Connecting the Generations

When I was a young man, there was a popular American R&B group called Earth, Wind and Fire. My friends and I used to call this group “the Elements,” because, according to our science teacher, the four elements were earth, air, fire, and water. In 1997, a science fiction action movie was released called “The Fifth Element.” In this movie, a taxicab driver tries to save the world from destruction by evil. His weapon consisted of four stones that contained the energies of the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, and water), and a human-like being that contained a fifth element. In order for the weapon to be effective, the power of the first four elements had to be combined with the fifth element. Once they were combined, the weapon became a divine light that destroys evil. What was this fifth element? Love. And love is divine! The greatest of all the natural elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and the greatest of all the supernatural elements (faith, hope and charity...

On November 19, 2016, I had the privilege of delivering the charge at the marriage of my nephew, Felix Beneby, to Aneka Rolle at St. Agnes Anglican Church in Nassau, The Bahamas. I want to share that charge with those of you who are thinking of marriage in this month of love and those of you who are already married. Felix and Aneka, the marriage you have entered into today is not just for yourself and it is not just for your physical enjoyment. Your marriage is for the glory of God, the strengthening of your community, and the continuation of God’s new society. Marriage for the Glory of God Marriage is God’s image on earth of Christ’s love for His church; His love for the new human race of which Jesus is the head. So whether you want it to be or not, your marriage will be a picture to the world of how Jesus Christ loves and cares for His people. This is a serious responsibility. Paul tells us just how serious it is in Ephesians 5:25-33:   Husbands, love your wives,...

February is the month when everybody is thinking and talking about love. Love is on everybody’s mind: not the “ordinary” love, but the kind of love that causes people to say things they don’t mean. A young man was talking to the love of his life on the telephone: “Honey, I love you so much! I’d climb the highest mountain, swim the deepest seas just to be with you.” “Aww,” she cooed, “I love you too! Why don’t you come over?” “I would love to,” he replied, “but it’s raining.” Before you say something or commit to someone in the name of love this month, I want you to do a little test to make sure that what you are going after or trying to keep is truly love. Whether we are talking about feelings between a mother and child (storge), husband and wife (eros), church members (philia), or neighbors (agape), I believe there is one standard for love. Love is patient Love is kind Love does not envy Love does not boast Love is not proud    Love does not dishonor others...

" No man can do a great and enduring work for God who is not a man of prayer, and no man can be a man of prayer who does not give much time to praying- E.M. Bounds "If we ever forget our basic character-My house is a house of prayer-we might as well close the church doors" -James Stewart "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world"- Karl Barth "Focusing on the personal prayer life only would be equivalent to trying to fly a plane on one wing"- John  Franklin "What we cannot obtain by solitary prayer we may by social... because where our individual strength fails, there union and concord are effectual" Chrysostom 400 AD "Prayer raises my sight beyond the petty or as in Job's case dire circumstances of daily life to afford a glimpse of that lovely perspective. Philip Yancey Prayer Model/ The Lord's Prayer Luke 11:1-4 Seven major topics that represents Seven Basic Human Needs Our...

I think it is safe to say that most of us will be making New Year’s resolutions in the days to come; and this is a good thing, because resolutions show that we want to improve our lives. Usually we want to improve our physical appearance; so we make a resolution to lose weight. Or we want to improve our career; so we make a resolution to return to school and get a degree. And we might want to improve our social or family life; so we make a resolution to get out more often or to spend more time with the family. But do you know there is a kind of resolution that can improve every area of our lives? In fact, Jesus Himself said that when we practice these “resolutions” we would be blessed and enjoy God’s favor. They are the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. Make them your New Year’s resolutions for a truly happy new year. New Year’s Resolutions ¨        Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . I will wait patiently and humbly on God and not try to force...

About fifteen years ago, when I was pastor at the Blue Hill Road Community Church in The Bahamas, I mounted a Christmas display outside the church building. It was a life-size manger scene with hay and still animals, but no Mary, no Joseph, and no baby Jesus. There was only a banner that read, “The Manger Is Empty.” O my goodness! I received so much feedback that Christmas from fellow ministers, church members, and passersby. “Boy, what you tryin’ to do!?” Some wanted to know what I meant by “the manger is empty.” Some took offense at the banner, believing it to be an anti-Christmas statement; it was not. My goal in mounting that manger scene was to disturb my members and churchgoers and everyone who saw it. I wanted to challenge them from thinking about Christmas as a fairytale story that we re-enact each year about a baby Jesus. I wanted to remind them that the Jesus who was born in a manger, who walked this earth teaching and healing, who suffered and died and was resurrect...

Did you see the story about the two moose ? A man in western Alaska discovered two pairs of antlers sticking up out of the ice. It seems two moose had been fighting and one had been injured. Unfortunately, while fighting the antlers locked and the moose that had won the fight—so to speak—was not able to free itself from the injured moose. The result? Both moose were dragged to their death and frozen in time. People can unite to do good or evil. This story illustrates what can happen when people come together to do wrong. We might think we can hurt one another and then simply move on, unscathed, but we are wrong. The truth is that we are inextricably linked as human beings. And as Christians, we are “one body,” the body of Christ. If we come together to cause harm to a fellow human being or a brother or sister in Christ, we will suffer the same hurt as they. Unity comes with a price: In unity, what affects one will affect the whole. So, the next time you are tempted or inv...