PlainSpeech Messages | Find YOUR way to GRACE.
I recently read a message I’d given in 1984 and felt a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. Embarrassed because it seems inadequate now, and surprised by how much my worldview has changed. Twenty-five years from now, I might read these messages and have a similar reaction. I offer no guarantee that my work or words will endure the eroding effects of time. I can only assure you these thoughts have been helpful to me, and perhaps a few others, today. With that qualification, I offer them to you.
~ Philip
NEW!
Characteristics of Good Relationships (2)
We’ve been hearing the word unprecedented a lot this month. My friend Howard Macy recently said the frequency of the word unprecedented is unprecedented. Every time I watch the news, I hear the word unprecedented, as if for the past 245 years, the United States has...
Characteristics of Good Relationships (1)
Last Sunday, I had intended to begin a sermon series on the characteristics of good relationships, but we were rudely interrupted by an insurrectionist mob, which could not be ignored. Nevertheless I will not be deterred from my duty, so will pick up where we left...
A Presidency That Will Live In Infamy
This week we witnessed an attack on our nation’s capital by a misguided and ignorant mob, committed to the usurpation of our presidential election, spurred on by a man whose appetite for power and adulation knows no bounds, a modern-day Nero who tweeted while...
Christmas 2020 (John 1:14)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth…” One of the more vivid memories of my childhood was a camping trip with my family at a campground south of Spencer called Lane’s Camping Retreat, which my dad happened upon while selling bug spray...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (10)
Our granddaughter Madeline turns six today and we’ll be celebrating with her later in the day. Hopefully, a cake will be involved. I’ve been avoiding her lately, because she’s been asking a lot of questions about Santa Claus and I don’t want to be the one who bursts...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (9)
One thing I miss during these Covid days are the pageants and plays so common this time of year, most of them involving fidgety children in bathrobes. It brings to mind my first church play when St. Mary’s Queen of Peace Catholic Church had an interim priest, fresh...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (8)
They fixed the sign at the Royal Theater in Danville last week. Two men took the sign apart, replaced the wood structure holding it together, then reassembled it, and when they were done, the theater owner came out and put up the letters announcing this week’s...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (7)
As a teen, I had a friend who attended a Baptist church who was death on dancing and card-playing. He said the Bible was clear on those matters, so I started reading the Bible and couldn’t find the first warning against playing cards. When I pointed that out, he got...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (6)
Good morning, friends. We’re continuing to think about “things we’re supposed to believe, but maybe shouldn’t.” I’ve been contemplating words lately. Some weeks, I think about people—my parents, my grandparents, my sons when they were little. Other weeks I think about...
Things We’re Supposed to Believe, But Maybe Shouldn’t (5)
On Christmas Eve, 1979, when I was 18, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, causing then-President Carter, to reinstate Selective Service Registration for men between the ages of 18 and 26. I was a Quaker, opposed to war and the preparations for it, so sent a letter...