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)

Christmas 22

 

What Does Thanksgiving Mean?

 The Biblical meaning of the word “thanksgiving” is not something you do. It is not something that is spontaneous, or an extemporaneous expression of thanks for some good deed done, or good that that has come our way. The biblical concept of the word “thanksgiving” does not depend on something one has or has received. This word has nothing to do with “outward” circumstances, but rather, has to do with one’s spiritual attitude toward life. Paul declared, in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Thanksgiving is a learning process. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to place within us contentment – or a real praise of thanksgiving to God for everything in one’s life. Biblical thanksgiving is not what one does, but rather it is what one is – what one has become as a result of absolute and complete trust in Christ Jesus. It is the “spirit” in which one accepts “all things.” Our problem often is that we have in mind what a word means – our definition of the word – and, it is almost impossible for us to divorce that word from the meaning we have given it. The Biblical meaning of the word “thanksgiving” is not something someone does, but rather it is, because Jesus lives within us, a life of thanksgiving becomes a daily expression of His life. This is not self-improvement. No! It is God manifesting His life through us.

Emotional Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic

 As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on globally, there is little doubt that it is taking a lasting toll on the mental health of millions of people. Fear of getting sick, the loneliness that accompanies quarantine, and a fragile economy combine to create complicated challenges to mental well-being.

Among university students, the pandemic has led to increased symptoms of depression and moderate increases in stress and loneliness.

Crown Act -Push to End Hair Discrimination

https://defendernetwork.com/community-central/crown-act-conversation-panelists-push-to-end-hair-discrimination/ 

Anatomy of ADHD Relationships

https://dearmisterman.com/anatomy-of-adhd-relationships 

Don’t Teach Your Kids to Fear the World

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/09/the-best-way-to-teach-kids-about-danger/671310/ 

Seven Great Habits All Black Men Should Practice

 

https://spectacularmag.com/2022/09/08/seven-great-habits-all-black-men-should-practice/

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE by Rev. M.D. Rogers

 Jesus’ encounter with the lepers takes place in the “region between Samaria and Galilee,” suggesting a potentially hostile locale at the border, neither inside nor outside Jewish territory. Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem, a literary road sign that points ahead to the impending violence of the cross. 

The relationship between Samaritans and Jews at the time of Jesus was conflicted and sometimes violent. Centuries before this they had been one people, but changes and tensions wrought by exile and return put them at odds regarding beliefs about scripture, worship, what it means to be holy, etc. A history of hostility may explain why James and John suggest firebombing a Samaritan village (“Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” cf. 2Kings 1:10-12) after it refuses to serve as the first rest stop on Jesus’ journey. Jesus firmly rebukes their violent request (Luke 9:51-56).

In any case, despite potential danger, and without asking anything about their loyalties, heritage, or intentions (will they perpetuate the hostility?), Jesus works healing for all ten — including the Samaritan.

After the Samaritan saw that he was healed, the rest of his response is characterized by four verbs: turn back (hypostrepho), praise (or give glory; doxazo), prostrate (literally fall on his face), and thank (eucharisto). Jesus highlights the first two verbs by repetition: “Was none of them found to return (hypostrepho) and give praise (doxa) to God except this foreigner?

The College Advice People Don’t Offer Enough

https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/unsettled-territory/631112fdebf53e0022ceed8b/college-back-to-school-advice-tips/