Texts: Genesis 11:1-9; John 1:1-5, 14 Finding the Right Word Texts: Genesis 11:1-9; John 1:1-5, 14 (Gary W. Charles, Cove Presbyterian Church, 5-31-2020) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. Then more words came and more words followed after those words and the words are still coming. You and I are awash in words. Often dreaded words, doublespeak words, deadly words. Dirty shades deflect the bright light of the newly risen sun pouri

Texts: Exodus 20:1-2, 8-10; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Mark 2:23-28 Oddly enough, during this quarantined time, I have lost sight of Sabbath. How is that possible? In typical times, I am often going in a thousand different directions, but in these Alice in Wonderland days, mostly, I am just going from one room to the next. So, how could I have lost sight of Sabbath? As a child, I knew exactly when and where to find Sabbath. Sabbath meant putting on a dress shirt, a clip-on bow tie,

Text: John 20:19-31 The main character in John’s story is known by his nickname, “Doubting” Thomas. Read the story again. Read it carefully. Read it not for what you want the story to say, but for what John is trying to say. When you do, you will see that Thomas is many things in this story, but doubting is not one of them. Unfortunately, the story often is translated with Jesus telling Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe.” A much better translation from the Greek is: “Do not b

Texts: Psalm 23; Colossians 1:15-20 Shirley Murray, a Presbyterian hymnwriter from New Zealand, died in January of this year. One of my favorite Murray hymns is based on an old aboriginal saying, “Touch the Earth Lightly.” In stanza one, she writes: “Touch the earth lightly, use the earth gently, nourish the life of the world in our care: gift of great wonder, ours to surrender, trust for the children tomorrow will bear.” Anyone at Cove knows that I should be the last in line