Author: James F. Pope

light in darkness

Dark days in life

People of my generation will tell you they can pinpoint where they were on Nov. 22, 1963, when they heard the shocking news that President John F. Kennedy had been...

Billboard theology

Along with my wife, Cathy, I was embarking on a 1,500-mile road trip. What to do for hours and hours? How about looking at billboards along the interstate and examining...
hands together in circle

Workers working together

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” Helen Keller’s observation of life in general certainly rings true when it comes to congregational...
people praying before eating

Will pray for food

A man stands at the end of an interstate off-ramp holding a cardboard sign. “Will work for food,” it pleads. It is a simple offer, but many people ignore it....
Confirmation class in front of church being talked to by the pastor

Examined and confirmed

If you were confirmed as a youth, what stands out about that day? Excitement? Nervousness? Relief? What about Examination Sunday? More nervousness? Suspense? What...
gardening tools pruner gloves

The heavenly gardener

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colo. Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg, Fla. Queen Mary’s Gardens, London, England. Villa d’Este Gardens, Tivoli, Italy....
Jesus weeping

Jesus wept

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, containing...
woman sitting under tree thankful UpSplash

Thankful saints

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...
father holding baby being baptised with shell

Remembering a rite

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 depart...

Sympathy +

“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 very...
Martin Luther singing with children

A heritage of Word and song

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 themselves...
green and brown fields and storm clouds sky

Appreciating the clouds

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 column...
jesus walking out into sun resurrection

One little word

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 third...
man knocking on door

“You came to visit me”

“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 congregation’s...
View of a pastor preaching on the pulpit

Preachers and listeners

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....
reading the forward in Christ

What to know before you go

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 read...
bible with pages cut up and highlighted

Hands off the Bible!

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, the...