When the Escalator Breaks Down (Jacob’s Ladder)

July 24, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Sermon preached on 7/23/2011 at Burke UMC Lifesign service Text: Genesis 27-28 (Jacob’s ladder with back-story of stealing blessing from Esau) [Note: The motif for this sermon was inspired by this video that we saw at a Virginia conference provisional elders’ retreat. I showed the video before preaching the sermon so watch it before reading. It’s hilarious and the sermon might not make sense without it.] Everything was falling into place. Jacob’s life was like an escalator going up to... Read more

An Answer for the Taunting: Monster-Psalm Meditation #6

July 20, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Psalm 119:41-48 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise. Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word. Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your ordinances. (more…) Read more

Turning from Vanity: Monster-Psalm Meditation #5

July 19, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Psalm 119:33-40 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. (more…) Read more

Clinging to the Dust: Monster-Psalm Meditation # 4

July 19, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Psalm 119:25-32 My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word. When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes. (more…) Read more

From self-justification to mercy

July 17, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Like many other evangelicals in my generation, I’ve got a kind of rage inside of me that keeps me awake at night. It comes from looking around and feeling convicted that we Christians have become exactly what Jesus came to Earth to stop us from being. We have become the same as the Pharisees who made it necessary for Jesus to come to Earth in the first place. We have taken the Word that was given to us as a... Read more

Alien or Alienating? Monster-Psalm Meditation # 3

July 15, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

The first two sections of Psalm 119 described the psalmist’s love for God’s law and meditation on the question of “how young people can keep their way pure.” In this third section, we encounter conflict for the first time. The psalmist describes being persecuted and alienated and calls upon God for deliverance. Much hinges on how we understand the nature of this alienation. (more…) Read more

What will we do when the poor get cut off?

July 14, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Three years ago, I paid one of the first pastoral visits of my first field education internship. A girl named Dunia was in the hospital with severe appendicitis. Her mother Maribel was very distraught because she had already lost a daughter when she lived in rural Mexico where the health care system is much less adequate. (more…) Read more

Purity is more than sex: Monster-Psalm Meditation # 2

July 12, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Psalm 119:9-16 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments. (more…) Read more

Loving the Law: Monster-Psalm Meditation # 1

July 11, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

I’ve decided to start doing devotions as part of my blog. I wanted to start with the monster-psalm — 119, which has 176 verses, taking on one section at a time. So here is Psalm 119:1-8: Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, (more…) Read more

A Beer with a Calvinist: Reflecting on the Meaning of Hesed

July 10, 2011 By Morgan Guyton

Three years ago I responded to a post on my church history TA David Fink’s Facebook page. I quickly started arguing with a friend of David’s named Paul who was basically on the opposite end of the theological spectrum from me: he was a Calvinist. I decided to add Paul as my Facebook friend because I wanted to have at least one Calvinist friend so I could try to understand them better and possibly grow in my faith as well.... Read more