On a better kind of freedom.
Results for "Gratitude First"
The View from Below: A Final Tribute to My Father
The pastor and my family asked me to offer some words at my father’s memorial service on Tuesday. Afterward, a number of folks asked me to share the text with you.
For My Father, C. Rees Jenkins, Jr.,1926-2016
My father, C. Rees Jenkins, Jr., died in his sleep on Saturday morning, September 19. Here’s a tribute shared once when we celebrated his birth, now updated as he crosses over to the other side of the grave.
Diamond at the Heart of Poverty
On one hand, nobody needs poverty. On the other, everybody does.
The Wonder of Unlikely Witnesses: Sermon on Acts 1:6-14
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy...
Power to the Sheeple: Sermon on John 10:1-10 & RCL Readings
Nietzsche versus the Sheeple Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). My apologies: That Beatitude does not appear in the lectionary readings for today. On the other hand, it saturates today’s lectionary readings. Let us take...
Salvation on the Shores of Chaos: Reflection on Exodus 14:10-15:1
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the...
Seeds: A Sermon on Mark 4:26-32
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in...
Success: A Reflection After My Conversation With Charlie Hedges
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). Recently, Charlie Hedges contacted me after he read my post, “Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Petition as Contemplation.” He said, “Marshall, you and I swim in the same pond.” After learning more about him,...
Here We Are: Remembering Betty Marshall Jenkins
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will.be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). This post is the eulogy I delivered for my mother, Betty Marshall Jenkins, at Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC on January, 21,2023. She lived from April 2, 1925 until December...
Two Books On Telling For Those Who Mourn
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4) Telling and Healing The first Beatitude blesses the poor in spirit who give thanks like beggars for receiving all they need from God (Matthew 5:3). In a sense, it blesses those who face reality...
Christmas Alone and the Christ Child
God touches the lonely this Christmas.