Pass-The_ Ball...: A Prayer for the New Year

Pass-The_ Ball...: A Prayer for the New Year: Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Risen Christ, Be with us today and always. Be our Light, our Guide, And our Comforter. Be our Strength...

Pass-The_ Ball...: We Are Blessed

Pass-The_ Ball...: We Are Blessed: We Americans are a blessed people, but we are also spoiled. I know I am. I can get flustered over the stupidest things—like when my cell p...

Pass-The_ Ball...: Christmas is Coming

Pass-The_ Ball...: Christmas is Coming: Brace yourselves, Christmas is coming. Jokes aside, I’m sure you noticed back in October that your local retailer had lights, trees, ornam...

A MARVELOUS LIGHT!

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT TEXT, THE ACCOUNT BY ISAIAH, THE PROPHET AND 

PREACHER IS THE MESSAGE OF HOPE AND LIGHT TO A PEOPLE WHO WERE IN 
DARKNESS. GOD APPEARED TO ISAIAH A FEW CHAPTERS EARLIER. IN THE 
CHAPTER, ISAIAH TELLS US THAT IT WAS THE YEAR THAT KING UZZIAH DIED 
AND ISAIAH SAW THE LORD OF LIGHT SITTING UPON HIS THRONE, HIGH AND 
LIFTED UP; AND THE LORD'S TRAIN FILLED THE TEMPLE.

GOD ALWAYS HAS A WORD OF HOPE TO SPEAK TO US WHENEVER WE CONSIDER 
OURSELVES AT A POINT OF ABSENCE OF HOPE.

WE CANNOT SEE OUR WAY--JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME WHEN WE CALL ON HIM 
HE SHOWS UP! TOO OFTEN WE DON'T SHOW UP BUT THE LORD ALWAYS SHOWS UP!

SOMEBODY SAID THAT HE MAY NOT COME WHEN YOU WANT HIM BUT HE IS ALWAYS 
RIGHT ON TIME.

NOW AS WE MOVE TO THE N.T/ SCRIPTURE, FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS THE 
PEOPLE OF GOD WERE WITHOUT A PROPHET--THEY WALKED AND LIVED IN 
DARKNESS IN THE NIGHT. THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH WAS NEAR 
AND FAR!

WAR, HEATHEN WORSHIP, SCOURGE OF THEIR ENEMIES CONSTANTLY WERE ON 
THEIR MIND AND COLORED THEIR EVERYDAY EXISTENCE. IN THE OT, 
NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND THE BABYLONIANS HAD DESTROYED THE CHILDREN OF GOD 
AND TORE DOWN THEIR FAMILIES--WOMEN AND CHILDREN. DEPORTED THEM TO 
BABYLON EXILE AND SUBJUGATED THEM INTO A NEW SLAVERY SIMILAR TO 
EGYPTIAN BONDAGE. DARKNESS AND HOPELESSNESS COVERED EVERY ASPECT OF 
THEIR LIVES. NOW THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF DARKNESS IN THE LIVES OF 
GOD'S PEOPLE

THE TEXT TELLS US TODAY THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WALKED IN DARKNESS HAD 
SEEN A MARVELOUS LIGHT! THE PROPHECY FROM ISAIAH IS GOOD NEWS TO A 
PEOPLE IN DARKNESS. HIS PROPHECY OF THE COMING SAVIOR AND LIGHT 
BRINGER OF LIFE IS TIMELY, RELEVANT AND SPEAKS TO THE CONDITION OF 
EVEN MEN AND WOMEN TODAY WHO ARE STILL IN DARKNESS.! 

Focus

 I suppose those reading this page are believers. As believers we know that God

has a purpose in our lives. We know that God gives us things to do that we can't

do by ourselves. These things are like walking on water to us. We can only walk

on water as long as we keep our eyes fixed on HIM. So, the enemy, who doesn't

want us to have victory distracts us from our focus. Yet, we will have victory if we can focus on the Lord. 

The History of Black Women and Violence

The History of Black Women and Violence - AAIHS https://www.aaihs.org/the-history-of-black-women-and-violence/ www.aaihs.org 

What does 333 mean?

What does 333 mean? Get to know the angel number that will help you get unstuck. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/what-does-333-mean-get-to-know-the-angel-number-that-will-help-you-get-unstuck/ar-AA15rzzy?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ef30f7d1cef5478cb89193

dadb979df9&ei=42 www.msn.com 

Pass-The_ Ball...: Generation to Generation by Rev.MD Rogers

Pass-The_ Ball...: Generation to Generation by Rev.MD Rogers:          I believe it is important for us to get a long-term vision of our divine calling of parenthood. It is often hard to feel that you...

What Does 333 Mean?

What does 333 mean? Get to know the angel number that will help you get unstuck. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/what-does-333-mean-get-to-know-the-angel-number-that-will-help-you-get-unstuck/ar-AA15rzzy?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ef30f7d1cef5478cb89193dadb979df9&ei=42 www.msn.com 

Pass-The_ Ball...: Real Friends: A Recent Study Says Only Half of You...

Pass-The_ Ball...: Real Friends: A Recent Study Says Only Half of You...: Real Friends: A Recent Study Says Only Half of Your Friends Actually Like You… | BlackDoctor

Pass-The_ Ball...: How Teacher Shortages and Teacher Turnover Affect ...

