Tag Archives: Jesus

Desperate

Posted on October 31, 2019 by salooper57

A great sermon by Kevin Looper on Mark 5. Jesus returns to his home base Capernaum to find massive crowds gathered and a respected religious professional in desperate straits. The man pleads with Jesus to come and heal his daughter, even though association with Jesus was at this time risky for religious professionals reputations and careers. Continue reading →

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It’s Time to Get Out of Line

Posted on June 9, 2018 by salooper57

By Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands – Cedar Point and Oberlin’s CommencementUploaded by Themeparkgc, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26787830 The church I attended as a teen had a gold-colored carpet, cream-colored walls, and a dark-stained wood trim. In … Continue reading →

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The Only Way Out Is Up

Posted on March 10, 2018 by salooper57

When Richard Spencer, the Alt-Right leader and social firebrand, came to Michigan State University this week, four police officers suffered minor injuries and twenty-five people were arrested. According to The Chicago Tribune, only 150 tickets were issued to the event, … Continue reading →

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The Key to the Good Life

Posted on February 17, 2018 by salooper57

The good life is all about good relationships. Our most serious problems and our greatest accomplishments involve relationships. Studies have repeatedly shown that good relationships contribute more to happiness than success, and bad relationships contribute more to unhappiness than failure. … Continue reading →

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If I Could Change One Thing, It Would Be Me

Posted on November 11, 2017 by salooper57

My wife and I recently traveled to Texas to visit our son and daughter-in-law and to do a little hiking in the Hill Country. For many weeks before our trip, I researched flights, car rentals, lodging and hiking trails. I … Continue reading →

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Lost and Found: The Joy of Losing Oneself

Posted on September 30, 2017 by salooper57

It was an iconic moment in sports history or, rather, an iconic eighteen seconds. It was the first round of the 1995 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals. The Indiana Pacers were playing the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With … Continue reading →

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Just Give it a Rest, America

Posted on August 5, 2017 by salooper57

Americans are some of the most restless and least rested people in the world. They work more hours a week and more weeks a year than their European counterparts. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that … Continue reading →

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Hard Hearts, Closed Minds, and Blind Eyes

Posted on July 22, 2017 by salooper57

If a pastor wants to start a row, he needn’t preach heresy. All he needs to do is change the color of the carpet in the church nursery or bring a drum set onto the platform. People might not notice … Continue reading →

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The Politicians Stopped Inviting Us to the Dance

Posted on July 1, 2017 by salooper57

For decades, when people spoke or wrote about the intersection of religious belief and political action, it was natural to refer to it in a kind of shorthand, “religion and politics,” with religion getting the more important seat at the … Continue reading →

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The Spiritual Myopia Pandemic

Posted on June 17, 2017 by salooper57

There are about 97 million myopic people in the U.S., according to the American Optometric Association. I’m one of them. I was fitted for my first pair of corrective lenses in second grade. Because my vision continued to deteriorate (and … Continue reading →

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