RickPage

Ash Wednesday February 14, 2018 I can't say I have particularly observed Ash Wednesday.  High church traditions observe Ash Wednesday and Lent.  This would include the Lutheran tradition.  I was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran tradition.  Of course, I can't remember the event.  As a matter of fact, I can't remember attending Lutheran services.  My father's mother was of the Lutheran tradition.  It would be my guess that the baptism was for my grandmother's benefit?  My father died acknowledging God, but questioning Jesus as Son of God.  My mother proudly claims to be a Southern Baptist.  I doubt she could say what makes a Southern Baptist different from most other evangelicals.  She hasn't been a regular churchgoer for decades.  For a short time in my youth, she attended a Southern Baptist congregation regularly.  I was baptized again at the age of twelve in a Southern Baptist church.  This time, it...

Finding Application February 13, 2018 Formal training for the preaching ministry is at the very least intimidating.  Many of us grow up in a church background, so the thought upon entering seminary can sometimes be, “All I need to know is more about the Bible.”  That’s data – information, cold, hard facts.  Information is but the beginning of sermon preparation.  Seminarians enter into study in the fields of philosophy, hermeneutics, ancient languages, oratory training, theology, doctrine, history and a mind-numbing collection of arts, sciences, and varied fields. And that is but the beginning. When I began, you bought, and read, books – may, many books.  Today, the investment is in computer programs and digital libraries.  My library numbers in the thousands.  A preacher is not worth his/her salt unless there is a vast library at hand. That was until I was humbled by a preacher from a third world country whose library consisted of just f...