Shock! Sadness! Lament! Even the Flowers Are Crying! Prayer! This past week a tragic accident happened. A family from Keene United Church were almost all wiped out. Jon, Stephanie and teenage son, Riddick, died in the crash. Only their daughter, Rowghan, also a teen, has survived. She is at Sick Kids hospital with multiple injuries….
We are down to the last sentence of the “Lord’s Prayer”. “For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory, Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13, does not include this sentence. Why, then, did many of us, particularly Protestants, add this sentence? To find an answer, I did some research on Google and found this…
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread “Give us this day our daily bread.” Like every sentence in this prayer, this one has great significance. Of course, I am grateful that I don’t have to worry about having enough to eat. Of course, I pray that all people everywhere will have enough. I don’t want…
Hallowed be Thy name. Without thinking very much, we say this part of the first sentence in our Christian family prayer. It just slips out of our mouths by rote. “Hallowed” is an unusual word in our vocabulary today. It means greatly revered and honoured, set apart. I can think of two reasons why Jesus…
As the New Year bgins, and Covid continues to vex us, I’ve been thinking about the Lord’s Prayer. I remember telling my church kids that this prayer is really a Christian family prayer. People the world over pray the Lord’s Prayer. Years ago, I attended Sunday morning worship on Margarita Island, Venezuela. The service, of…
Over the last fifty years our thanksgiving celebrations have morphed into a focus on family and food. In many homes, God is excluded. Church, family prayers, naming our blessings gets lost in the party. Many of us believe that we’ve earned it all through hard work and intelligence. The beauty of the world, enough to…
Does God Really Answer Prayers? Well, the Bible tells us so. Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” Many times, I have prayed fervently for something, and it felt as if God was busy somewhere else, or had turned off the phone. Friends have told me that God answers every prayer, it’s…
Today, as I leave April behind and step into the sunshine and flowers of spring our Easter story still lingers in my heart. This morning’s “Daily Bread Devotional” drew me back to Jesus’ washing his disciples’ feet. Reflecting on the question, “How do we continue to wash one another’s feet today?” these thoughts came to…