Author: James F. Pope
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colo. Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg, Fla. Queen Mary’s Gardens, London, England. Villa d’Este Gardens, Tivoli, Italy....
It is known as the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Actually, in many Bible translations, two other verses are just as short, contain...
A Mormon’s faith journey leads him to South America and back home to Utah, where he finds the biblical truth he had been seeking. On some Sunday mornings, you...
Was I imagining things, or did I read the message accurately? The bumper sticker on the car ahead of me had only a few words on it, but driving at highway speed...
In the first installment of “Free in Christ,” you learn how two congregations offer adult Bible classes to their members. The approaches are diffe...
I grew up with Advent calendars. You know, the kind that are printed on thick stock paper and have little doors that, when opened, reveal a lamb or a shepherd o...
November can be a cruel month. For people who live in the northern climes of our country, November is the bridge from the colorful landscape of fall to the cold...
Praise Martin Luther? No, praise the Lord! Praise the Lord for what he accomplished through reformers like Martin Luther. In our praise to the Lord, it is commo...
Imagine a Lutheran pastor beginning a baptism service by blowing three times under the child’s eyes and then commanding the unclean spirit in the child to dep...
“I’m so sorry.” “I’m sorry for your loss.” “You have my sympathy.” I’m sure you recognize those statements, and you can probably picture a ver...
Can you imagine a pastor not being able to recite the words of the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles’ Creed? What would you think of people who identified thems...
My first year as a pastor was coming to an end, and I was working on a sermon for Trinity Sunday. There was just one problem: I had writer’s block. I could no...
A cloudy day or a sunny day? What would you rather have? I think most people would choose a sunny day. If that is you, I am hoping that by the end of this colum...
The title of this article can get you thinking about Martin Luther’s Reformation hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (Christian Worship 863/864). The thir...
“I was sick, and you looked after me as part of your congregation’s visitation ministry. I was in prison, and you came to visit me in connection with your c...
Serving as a vacancy pastor recently put me behind a pulpit on a weekly basis. It had been quite a while since I prepared sermons with that degree of regularity...
If you read issues of Forward in Christ like a Hebrew Bible—from back to front—the title of this column will not make much sense. On the other hand, if you ...
The Bible is God’s Word. He doesn’t want us to pick and choose what we believe. There are few acts in the Bible more brazen than this one by Jehoiakim, th...
My friend believes that God hates us. He argues that God hates sin, and we are sinful; therefore, God hates us to the core of our being. I pointed out John 3:16...
After six years, the author of the “Light for our path” column shares his insights. James F. Pope Six years ago, I knew my life was going to change. What I ...
What kind of comfort can you give someone when a loved one commits suicide, who was supposedly a believer? James F. Pope Your question addresses a very tragic s...
What does a submissive wife in a Christian marriage look like? James F. Pope While Scripture provides the definitive answer, I also will be passing along e...
I am dealing with a terminal illness and am tired of the suffering and pain this is causing me and my family. I am scared to die, but is it a sin to want to...
Recently our congregation has begun applauding the singing groups in our worship services. This offends some people. If we discouraged applauding, others ...