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Obi Wan Kenobi takes the high ground against Darth Vadar in Revenge of the Sith "Execute Order 66." With these three words, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine gives the order identifying the Jedi as traitors against the Grand Republic and directing the clone soldiers of the Grand Republic to execute all Jedi. This was the secret and insidious means for the Sith to bring an end to the Jedi Order. If you know, you know. If you don't know, this refers to the Star Wars movie saga, spec

"The Father and I are one." ~ John 10:30 Tomorrow, Sunday, May 17, 2026, a gathering is planned on the National Mall for a day of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. The event marks 250 years since the Continental Congress called for a day of prayer in 1776. The event promises that thousands of participants will be regaled with plenty of patriotic and Christian speeches, music, and red, white and blue. Back in 1776, in the colonies, Whigs and Tories were divided over their desir

Photo by Lee Jin-man / AP "Science can in no way establish the claim that nothing supernatural or eternal can be real." Walter R. Hearn On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Gabi, a Buddhist monk in the largest sect of Buddhism in South Korea, pledged his devotion to Buddha and his teachings. This is news because Gabi is a humanoid robot manufactured by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese company that makes civilian robotics. Before Wednesday, a robot taking religious vows was not on my bingo

About 30 miles north of Sante Fe, New Mexico, is one the holiest spots of the West - or, depending on your viewpoint, another spot of plain old New Mexico dirt. Regardless of your viewpoint, it is one of the more significant Catholic pilgrimage sites in the United States. Here is the official description of this site, as posted on the New Mexico True webpage, "Nestled in the village of Chimayo along the High Road to Taos sits a national historic landmark, El Santuario de Chim

In the 1980s I traveled across parts of the American West with my grandparents to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I saw bumper stickers everywhere I looked: "Jesus is my copilot." Not in my grandfather's Ford truck, though. The bumper sticker on his dashboard read, "If I disappear while driving, calmly grab steering wheel and apply brake. I've been raptured." That bumper sticker kept me awake and my head on a swivel. Late one evening, driving through Texarkana, a big crow flew into

As I write this, we have just finished the third Sunday of Easter - a time when many Christians around the world continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is also a time for Christians to remember what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. Here in America, right now, we find ourselves in very strange times, indeed. You know what I didn't have on my bingo card for 2026? The pope, government leaders, and pastors in a theological cage fight. Yet here we are.

As I write this, it is the second Sunday of Easter. Growing up Baptist, we only had Holy Week, starting on Palm Sunday and ending with Easter Sunday. And that could be an exhausting week if you grew up with a church musician like I did. The Monday after Easter the lilies were gone from the sanctuary, the pastor was exhausted, and the church schedule more or less "went back to normal" - as did the church music for the following Sunday. Imagine my surprise as I studied differen

Did you know that historians and a study of calendars have helped us narrow down possible dates for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Many agree that the actual date for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was April 3, 33 A.D., while the resurrection was April 5, 2026. This aligns the dates of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday 2026 with a mere 1,993 years between the actual events and our observances this year. Neat, huh, particularly for history buffs and nerds

It's time for confession. I've never liked Palm Sunday. It may be more accurate to say I've always had an uneasy relationship with this Christian tradition. The tradition of observing Palm Sunday goes back to the 4th Century, with lots of Church Fathers signing off on it, so I've kept my mouth shut and just gone along as best I could. Who am I to argue with the Church Fathers? I've watched kids and adults as they parade around the church waving palm branches, I've organized t

John 10:10, NLT "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." With these words from Jesus, we get clarity on this cosmic tug-of-war we are in. At the center of this tug-of-war is our identity and our destiny. "If my purpose is to give you a rich and satisfying life," Jesus says, "what do you think the thief is intent on doing with you?" Jesus gives, but our enemy takes. Here at the Easter season, with our focus

Picture of the Garden Tomb, believed to be the empty tomb of Jesus, from Visit Israel website. Remember the old science fair project - a paper mache volcano that erupted, thanks to the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar? My newer favorite is dumping Mentos candies into a two liter of Diet Coke. If you use a 1/2-inch diameter PVC pipe inserted into the opening of the Diet Coke bottle, you can dump in a whole package of Mentos and get a gusher that reaches pretty

Have you seen Tilly Norwood's latest music video? Tilly debuted in July 2025 in a short comedy clip, and since then she has set the world on fire. It isn't her talent that has people talking - it is her identity. Tilly is a fully Artificial Intelligence generated avatar (woman? celebrity?). Tilly Norwood, AI character created in 2025 It is really kind of creepy to think about how AI can be used to create such deep fakes that we may not be able to tell an AI avatar from a fles

The Shroud of Turin, by Vanessa Horabuena The Shroud of Turin has long fascinated me. Claimed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, the shroud has been the focus of radiocarbon dating, bloodstain analysis, and forensic textile analysis, with varying results. (For more information, go to New Findings Reinforce the Authenticity Debate of the Turin Shroud , The Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence Builds the Strongest Case Yet for Authenticity - Theology in Five .) Is it p

Seeing is believing, although the popularity of social media filters should lead us to question much of what we see! We live in an age of creeping doubt - people are simply less inclined to believe in anything they can't put their hands on. Jesus had a friend like this. His name was Thomas. Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them following his resurrection, so he was having trouble believing. John 20:24-25, NLT "One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nick

Lent is known as a time to give up things. I have friends who are giving up social media, beer, saying unkind things, and sugar. I tried giving up coffee once; I may have made it one whole week. Rather than asking you to give up something, we are offering you something - come get a free cup of coffee from our coffee bar and get a free plate of breakfast goodness! Not only is this a great way to start your day, but it is also a wonderful low-key way to meet people in a "non-ch

Deus Vult - God wills it. In the ancient traditions of Ash Wednesday, we slow down and make space to listen for God. We consider our mortality, our fragility, and our sinfulness. We consider our great and deep need for God. The Latin phrase Deus Vult means "God wills it." The phrase has a complex history. Some say it started in the Crusades, as Christian crusaders fought against Muslim rule in the Holy Land. Some Christian groups have used it to prove God's support for milita

There is a great deal written about Ash Wednesday. What is it? Should Christians observe it? The practice of wearing ashes is connected in scripture to mourning. People in the Old Testament wore ashes to demonstrate their grief over sin or their repentance of sin. When Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh that God had seen their sin and was going to destroy them for their sin, the people (including their king, by the way) responded to this message by repenting, fasting, an

Without the resurrection, our traditions are meaningless. Did the resurrection of Jesus actually happen? This is not only an interesting question, but it is the question above all questions. After all, if Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, then all that we do is meaningless. The apostle Paul dealt with this question, too, so it is not a new question. Here is what Paul says. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14,16-19 "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that things aren't so great in our world. Movies, music, and social media are full of content that seems to go further off the rails all the time. It can be overwhelming as we try to navigate a culture that seems to have gone mad. Up is down, down is up, right is wrong, and wrong must be tolerated. Some 600 years before Jesus was born people were living in a land ruled by godless and ruthless rulers, but the prophet Isaiah pulled the

Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for many of us - the game, the commercials, a half-time show we either love or hate. But for our church, Super Bowl is a reason to gather, eat some of the greatest chili in the county, and raise money to help our community. Sunday Feb. 8, we will begin serving chili at 1 pm. Here's how it works: You can enter a pot of your favorite chili for free, or you can simply come and sample any or all of the entries. We will vote for our favorite entry (e