Kyrie Eleison!

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“The mercy of God is ultimately seen in Jesus Christ!”

(Bruce L. Persons)

Deaf Fellowship at Frederick Church of the Brethren invited me to fill the pulpit for Rev. Peter Myers, and I preached a message this past Sunday on Luke 18:9-14. It is my prayer that this message will bless and challenge you, and also enrich your personal walk with our Lord the Savior! If you ever want me to preach at your church or an event, please click here to contact me.

A special thanks is in order for Deaf Fellowship at Frederick Church of the Brethren for recording this sermon as a part of their ongoing "virtual" ministry. However, due to unforeseeable technical difficulties, the beginning of my sermon was not recorded. For that reason, I decided to write up a rough transcript of what I said at the beginning:

Five Tips on Air Travel

I am at an airport once again, and I only have an hour to spare, so I decided to share five things I have learned over the past three years flying all over America. Here are a few things you might want to heed the next time you travel:

An Encounter at Diplomat Deli

This past Saturday, I was blessed to have a friend come to Birmingham and spend his day with me. Seminarians do not get out too often those days, and any change to my daily route, albeit slight, is always a welcoming one!

After spending an entire afternoon shopping at 2nd & Charles (it is an awesome and mind-blowing but dangerous store to go for those who love books!), we decided to eat dinner at Diplomat Deli, a mom-and-pop joint in Vestavia Hills. It did not only have good selection of food but also a mean Reuben sandwich that leaves me wanting for more! I highly recommend this place to any of you who want some good local fare, but don't go if you are a recovering alcoholic: this store prominently sells and displays liquor on its walls. But I digress...

As we entered the restaurant, three people at a table caught our attention when a college-aged girl signaled and signed to us in a rather halting manner a question I rarely hear in Alabama:

“Are you Deaf?”

Jonah: An American Tale?

"Our God is a God of second chances!" (Rev. Rick McClain)

I discovered this morning that Dr. Rick McClain, a D.Min. graduate from Beeson, would be preaching at Deaf Calvary Church in Frederick, Maryland this morning. Deaf Calvary Church is an Assemblies of God congregation close to Deaf Fellowship at Frederick Church of the Brethren. He happens to be my mentor, a dear friend and colleague in Deaf ministry. He has been my source of encouragement and wisdom whenever I face difficult periods at Beeson or in ministry.

He is an exemplary preacher of God's Word, and I always listen to him whenever I get the chance to! With his gregarious and humorous personality, Rick has been endowed with a special gift to preach God's Word in a manner that is clear and accessible while not mincing his words at the same time. I was so blessed by his message this morning on Jonah 1-4 that I wanted to share it with you tonight because I think it is something that every American needs to hear in this present day and age.

A special thanks is in order for Deaf Calvary Church to make this video, "Jonah: An American Tale?" available for everyone!

Disclaimer: I can't guarantee the sound quality on this video for my hearing colleagues, but if you can understand this, you will be blessed as well! Please leave a comment below and let me know.

Father of Anglicanism: A Concise History of Thomas Cranmer

“Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.”
(The Book of Common Prayer)

Thomas Cranmer (July 2, 1489 – March 21, 1556) was an English Reformer and also the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born at Aslacton or Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England to Thomas Cranmer and his wife, Anne Hatsfield. His parents were minor gentry, and Cranmer received his early education from “a marvellous severe and cruel schoolmaster.”[1]

When Cranmer was fourteen, Anne Hatsfield, already a widow for two years by this point, sent him off to Cambridge to begin his studies as a fellow at Jesus College. It took him eight years to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree. His Master of Arts degree was completed in three years, and he specialized in humanism, especially on the writings of Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples and Erasmus. Upon receiving his Master of Arts degree, Cranmer was elected to a fellowship at Jesus College in 1515.

Forerunner of the Reformation: A Concise History of Jan Hus

"God is my witness that I have never taught that of which I have by false witnesses been accused. In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I will die today with gladness." (Jan Hus, July 6, 1415)

About Jan Hus
Jan Hus (c. 1369 – July 6^th, 1415), known in English as John Hus or John Huss, was born in Husinec, Bohemia (in modern-day Czechslovakia). He was not wealthy by any means, and his parents made sure that Hus had enough money to obtain his Bachelor of Divinity (1393) and Masters of Arts (1396) degrees from the University of Prague. He was ordained in 1400/01 as a Bohemian (Czechoslovakian) priest, and he is widely known as a religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer of the Scottish Reformation movement, which was influenced by John Wycliffe’s teachings. He lived a full century before Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli existed.

Morning Star of the Reformation: A Concise History of John Wycliffe

"Englishmen learn Christ's law best in English. Moses heard God's law in his own tongue; so did Christ's apostles.” (John Wycliffe)

About John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe (c. early 1320’s, possibly 1324 – December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and a professor (university teacher) at Oxford in England. He was born in Ipreswell (modern Hipswell), Yorkshire, England about 200 years before the Protestant Reformation movement began, but his beliefs and teachings influenced if not mirrored Luther and Calvin and other reformers during the 16^th century.