Never an Original Thought

The year was 1972. Billy Joel was stuck in a bad record contract with a dodgy manager. He decided to skip town and make his way to California, hoping to avoid his troubles back in New York City. When he first arrived in the Golden State, he got a job, under an assumed name, playing piano at the Executive Room in Los Angeles. Later, he took that experience and wrote a song about it. When that song, Piano Man , was released, it instantly became a classic. Joel introduces

On my bookshelf, I have a dusty old volume of Pastor Charles Sheldon’s novel, In His Steps . The book was written in 1896 by Sheldon for his youth group in Topeka, Kansas. The novel tells the story of a pastor who challenges his congregation to live for one year, asking, "What would Jesus do?" The rest of the book outlines the transformed lives of the parishioners as they tackle the problems of poverty, economic exploitation, graft, and the like, all in the name of Jesus. The

In 2024, Easter falls on March 31. Does that date seem early this year? Well, it is. At least it is earlier than in recent years. There’s something different about the Easter holiday. Christmas is always on December 25, but Easter, like the eponymous bunny, hops around. That has everything to do with the early Christian church. They wanted the celebration to occur around the Jewish Passover. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Last Supper was a Passover mea

Easter poses a special challenge to preachers. For almost 2000 years, people have proclaimed that "Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed." And in various venues, pastors have tried to show the relevance of that profound statement to their congregations. After countless sermons and devotions, what else should be said? Isn’t there a danger of repeating oneself? I heard a preacher once say, "I’ve preached multiple times on every character in the Easter story. If only God cou

The time for jokes and jesting is almost upon us. April Fools' Day is just around the corner. No one knows for sure the origins of this special day. Some have suggested that changing from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s created some confusion concerning the beginning of the new year. Perhaps, the day is to commemorate the confusion. Others believe that some ancient king or emperor was tired of being the butt of every joke. As a result, the ruler made s