One of John Wesley’s favorite texts to preach from was ‘Today is the Day of Salvation’— 2 Cor. 6.2. It was also one of my Grandfather’s favorite verses. Here are his reflections. When Jesus started his ministry, he didn’t take a text from the Old Testament, rather he started where the people were, with their concerns about plowing, cooking, fishing, farming, or whatever, in order to lead them to a place where they would face up to the mystery... Read more
A very long time ago, there were a couple of songs by the Doors that suit this movie to a T— ‘People are Strange’ and ‘Strange Days’. On the basis of the last Spiderman movie I was prepared for the confusions involving the multiverse. That didn’t bother me. I was also prepared for Benedict Cumberbatch to do a good job playing a difficult role— Stephen Strange, as he had before. And he did do a good job, although making him... Read more
8/11/74 1 Cor. 11.31— ‘Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God’. In this world where we live, the church is Christ’s organization. It is a place where we worship God, learn his Word, and fellowship with other Christians. The Bible calls the church a holy nation, God’s own people, the household of God, a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, and the body of Christ. These phrases are used to... Read more
10/13/1974 What is the conscience? That little shock of reality which reminds us of what is right and what is wrong. Esau sold his birthright with profane indifference, yet what would he have given years later to have been able to change his father’s mind. What bitter tears a few minutes of pleasure cost him. Ahab said to Elijah when his royal chariot was accosted, ‘Have you found me, oh my enemy’? Why should he say this when a short... Read more
My grandfather, James Arthur West, was a devout Christian, a Baptist by denomination. He regularly did things for his local church, including, it appears, doing brief lessons for his Sunday school class in Wilmington N.C. He was not a college educated man, but he studied and knew his Bible well. My sister discovered spiral notebooks full of these lessons, written out in beautiful cursive script while cleaning out the garage. What follows here for some time is some of them... Read more
(Delivered at Grace UMC on March 26, 2022— Mom passed away Nov 17th of last year, but because of the weather and the age of many of her friends and relatives we postponed the Memorial until then, but held the graveside service in November). First, I want to thank you all for coming and being here to honor our mother on this day. It is a measure of her influence and legacy that we have so many members of... Read more
Mardi Gras of course is a tradition associated with the celebration of the day before the Lenten season when fasting and prayer was supposed to be the focus of life for 40 days. In Mobile and New Orleans this led to parades in colorful costumes (as well as lots of eating and drinking), chiefly involving African Americans. This particular exhibit in the Cameron is of costumes used in an HBO special, modelled on genuine Mardi Gras costumes. Read more
As we said in the last post, the exploration of new or non-traditional media. How about using animated umbrellas to make a point? I only have still pictures of this, and of the ghostly images left on the ceiling. Diane Landry, a Canadian put this together and called it Flying School. This exhibit has periodically shown up at the Cameron Museum since 2005 and is one of the most popular ones. There is precious little religious or historical art in... Read more
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