by Peter James | Sep 24, 2024 | Paul Dunbar
Here’s a quote worth pondering: “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” While it’s commonly attributed to Oscar Wilde, no one is quite sure where the quote originates. The Psalmist expresses a similar sentiment, “I praise you, Lord, for I...
by Peter James | Sep 23, 2024 | Augustine of Hippo
When I was a pastoral newbie in the 1970s, the cathartic approach to anger was all the rage. The let-it-all-out method of venting anger was in vogue and counselors even created “rage rooms” so clients could blow off steam. Recent research has called this...
by Peter James | Sep 22, 2024 | Isaiah 33
I’ve been reading the Old Testament book of Isaiah. There are parts of Isaiah I like, and sections I don’t like. The prophet Isaiah doesn’t hold back with judgment when God’s people make a mess of things. As I came to Isaiah 33, I thought to...
by Peter James | Sep 21, 2024 | Frederick Grundtvig
I still possess a copy of the first sermon I preached when I was called to the pastorate. What strikes me as I reread it is my strong desire to be liked. While I tried to faithfully interpret Matthew 28, I cannot lie: I desperately wanted people to like me, knowing...
by Peter James | Sep 20, 2024 | Prudence Randall
Psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Victor Frankl wrote a groundbreaking book in 1946, Man’s Search for Meaning, referencing Frederich Nietzsche’s quote, “He who has a why can bear with almost any how.” What Prudence Randall (1803-1890) did in...
