggs in the one basket with the broken handle? Max Lucado, in his

A Mother’s Pantry of Ponderings

Women in general and mothers in particular have a nurturing aspect in their souls that men just don’t have. It has nothing to do with love because men can love as genuinely as women. It’s a sixth sense of being female, something they have and are meant to have because they are able to handle

Seeing from the Right Perspective

Psalm 73, a Psalm of Asaph 1Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!  2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.  3For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  4For there are no pains in

Blessings or Curses…You Decide

Our reading this morning is from Deuteronomy 30:9-20: 9″ Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good,

How Low Are You Willing to Go for God’s Sake?

Our reading today is 1 Corinthians 2:1-5: And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and

The Foolishness of God

A reading from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31: 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, ” I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL

When Jesus Comes a Calling

Matthew 4:12-23 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ” THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE