Pastor Prince

At Christmas, we emphasize the sweet, warm parts of the story of Jesus' birth. Jesus placed in a manger among animals, angels appearing to shepherds, and shepherds worshiping the newborn king in Bethlehem all make for a nice "Precious Moments" portrait. But the full account of his birth has dark sides to it.  One of those is King Herod's attempt to murder the baby Jesus and his successful murder of baby boys in the area of Bethlehem.   Matthew 2 tells us that the Lord warned Joseph about what Herod intended to do.  Joseph gathered Mary and Jesus in the night, and fled for Egypt.  This made the holy family refugees.  Refugees are people who must leave their homes because of events like war, famine, persecution, and environmental disaster.  Joseph had to flee with his family because of Herod's murderous intentions.   Joseph went to Egypt because it was outside Herod's jurisdiction and because it had large Jewish communities.  It had large Je

A disturbing trend in America in recent years has been rise of hate groups and crimes.  In 2015, Dylann Roof entered the Emanuel Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and murdered 9 church members at a Bible study.  He told them, " I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go." Last year, Robert Gregory Bowers used the online social network Gab to write anti-Semitic statements about the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).   Referring to caravans of Central Americans heading to our border and to immigrants, he posted “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in."  He went to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and murdered 11 Jews who were attending a Sabbath service.  According to police reports, Bowers allegedly told a SWAT officer that he wanted all Jews to die, and th

The book of Ruth begins with a famine in Israel.  Elimelech, a native of Bethlehem, moves to Moab to find food.  He takes with him his wife Naomi, and sons Mahlon and Kilion.  Elimelech dies in Moab, but Naomi still has her sons.  They married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Naomi's life takes another tragic turn when her sons die. About that time, she hears the famine is over in Israel.  She decides to return home and pleads with her daughters-in-law to return to their homes.  But they want to go with her.  She pled with them again, and Orpah leaves.  But Ruth continues to cling to her, speaking the unforgettable words of devotion recorded in Ruth 1:16-17. (It's best in the King James Version!) You probably know what happens next.  Naomi returns home, a bitter and grieving woman.  But she instructs Ruth to go a field and glean grain for them.  As God works it out, it turns out to be the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.  That makes him a kinsman-redeemer, som

Every now and then the human population plays Fruit Basket Turnover!  War, famine, environmental changes, and other factors lead to large groups of people moving from one place to another.  We live in such a time! With such movement comes tension and unrest.  Nationalist and anti-immigrant movements are growing in America and Europe as people from different countries and ethnic groups flee from their home countries.  Fear of the alien and stranger is growing.   That's why we're starting a worship unit on Outsiders.  The Bible speaks often about the alien and stranger. One of the earliest confessions of faith of Israel begins with the statement, "You father was a wandering Aramean."  (Deut. 25:6-9).  This refers to Abraham, whom God called to live as an alien in Canaan.  Abraham followed that call, living a semi-nomadic life, moving from place to place in Canaan to find pasture for his flocks and herds.  This awareness of their beginnings and their sla