By Rebecca Roman
In modern society, we seem to prize having a high pain tolerance. An inability to handle pain is almost seen as a character flaw; to be stoic in the face of pain is, in contrast, heroic. Continue reading The Case for a Low Pain Tolerance
By Les Martens
Though we just might think that the righteous win, if we keep the rules and we do not sin, the plain truth is that the best man died even though he prayed, he pleaded, and cried, “Father let this pass help me end this pain.” But the silence stayed and the curse remained. In the garden bound, by the high priest tried, he was kissed, betrayed, left alone, denied. Continue reading In the Stillness
By Mark von Kampen
Back in the early 1990s, when I began serving as a youth and young adult minister, a young woman from the congregation told me that she was dreading the approaching Christmas season. All the glitter, all the songs of joy and peace, all the smiling faces—she just couldn’t get into it. “I hate Christmas,” she said. Continue reading When Christmas Feels Like a Barren Desert
