God's Gift of Scripture with Belton Joyner

When our retirement home was about to be built, my wife and I drove out to the site to enjoy its construction. All we saw was a pile of lumber. That didn’t look like much of a house! But when we came back the next time, those lengths of wood had been put together and we could begin to see the shape of the place where we would live. Peter says that each of us believers is like a stone (1 Peter 2:4)...

Holy Communion is one of the sacred moments in the life of the Church. Nevertheless, some very funny and unusual things have happened at the Lord’s Table. 

Back when I was in college, I decided to go out for the track team. This was new for me; my high school did not have a track team, so I had a lot to learn! One of my new teammates invited me to his dorm room and spent a couple of hours teaching me how to get a good burst at the start line. Coach Wilson pulled me aside at practice and showed me how to pace myself in a longer race. 

When Matthew tells the Gospel story, he ends by telling how the story is to be passed on (Matthew 28:16-20). Guess what! It’s in our hands. Jesus is still with those of us who follow Him, but His instructions to the disciples (and to us) is to make disciples, baptize, teach, and obey. 

Have you ever been reading the Bible—shall we say, more or less routinely—when suddenly something jumps out at you? That happened to me last Sunday at our Sunday School class. We were discussing Revelation 22:1-5 when my eye fell on verse 2. It told of God’s healing (loving, caring for) “the nations.” Nations! Plural! It was a powerful reminder that God’s saving power is intended for all people. 

Often, when someone will ask me (a retired pastor) if I have preached anywhere lately, I will jokingly reply, “Why, yes! My life is a walking sermon.”  The fact that my joke is so far from the truth gives folks a chuckle. But our focal text for this week (John 1:1-18) gives us the truth about someone whose life is the walking Word of God. Jesus’ life is indeed a walking sermon! “The Word became fl...

When I read this week’s focal text (Luke 1:46-55), my memory goes back to singing it at a daily worship service when I was in seminary. What tune do you hear when you read “Mary’s song of praise”? Think of a hymn tune that matches the tone and spirit of these verses. Do you hear Azmon (“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”)? Do you hear Hymn to Joy (“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”)? Do you hear Antio...

Let me be upfront and honest. When I saw that this week’s theme was “Love,” I thought, “What can be said about love that has not already been said before? This is not going to be an easy session to write!”  Then, boom! Part of this week’s focal text (Matthew 22:34-40) jumped out at me. Of course, Jesus tells us to love God. Of course, Jesus tells us to love the neighbor. But here is what we often...

As we move into this Advent season, it seems the right time to acknowledge and celebrate the basics of the Christian journey. Our focal text speaks of creation (Colossians 1:16), Christ as God made visible (Colossians 1:15), reconciliation through the cross (Colossians 1:20), the gift of the resurrection (Colossians 1:18), life within the Church (Colossians 1:18), and the ongoing mission and witne...

Do you remember the song “Pass It On”? It begins: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love. Once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone. You want to pass it on.” 

The apostle Paul writes that we are “hidden” in Christ (Colossians 3:3). That means that what is shown in Christ is what the believer also shows. We know it is true when the world gives credit to Christ and not to us. When I show love to my neighbor, I am to be hidden in the love of Christ. The credit for such love goes not to me, but to Christ in whom I am hidden. 

This commentary is being written well in advance of the football season that will be underway when November 10 comes around. I wonder how the Blue Devils will be doing this time. Did the Carolina Panthers pick up some early season wins? How has the Atlantic Coast Conference season unfolded with the addition of teams from California? You may be assuming I have slipped a cog or two with all of this...

What do you “inherit” by being a part of your family?

Over the past weeks of this month, we have been reflecting on how our identity (“Who I am”) is shaped. Family. Circumstances. Relationships. Each of these helps form our identity.

This series of lessons continues to look at how our identity is formed. Using the story of Jacob and Esau as an example, it speaks of how relationships help to form us. 

One of my prize possessions is the first Bible that I owned. I was seven years old and my daddy said that I was beginning to read well enough that I should have my own Bible. I remember that he opened up a Cokesbury catalog and let me pick the one I wanted. 

This week’s lesson is the first of four on the question: “What Shapes Our Identity?” 

There is a lot of confusing stuff in Esther 8, describing how legal announcements were made back in that time. The bottom line was a new freedom for the Jews and they found many ways to celebrate (v. 17). If we look over a bit further, in Esther 9:18, we read about the beginning of the Feast of Purim. It was a time of partying and eating. They made sure that even the poor could be a part of it (Es...

The lesson for this week goes back toward the beginning of the story. We learn that Haman is high in the administration of King Ahasuerus (Esther 3:1). And now we know how the plot ends, with Haman’s death by hanging (Esther 7:10). What is the difference...or more accurately, who is the difference? Esther! It is amazing how much God can do with the help of one person! 

Okay. If you have read this week’s focal texts, you know that Esther keeps her faith and calls for the freedom of her people, the Jewish community. The king is so angry that someone would try to take away Esther (and her people) that the king ends up hanging to death the man (Haman) who had tried to destroy Mordecai and the Jewish people (Esther 7:10). 

The king has made Esther his queen (Esther 2:17). Things look pretty good for her, but there is one royal stipulation that even she has to obey: No one is to go into the king’s inner court without being called there (Esther 4:11). And now, as the story, unfolds, Mordecai wants Esther to go to the king on behalf of the Jews. She knows this is illegal (Esther 4:16), but she agrees to go in spite of...

This is a little embarrassing, but let me be honest. I remembered the story of Esther, but I had to go to Table of Contents in my Bible to find the Book of Esther. (It’s nine pages between Nehemiah and Job.) We are going to be living into the Book of Esther for all this month. Today’s lesson from Esther, along with one of David’s psalms, form the biblical background for reflections on grief. 

This week’s lesson grows out of three parables that Jesus told. Although we usually focus on themes of repentance (Luke 15:7, 10, 21), there is another emphasis the three stories have in common: community. 

The word “praise” appears thirteen times in this one psalm! The Old Testament word translated as “praise” is halal. Its primitive meaning is “to be clear.” We praise God because we find it clear that God provides; we find it clear that God forgives; we find it clear that God creates; we find it clear that God loves and restores. So, let us be clear in our praise of God! Our praise is such that it...

The other day I was in a favorite restaurant of mine. One of the staff came over to chat for a moment. He told me that he had decided to leave that job and to get training to become a financial advisor. He said, “I want to help people learn how to use their resources wisely.”