Archive of entries posted by Ray
Denis the Carthusian’s Commentary on the Psalms
Beatus Vir (Denis the Carthusian’s Commentary on the Psalms): Vol. 1 (Psalms 1-25); trans. Andrew M Greenwell (Arouca Press, 2020) I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this commentary along with my daily psalm reading (at least while I was in the first 25). Denis (1402-1471) lived and worked as part of the Carthusian order. I had …
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“Why We’re Taught Not to Speak Ill of the Dead”
Jim Geraghty’s column today, “Why We’re Taught Not to Speak Ill of the Dead,” is a healthy, helpful reflection on death. And, the bases of his argument are thoroughly consistent with Christian belief. He first points to the value of listening to wisdom from the past. This is particularly helpful in an age when so …
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Looking to a New Year after a Particularly Difficult Year
On the first Sunday of this year I preached at my home church, FBC Jackson, TN, on 1 Peter 5:6-11. This text struck me as timely with it’s call to humbly receiving what God allows, even suffering, casting our cares on Christ, and preparing to resist temptation, while drawing strength from the sure hope of …
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Peter’s Guidance for Faithful Living Now
1 Peter has been especially meaningful to me lately. So, when asked to preach our opening chapel at Union this semester, I preached from 1 Peter 1:13-21. I could not deal with all of this rich text in the time period but focused on two points in the early part of the text: 1) …
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Best Reads of 2020
Each year I keep a list of the books I read all the way through, typically with brief notes, as a way of tracking my thoughts and a way to look back on each year and see some of what influenced me. So, in this post I have drawn from that list some of the …
“Read, Pray, Sing” in Latest Issue of Midwestern Journal of Theology
My essay “Read, Pray, Sing: The Psalms as an Entryway to the Scriptures” has just been published in the latest issue of the Midwestern Journal of Theology. This is a print version of a lecture I have given at a conference at Union University and at a conference at Oklahoma Baptist University. I am grateful …
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Good Timber
My oldest son, Nathan, recently brought my attention to this powerful poem. Nathan has an interest in poems about nature, adventure, and perseverance- and that pleases me! I am quite taken with this poem, so I looked into the author, Douglas Malloch (May 5, 1877 – July 2, 1938). He was a poet and author of short …
The Cowboy & The Shepherd
A friend sent me this video yesterday. It is an excellent, brief discussion of pastoral ministry, hitting many of the key points I try to speak to at this site. I recommend this video for any pastors, and especially for guys just starting out as pastor John Powell talks about some of his struggles in …
What’s a Pastor for?
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of preaching at my home church, FBC Jackson, TN, as we celebrated Justin Wainscott’s 10th anniversary as pastor at FBC. I thought it was a good opportunity to revisit what the New Testament says about the task of pastors, so that we might be reminded what it …