Tag: HOPEww

Glory

Glory – God has it and we want it. That sounds like a condemning statement, but it is just a simple truth. Think about it. Certainly God has glory; no person or thing in the whole universe is his equal. And we all want glory. That can either be good or bad depending on why we want it and where we look for it. Jesus intends to bring his children to glory. I want that; don’t you? The problem is we want the result without the process.

Great Expectations

Starting over is refreshing. A new semester in school, a new job, a new home, a new Bible Talk, a new life in Christ after baptism – a clean start. Here we are in January, 1996. This L.A. Story is both a look back to 1995 and a look ahead at God’s great expectations.

Every Nation

A new chapter was written in Johannesburg, South Africa. In June of 1986, Gloria and I watched religious history unfold as 22 disciples, both blacks and whites sent out by the Boston Church, flew into Johannesburg. While the two of us were there just for the first service, the 22 disciples came to live and to plant a church that would demonstrate love between the races in the midst of apartheid, the cruel philosophy and law of the land that separated the races. Since then, apartheid has died, but the Johannesburg Church of Christ with a regular Sunday attendance of 2,000 – half blacks and half whites hugging and singing together – has become a beacon of light for the Dark Continent.

The River Wild

Water brings life. Three-fourths of the earth’s surface is water. Ninety-eight percent of our bodies is water. No wonder God uses so many metaphors, parables and direct teachings about water.

Hoop Dreams

The score is tied with seven seconds left on the clock. The crowd goes wild as I steal the ball, drive the length of the court, pull up at the free throw line, shoot over the defender’s outstretched arms. The ball arches toward the basket and . . . . Whether you are a twenty-five-year-old hot shot ex-collegiate star from a Big Ten school now playing in the Open League or a fifty-four-year-old, like me, whose glory days of athletic prowess are many years past, playing in the Master’s League, we all dream of scoring the winning basket in an exciting game. Such are the HOOP DREAMS of players in the L.A. Church of Christ Basketball League.