“Everybody comes to Rick’s.”
Yes, I do. It’s called Rick’s Recipes, and it has all the recipes that are here on this blog and more, 52 in all. Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Karl Barth and Thomas Merton died on this day in 1968
Thomas Merton and Karl Barth died on this day in 1968, Barth in Basel at the age of 82, and Merton in Bangok, Thailand at the age of 53. They couldn’t have been more different, but they both were powerful influences on me. Back on this day in 2009 I wrote a post called “An Appreciation: Thomas Merton and Karl Barth.” To read it go here. Continue reading
“Finish, then, Thy new creation!” A Devotion on Romans 8: 22-23
By Richard L. Floyd
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” – Romans 8: 22-23
The Advent hope recognizes that there is something unfinished about God’s creation. In today’s passage from Romans Paul employs the metaphor of childbirth, the “whole creation groaning in labor pains,” to describe the ongoing process of creation. Continue reading
Rick’s Spicy Shrimp with Peanut Sauce
Variations on this dish are a staple in our house. If you have a well-seasoned wok, by all means use it. A 12 -inch skillet will also do nicely. I’ve been pleased with wild caught Argentinian Red shrimp, which I buy frozen and thaw out under cold running water. Continue reading
“Thy Kingdom Come!” A Sermon for Christ the King (Reign of Christ) Sunday
In every congregation I have known, including this one, we pray each week the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. And in that prayer is the petition that “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Today, I would like to explore with you what that prayer might mean. What does it mean to pray for the kingdom to come? What is the kingdom of God? And, on this Sunday when the church celebrates Christ the King, what does it mean to say that Christ is king? And what kind of King might he be? Continue reading
“Enough” by Cassidy Hutchinson
“Enough” by Cassidy Hutchinson. Simon and Schuster, 2023. 363 pages.
Last Sunday in church, during the “Joys and Concerns” a joy was lifted up for the birth of a baby girl named Cassidy. She will not be the last of the Cassidys named after the poised young women in the white blazer. Cassidy Hutchinson became a household name when she testified to the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. How that brave young woman got to that witness stand is the story of this compelling memoir. Continue reading
“All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir” by Beth Moore
Beth Moore and I are both Christians, but we are not from the same tribe. Much like Shiites and Sunnis arguing over the true Islam, Moore and I have our differences. She has lived her life in Southern White American Evangelicalism and I’ve lived mine in the rocky vineyard of New England Congregationalism. Continue reading
My Top Ten Posts of 2022
Once again, as the old year passes and the new year beckons, it has been my custom to look back at my most popular posts of the year. I started this blog back in 2009, and to my surprise, 2022 was its best year yet. It had 81,415 views and 62,614 visitors. Continue reading
“He Came to Earth that Winter Night” A Christmas Hymn
(I wrote this hymn in 2009. You are free to use it in public worship with attribution. To see other hymn of mine go here. The picture is from a concert I sang in with Berkshire Lyric Chorus on Friday, December 9, 2022 at St Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. I’m second from right in the top row. For a YouTube video of the concert go here.)
“He came to dwell among us” A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25:
When I retired from active ministry in 2004, I recall thinking, “I’ll never preach an Easter or a Christmas sermon ever again.” And I wondered about Advent, which is my favorite season of the church year. Would I ever preach another Advent sermon? Turns out this year I’m preaching two. The first Sunday of Advent was really early. We’d hardly digested our Thanksgiving turkey when the first Sunday of Advent came along. Some of you know my daughter is a pastor in Rhode Island. We were going to be around anyway, so she said “Hey dad, could you preach for me and give me a Sunday off? So, I preached on the first Sunday of Advent, and here I am on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, because Brent (our pastor) asked me to preach. So I bookended this holy season, which makes me glad, because I love Advent.
When I Survey . . . 