Pass-The_ Ball...: How Teacher Shortages and Teacher Turnover Affect ...: How Teacher Shortages and Teacher Turnover Affect Students - The Education Trust

Dr. James Edward Shepard

https://blackthen.com/dr-james-edward-shepard-founded-north-carolina-central-university/?fbclid=IwAR3zYK1HbYxJHyVQvH8br2WM1T7UcwZR2

CSvK7gLFtmtk6Z4L-96lPRT8ao 

Educators Nationwide Pledge to Teach Truth in Schools

https://atlanta

tribune.com/2023/06/20/educators-nationwide-pledge-to-teach-truth-in-schools/ 

As Supreme Court considers affirmative action, colleges see few other ways to diversity goals

As Supreme Court considers affirmative action, colleges see few other ways to diversity goals

The Defender and Chicago’s Built Environment By Ray Dinsmore

 The Defender and Chicago's Built Environment | AAIHS

Supreme Court Hypocrisy

 

Supreme hypocrisy on display in Court's affirmative action decision - The Christian Citizen christiancitizen.us

Teaching The Truth

https://atlantatribune.com/2023/06/20/educators-nationwide-pledge-to-teach-truth-in-schools/ 

Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel

 Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel - The Front Porch

What Is Afrofuturism?

 A new exhibition defines how artistry and activism over decades gave rise to the idea and promise of a future that could advance Black life.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/what-is-afrofuturism-180982154/

Juneteenth 2023

 

Juneteenth and Reparations

Juneteenth and the Reparations Hearing in the House - The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/juneteenth-and-reparations-hearing-house/592036/ www.theatlantic.com 

WHY THERE WAS NO RACIAL RECKONING

 Why There Was No Racial Reckoning - The Atlantic

Systemic problems will not be solved by representational victories.

By Wesley Lowery

Peacemaker

 

Jimmy Carter’s African legacy: peacemaker, negotiator and defender of rights | The Michigan Chronicle michiganchronicle.com

Reading Is Fundamental

 

Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love With Reading - The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com

Resonance

 There are different ways of interpreting a piece of music. Players sometimes do a disservice to the composer through their lack of inspiration or by using a badly tuned instrument. But the highest priority in the hermeneutical art is an awareness of the spirit in which we are interpreting the word in question. Is this spirit in harmony, in resonance, with the Life that breathes in the text that we are trying to translate? Of course, we must also have a good instrument, knowledge, and a cultivated intelligence and feeling so as to perceive all the harmonics of this subtle text.

The Questions We Don’t Ask Our Families but Should

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/11/learning-family-history-questions-to-ask-relatives/672115/ 

Pass-The_ Ball...: ...And The Tomb Is Still Empty-Rev.M.D.Rogers

Pass-The_ Ball...: ...And The Tomb Is Still Empty-Rev.M.D.Rogers: ...And The Tomb Is Still Empty by Rev.M.D.Rogers The serpent’s bite was a deadly one. The venom had worked its way deep into the heart of...

Easter 23

 Easter is the celebration of eternal life in Jesus by faith. We give thanks that Jesus died for our sins so that we may be reborn through genuine faith in Him. Singing our praises is a powerful way to show our gratitude in worship and fellowship in Christ.

The biblical account of Jesus' death on the cross, or crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection, or raising from the dead, can be found in the following passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:27-28:8; Mark 15:16-16:19; Luke 23:26-24:35; and John 19:16-20:30.

The word "Easter" does not appear in the Bible and no early church celebrations of Christ's resurrection are mentioned in Scripture. Easter, like Christmas, is a tradition that developed later in church history.

Gospel Gold The Easter Edition       http://tobtr.com/12215846

   

Nonviolence as Love in Action

http://practicalmattersjournal.org/2020/11/18/nonviolence-as-lov

e-in-action/#_edn1 

Black History Month 2023

 

Why We Need Police Reform

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/tyre-nichols-death-memphis-george-floyd-police-reform/672986/ 

We Are All Stage Parents

 

Those of us who are parents, grandparents, uncles, or aunts all know what it is like to watch our children when they are in the spotlight. Maybe it’s your son’s piano recital or perhaps it is your niece singing a solo at church. Maybe it’s your son at the basketball free throw line with one-second left on the clock and the score tied or perhaps it’s moments similar to what we saw this morning as the children presented the annual Sunday school program.

Whatever the situation, we all know the nervous knot that suddenly ties up our stomachs; the butterflies that get let loose to flutter around in our innards as we collectively hold our breath. We hope like mad that the child will play the right notes, sing the right lyrics, sink that free throw, or speak slowly enough to be understood.

When children are small and are just learning how to eat from a spoon, parents involuntarily open their mouths even as the baby opens his or her mouth. It’s quite comical to see. But since I get to sit up here and look out over the congregation, I can tell you that something similar happens when some of your sons and daughters perform here in church. Many times, I’ve seen a mom on the edge of her pew, mouthing the words right along with her child! You can’t help it!

Toward a Better World

 Pass-The_ Ball...: Toward a Better World (pass-theball.blogspot.com)