Pastor’s Blog
Dr. Richard Kremer
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The Power of Life (Romans 1: 16-17)
A little over twenty years ago, two enraged and heavily-armed teenagers determined to wreak havoc in their community, entered Columbine High School and found several terrified students huddling in the library. They apparently asked at least two of these students, “Do...
Hearing the Laughter of God (Romans 8: 31-39)
During the last Christmas of his life, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was surprised in prison by a visit from his young fiancee’ Maria, who brought him a special gift -- a Christmas tree for his cell. Unfortunately, young Maria had grossly miscalculated the size of the tree and...
You Bet Your Life (Matthew 28: 1-10)
When my twin sons were about ten years old, one of them came home in tears, devastated, heart-broken, even faith-shaken, because some older kid had verbally assaulted him saying, “There is no God. The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales, and your parents are fools for...
Holy Detours and Fruitful Dead-Ends (Romans 1: 8-15)
One of the ironies of early Christianity’s development was the fact that God’s ordained “apostle to the Gentiles” had nothing to do with founding the most prominent early Christian church, the fellowship in Rome that was almost exclusively constituted of Gentiles. ...
The Great Truth of the Universe (Psalm 139: 1-18)
The Bible’s greatest theme, the theme that constitutes the great truth of the universe, forms the foundation of our faith and is the cornerstone of all that believe. This great truth so pervades every aspect of our life that it is like oxygen, so universally near to...
Freed for Newness of Life (Romans 6: 1-5)
Whenever we behold someone emerging from the baptismal waters, we hear the Biblical formula gleaned from Romans 6 pronounced over that new believer: “Buried with Christ in baptism; raised to walk in newness of life.” To watch someone emerge from the baptismal waters...
Choices That Define Our Cross (Matthew 16: 24-26)
The Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gains the...
The Freedom of Surrender (Pslams 55: 1-8; 22)
We think of the term “psychological breakdown” as thoroughly modern. But do not the opening words of this psalm describe a man on the verge of a physical, emotional and spiritual collapse? He cries out, “I am overcome by my trouble; I am distraught because of the...
From One Extreme to the Other (Matthew 26: 30-35; Acts 9: 1-6)
The late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who was so elegantly eulogized this week, once held the NBA record for the most three-pointers made in one game, twelve -- including nine in a row. What the record books will not record is that on the night before he set...
The Illusion of Choice (Genesis 25: 7-11; Revelation 1: 8)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the God who is and was and is to come, the Almighty.” Keep that verse in mind as you ponder the fate of a young British soccer fan named Tony Bland, who, in 1989, was caught amidst a thronging mob at a big game and...