On November 21, 1931, the passing of Zeke Marks was noted in the Weirton (WV) Daily Times. He was 75 years old, and a father of 9. Described as a “short man with a drooping moustache,” Marks is reported to have died of bronchial pneumonia. His obituary would ordinarily...

              Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen many protests occurring across the country, some of which unfortunately turned into riots, all triggered by the senseless death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The pain, frustration, and anger that has given rise to the current Black Lives Matter movement...

  “Any sufficiently advanced technology is undistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law of the Future. “Any sufficiently explained magic is indistinguishable from technology.” Halpern’s corollary to Clarke’s Third Law. *             A few weeks ago, during a Wednesday night Family Bible Study I showed the children my one trick, the collapsing...

            Hansen’s Disease, a chronic disease of humans caused by the Mycobacterium Leprae bacillus, characterized by lesions of the skin and superficial nerves; the disease may also involve the eyes, and mucous membranes of the nose and pharynx. Encyclopedia Britannica             I am not sure if the man Jesus meets after...

Unhindered How to Occupy One’s Time During Captivity: Part 2   And he stayed two full years in his own rented apartment, welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. Acts 28.30-31             The last word of the book of...

The Story of Two Families               We know what brothers and sisters are in our own families but what do we know about God’s family.  I asked my Mother just a few months before her death: why do you think God has looked after you all these years?  She simply said...

When It Happens…             We have a sister congregation somewhere west of the Mississippi that is, in many ways like us. They are slightly smaller than we are, about as diverse. They have been around about as long as we have. They take the Bible just as seriously as we do....

           Back in 1968 when Andy Warhol made his comment to photographer Nat Finkelstein about everyone enjoying 15 minutes of fame, he seemed prescient, and the notion entered the cultural water-supply. I would argue that Warhol's prediction is only partially fulfilled. Some people do enjoy their...

     My daughter Julia, who always finds the coolest stuff online, sent me a link to a story from the History Channel website which Becka Little posted May 3 about a new book by Zora Neale Hurston being published this month. Hurston died in 1960, and had been forgotten...

         After suffering a brain injury back in 1997, I experienced four long-term effects regarding my hearing. There was some general hearing loss. I lost the ability to tell the direction of high-pitched sounds. I used to have the ability to conduct one conversation and listen surreptitiously...

         We hosted the area wide meeting of Spanish-speaking Church groups yesterday. It was such a blessing to worship together. Mike Mendez (the father, the one with the great head of hair) translated my opening remarks into Spanish, and then translated the sermon of our guest speaker,...

        This week I was reading through John 6 in Greek and noticed, for the first time, a curious vocabulary choice in verses 54-56. Jesus has just told the Jews in the Capernaum synagogue that they must “eat His flesh and drink His blood” in order to have...