There are several steady coffee mugs in my life. In our kitchen cabinets at home, we have quite a stable of coffee mugs. Coffee mugs seem to just accumulate over time. Recently, we cleared some of them out because we were running out of room on the shelves. I’m willing to drink coffee out of … Continue reading Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus
Tag: Gary Chorpenning
Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)
It was Tuesday noontime. I had gone into the big, dark Romanesque sanctuary of my church in downtown Columbus, Ohio for a weekly prayer meeting with a handful or so of people, mostly not members of my congregation but rather folks who worked downtown and constituted part of my weekday ancillary congregation. As I sat … Continue reading Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)
Prayer Note #38 — The Voice
Oh, Lord, how I long to be intimately familiar with your voice. Your voice is full of power -- whether you speak with rock-breaking loudness or whether you whisper quietly in my ear. Your voice is full of soul-transforming power. Let that powerful voice pierce to the center of my mind, to the core of my … Continue reading Prayer Note #38 — The Voice
Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning
Lord, the sun is warm and pleasant on my back. The birds of all sorts are chirping and twittering in the trees around me this morning. Lily, my gracious, canine companion, is lying beside me with her chin on the bottom rail looking out into the backyard, watching everything and nothing in particular, patient and … Continue reading Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning
Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok
The tinkling of sheep bells was the last sound audible to him fading away up the path and over th hill on the other side of the small river. The crunch of foot and hoof on the sandy gravel of the path had been lost to him fist, washed away by the splash and rush … Continue reading Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok
Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life
Here I am, Lord. It's a little before 5:00 A.M., and I've been awake for a half an hour or so, lying in bed, my mind wandering from thought to thought. I seem to be done sleeping, though the clock tells me that I shouldn't be. Have you wakened me for some reason? Or is … Continue reading Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life
Prayer Note #35 — A Prayer for Artists and Artisans
Thanks you, Lord, that you have led me to discover the pleasures of making things with my hands -- durable things that last, things that can be appealing to the eye, things that show the natural beauties of the wood and stone that you have made and the metals you have shown us how to … Continue reading Prayer Note #35 — A Prayer for Artists and Artisans
Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin
Though I am mired in sin, yet still have mercy on me, O Father and Lord of my life. Capture my every thought and all the impulses of my being. Make me yours in every facet of my life, so that I might have peace and full redemption in every branch and twig and leaf … Continue reading Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin
Pastor Note #42–A Boy on the Streets, Part 2
When he realized that I was having trouble making out what he had written, he began to be distressed. I tried to give the impression that I understood everything he had written on the sheet in my hands, but it must have been obvious that I didn't. Jordan had appeared at the church door again, … Continue reading Pastor Note #42–A Boy on the Streets, Part 2
Pastor Note #41–From the Earliest Days
From my earliest days, I have been part of a Presbyterian church. Much of my extended family was actively involved in the life and ministry of that church. Although the congregation of my youth was biblically grounded, it was not especially remarkable compared to other churches in the community. About the time … Continue reading Pastor Note #41–From the Earliest Days
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 