Conversations with Jesus:James and John and Violence in the Kingdom of GodLuke 9:51-55 Pastor Gary Chorpenning A sermon preached atVenice Presbyterian ChurchCecil Township, PAJanuary 10,2021 We’re living in difficult and unpredictable times. I’ll admit that I had a different sermon planned for today, but the events at the U. S. Capitol this week have caused … Continue reading Pastor Note #107: Violence and the Kingdom of God: a Sermon
Author: gachorpenning
I am a pastor, a husband, and father. A small, town about twenty miles west of Pittsburgh is home currently, though several other places have served that purpose before this. I do some carving in wood and small stones. I like taking photographs and use a lot of them in my blog posts. I've recently taken up fishing for the first time since I was a kid. I'm blessed in that regard to have a very nice trout stream flowing right past my church.
Quote of Note #115: God, Who Is Rich in Mercy
The Spokane River in downtown Spokane, WA; photo by GAC "Perhaps you have difficulty receiving the rich mercy of God in Christ not because of what others have done to you but because of what you've done to torpedo your life, maybe through one, big, stupid decision or maybe through ten thousand little ones. You … Continue reading Quote of Note #115: God, Who Is Rich in Mercy
Pastor Note #106: The Right Kind of Christmas Busyness
Winter in Flagstaff, AZ; photo by GAC What a strange Christmas season this is for us all, unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. I don’t suppose I really need to point that out to anyone, but I mention it just the same. I don’t know whether this Christmas this year has been busier for you than … Continue reading Pastor Note #106: The Right Kind of Christmas Busyness
Quote of Note #114: “The Friend of Sinners”
Photo by GAC "Time and again it is the morally disgusting, the socially reviled, the inexcusable and undeserving, who do not simply receive Christ but to whom Christ most naturally gravitates. He is, by his enemies' testimony, the 'friend of sinners.' (Luke 7:34)." Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and … Continue reading Quote of Note #114: “The Friend of Sinners”
Quote of Note #113: Legitimacy of Government
Photo by GAC "The [ancient] Jews didn't, it seems, care very much how rulers became rulers; so much for our modern ideals of 'legitimacy through voting.' They cared very much what the rulers did once they were in power. Power itself wasn't the problem; it was what you did with it that counted. In our … Continue reading Quote of Note #113: Legitimacy of Government
Pastor Note #105: Ministry in a Time of Pandemic
All over the country, churches are wrestling with decisions about how to do ministry in the midst of a pandemic. This is an on-going challenge, because the circumstances of the pandemic are constantly shifting and changing. Yesterday’s decisions are called into doubt by today’s news. Over the years, I have always found that, … Continue reading Pastor Note #105: Ministry in a Time of Pandemic
Prayer Note #60: A Litany for a Time of Election
A Litany for a Time of Election Forgive us for forgetting that the Lion of Judah is a lamb bearing the marks of slaughter.Give us gentle and humble hearts like yours. Forgive us for seeing other people’s sins while being blind to our own.Give us gentle and humble hearts like yours. Forgive us for defaming … Continue reading Prayer Note #60: A Litany for a Time of Election
Quote of Note #112: The Power of Servanthood, the Strength of Love
photo by GAC "The establishment of God's kingdom means the dethroning of the world's kingdoms, not in order to replace them with another one of basically the same sort (one that makes its way through superior force of arms), but in order to replace it with one whose power is the power of the servant … Continue reading Quote of Note #112: The Power of Servanthood, the Strength of Love
Quote of Note #111: A Prophetic Church
photo by GAC "When the church is the blind, uncritical endorser or 'spiritual' chaplain of whatever a nation decides to do, it has largely renounced its vocation as the body of Christ. It is neither the salt of the earth not a light to the nations. And it has traded its commitment to the witness … Continue reading Quote of Note #111: A Prophetic Church
Pastor Note #104: Partisan Politics, the American Church, and the Kingdom of God
Cross Creek Lake, Avella, PA; photo by GAC During my years of pastoring in central New York state, I was part of a pastors' prayer group that met weekly to pray for each other and our community. All of us in the group were theologically conservative, what is often called “evangelical.” Sometime in 2011, during … Continue reading Pastor Note #104: Partisan Politics, the American Church, and the Kingdom of God
