Posts by BBC

“James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your…

In today’s scripture from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is leaving home where people share his nationality and religious tradition. His latest attempts among them have been greeted by opposition from leaders and misunderstanding from the disciples. He has to be a little frustrated. Perhaps it isn’t too surprising that Jesus decides to get out…

If you’re reading through the Gospels this summer, you know that yesterday we began the Gospel of Mark. If you haven’t been it’s a convenient time to jump in. Mark’s Gospel starts with lots of action. Jesus is encountering all kinds of people and situations and things are happening “immediately.”

On Monday morning I received the following email from a church member. “Good Morning Doug! I wanted to tell you how much I valued your sermon yesterday. Stepping stones and stumbling blocks are a good thing to remember for the week and I look forward to reading the chapter tomorrow. Yesterday I arrived at church…

I appreciate the kind comments I’ve received about my dad’s message last Sunday. He’s a pretty good preacher for 81-years-old, isn’t he? For the coming weeks our themes in worship will be coming from chapters in the Gospels that many of us are reading through this summer. If you haven’t started it isn’t too late…

Rev. Dr. Victor Scalise, Jr., at Brewster Baptist Church John 14:1-6, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a…

Suffering has been part of human existence from the beginning of time. While stories like the tornado in Oklahoma, the Boston Marathon bombing, the shootings in Newtown, CT, or storms like Sandy tend to dominate the news media, there are so many more individual stories of loss, suffering, and pain – most of which we…

Have you ever lost power? A couple of times in the last year we’ve lost power at our house for more than 24 hours.  Why is power important? How does it feel to be without power? Helpless, frustrated, & it’s hard not knowing when you’re going to get it back. Food can spoil. Cooking is…

In a healthy family, a mother serves as a source of unity. Siblings can be very different and sometimes have virtually nothing in common, yet they all are united by the fact that they have the same mother who – ideally and hopefully – loved, nurtured, sacrificed, educated and cared for them. I shared at…