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“Marriage and the Family: The Cultural Slide and the Christian Response” (Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 128:1-6; John 2:1-11)The readings for today--the Old Testament Reading, the Psalm, and the Holy Gospel--these readings are filled with references to marriage and the family. They use the language and imagery of marriage and the family--and in the Gospel’s case, even the occasion of a wedding--to describe God’s love for humanity. The blessings of marriage and children are gifts that God gives to all people, and they are also pictures of the relationship that God has with his own people, the church. Look at how that...

Excellent, and not just the Libya stuff. Stick with it for Paul’s questions about how smart it is to be arming the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt when Morsi is already wheezing about Jews controlling the media in official diplomatic sessions with the U.S. If you’re wondering why it fell to Paul to ask this question instead of any of the more senior senators who preceded him, it’s because the Senate was perfectly happy to have Obama act unilaterally on Libya. The Iraq war authorization came back to haunt many of them; no one knew at the time how messy Libya...

John Bohener being re-elected as House Speaker GUARANTEES that after each dog & pony show - the GOP will capitulate to Obama and betray authentic Americans on every issue. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THESE USELESS IDIOTS. Shore up your State Legislatures.

"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time. And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet. There are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization... And so, quite frankly, I’m pleased to see that a lot of Hezbollah individuals are in fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political process [in Lebanon] in a very legitimate fashion. " AUDIOWhite House counterterrorism adviser and nominee for Director of the CIA, John Brennan

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Gospel of St. John 1, 14 ............... Today we celebrate a creator choosing to become creation. Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas.

“A Blessed Visitation” (Luke 1:39-45)It was a meeting of the moms. Two expectant mothers, one old, one young. One was six months along; the other, newly pregnant. And the fact that they were expecting was totally unexpected! Both of them were pregnant when really neither one of them should have been, under normal circumstances. But these circumstances were anything but normal. What was happening was much better than normal. This meeting of the moms was the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the older woman; Mary, the younger. Elizabeth was in her sixth month; Mary’s pregnancy had just started....

This begs the question of what Obama knew about Petraeus and his "lifestyle" when he appointed him. The Soviet style of this regime makes me wonder about John Roberts. This is just pure speculation about a public figure, not an accusation. But my first reaction to the inexplicable Roberts decision is "what the hell does Obama have over this guy?". Obama didn't appoint Roberts of course but I'd bet he, Axelrod and the Chicago gang know everything there is to know about his personal life and are adroit when in comes to influencing behavior.

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“The Work That Is Not a Work” (John 6:22-35)Question: When is a work not a work? Answer: When it is faith. Faith is “The Work That Is Not a Work.” This seeming riddle is not so puzzling when you understand what is meant by “faith” and “work.” And we’ll explain that today as we explore the Gospel reading from John 6. There the crowd asks Jesus, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” And Jesus answers them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Friends, when you properly...

“St. John the Baptist: Born to Forerun” (Luke 1:57-80)Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! “What?” you say, “What did he say?” I said, Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! You heard me right. If we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, on December 25, then six months before that, which is today, we should celebrate the birth of his predecessor, his forerunner, St. John the Baptist. So, Merry Saintjohnthebaptistmas! Six months out from Christmas. But Christmas is December 25, and today is only June 24, not the 25th. How come we’re celebrating on this day? Well, it’s just a little quirk in the calendar. In the old Roman...

A team of researchers believe a knuckle bone found buried beneath a Bulgarian church may belong to John the Baptist, the New Testament prophet who heralded the ministry of Jesus. (Photo Included in article)

by John HillStand With ArizonaSheriff Joe Arpaio's attorneys have filed a "Motion to Dismiss" in response to Eric Holder's ridiculous lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the Sheriff and his deputies against "Latinos" through their enforcement of existing Federal immigration laws. Arpaio's lawyers have called on a Federal court in Phoenix to dismiss the DOJ's lawsuit, in a 23-page response, asserting that Holder failed to back his claims with "sufficient statistical evidence." Such evidence is required in Federal discrimination lawsuits, and the DOJ has provided none. The filing also asserts that the DOJ has no ability to even sue the sheriff's office...

“Born of Water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-17)Do you know what day your birthday is? I do. My birthday is September 10. “What?” you say. “Pastor, I thought your birthday was in March.” Oh, you mean that birthday! Yeah, that birthday was March 7. But my other birthday, my re-birthday, was on September 10 of the same year. That was the day I was baptized. The first birthday was my birth according to the flesh. The second birthday, the day of my baptism, was my rebirth according to the Spirit. And, like me, what you really need is that baptismal...

“Sanctified in the Word of Truth” (John 17:11b-19; 1 John 5:9-15)In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus prays for his disciples--he prays for all believers, he prays for his church--he prays for us, here in this time between his ascension and his return. And one of the things Jesus prays for us is this, where he says to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” “Sanctified in the Word of Truth.” Let’s find out what that means for us now. The prayer that Jesus prays in John 17 is often called his “High Priestly Prayer.” Jesus is coming...

“A Place for Jim” (John 14:1-6)When someone we love leaves us, it can be very painful for us. Our heart aches. That person we know and love is no longer with us, and we miss him. That’s what we’re experiencing now with our brother Jim. We miss him now, and we will continue to miss him. Husband, father, friend, fellow church member--Jim Stewart was someone we got to know, and we liked him, and now he won’t be around anymore to share our company. That hurts, and understandably so. Even when we had months to get ready for this week--we...

“All You Need Is Love” (1 John 5:1-8; John 15:9-17)“All you need is love. Love is all you need.” No, I’m not quoting John the Beatle. I’m quoting John the Apostle, or at least I’m paraphrasing him. Yes, John--that John, St. John--talked about love a lot. And he’s doing it again today, both in the Epistle reading from 1 John and in the Gospel of John. Basically, John is saying today, “All You Need Is Love.” Listen first to John’s first epistle: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the...

“Abiding in the Vine” (John 15:1-8)In the Gospel reading for today from John 15, Jesus tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit. Do not abide in me, and you will not bear fruit. Then you will be like a dead branch that is thrown into the fire and burned.” Obviously, then, it becomes vitally important that we give our attention to this matter of “Abiding in the Vine.” So let’s do that now. Abiding in the vine. It’s the vital Jesus connection. And as we look at our...

Say this for John Derbyshire – he thinks what he thinks and doesn’t care who knows it. In fact, he’s willing to give an interview to arguably one of the most likely sites to be hostile on the internet. To that end, Derbyshire has given his first interview after being let go by National Review for writing a racially controversial article to the hipster-focused website Gawker, on the condition that they not censor any of his answers. As it turns out, that’s not a problem for them. Here are some of Derb’s most interesting observations: --------------------------------------------------- I liked working with...

“Unpacking the Nutshell” (John 3:14-21)“John 3:16”: You’ll see that reference--just that reference, by itself, no other words with it--you’ll see “John 3:16” showing up in all sorts of places. You might see a guy with a rainbow wig at a sporting event, holding up a sign that says on it, simply, “John 3:16.” You might see quarterback Tim Tebow with “John 3:16” written on his eye black. They figure that just the reference is enough to get their message across, since the verse, John 3:16, is so well known. You all know it. You probably learned it by memory when...

There’s something about Kerry. The 5-term Democratic senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate seems to be looking younger by the day. A photo from the 2008 Democratic National Convention shows his face is looking pretty haggard, with bags under his eyes that are headed for Pope Benedict XVI level: Then, last month, he showed up at the White House with two black eyes and a swollen nose. The party line was a hockey puck broke his nose. From CBS: "Senator John Kerry surprised a few people at the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup ceremony at the White House Monday afternoon. The...