Our family tradition is to return from Good Friday service and observe an evening of darkness and shadows at home. We light candles and don’t use electricity. It’s a dark, somber night. But our culture doesn’t readily embrace silence and darkness. We run the other way from all that, just like we run away from the reality of death and grief. … More A Night of Shadows
Yesterday was my debut performance at a senior living facility, playing classic hits while subtly sharing messages of hope. I imagined having the opportunity to pastor some of the characters in the songs such as Mr. Bojangles. I went out with my red guitar in hand yesterday to perform a bunch of pagan hits, and dare say I ended up doing a bit of evangelism. … More Mr. Bojangles Goes to Church
A quote attributed to Cornel West sums up my feelings in this current political season, “I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” I skipped watching the national debate, knowing that my social media feeds would be flooded with “highlights.” It turns out I didn’t miss much, and I spent the next several days afterward lamenting, with many others, that these two men were our only choices. … More A Prisoner of Hope
This week’s psalm lands us on the Divine Counselor’s couch, and we pour out our soul in his presence. If you think you’re having a bad day, sit in on the psalmist’s session and count your blessings! Some days we study and learn from Scripture. Other days we curl up in the fetal position and groan along with Scripture. … More On the Divine Therapist’s Couch
With historical imagination and pastoral sensitivity, my new short story probes the inner turmoil of one of history’s most tragic figures: Judas Iscariot. What drew him to Jesus? What led to his infamous betrayal? Most importantly, does his death by suicide place him outside of God’s grace or more directly in his embrace? Find out Sunday at 5pm! … More Love Cut the Rope: The Tragic Tale of Judas
If your reading of Revelation doesn’t reveal the same Jesus you know from the four Gospels, then start again. You’re misreading it. … More Revelation Reveals Jesus
I woke up this morning with the sunrise in my eyes, blinding me as I rolled over to turn off my alarm. I thought about the brightness of that sunrise and felt this giddy surge of excitement that I have good news to share with people who are afraid. … More Quarantine Letters: Soldiers of Light
I’m concerned about the strong river current of ideas we are swimming against and the polluted atmosphere created by the larger cultural narratives we are breathing in uncritically. … More Happiness or Character?
She’s always bringing sweets to share. Maybe it betrays her own sweet tooth, but I think it reveals a sweet and giving heart. Yet, the story of how Tina started coming to MainStreet is much more bittersweet. I (Jeremy) heard the sad news on a snowy February day almost 3 years ago. Tina’s son … More Tina’s Story
Hope is a rare commodity these days. The fashions of the day are cynicism, anxiety and self-indulgence. With violence and discord stealing the headlines daily, we tend toward one of three different coping mechanisms (or a combination of the three): Our minds grow cynical in the midst of confusion and ideological impasses in the public discourse. … More Activate the Mind, Stoke the Fires of Hope (1 Peter 1:13-16)
The political climate in America this week is boiling hot on the heals of Sunday night’s signing of the Obamacare proposal. There is an apocalyptic like mood on the conservative right, with talk show hosts prognosticating on the eventual collapse of America as we know it. Today, I walked to the gas station for a … More Which Government Do You Serve?
Many of us can “talk the talk” when it comes to faith; but the sincerity of one’s faith is really tested in the fiery furnace of trials and tribulations that life brings our way. Todd Johnson has been fighting terminal brain cancer since October 2008. I had the opportunity to sit down with him this … More Heroic Faith: Todd Johnson
Jeremy L. Berg 