The Gathering North

05/11/2023

12/24/2021

The Babe
Come
Celebrate
The Birth
Of the Babe
For Now is the
Time of Redemption
For all Humanity
The Babe
Born in a Stable
To Dwell, so Well
Amongst Us
Eating, Breathing,
Walking, Talking,
Living, Loving,
The Babe
Born in a Manger
To Answer the Call
And Give it All
So we May Live
As God Forgives
Fully and Completely
The Babe
Born in Bethlehem
To Bring Peace
Put your Sword Away
He Did Say
For My Kingdom is
Not of This World
The Babe
Born in a Bundle
To Bring Joy
To a World
Hungry, Thirsty
For What God
Alone can Give
The Babe
Born of a Virgin
Love Made Flesh
To Bind up
The Brokenhearted
And Give Sight
To the Blind
The Babe
Born Under a Star
A Light Amidst
The Darkness
To Guide, Lead
And Show the
Way to Eternity
The Babe
Born a King
To Rule
With Kindness
And Humility
Gently He Speaks
With Loving Authority
The Babe
Born to Bring Hope
To a Violent World
Father Forgive Them
He Said
For They Know
Not What They Do
Let Not
The Babe
Slip Away
Through Your Fingertips
Wrap Him Instead
In the Swaddling Clothes
Of Your Life
The Babe

04/01/2021

SACRIFICAL TRUTH
I don’t know what
To believe anymore
Whether political
Or religious
Maybe that’s
Why Jesus never
Responded to
Pontius Pilate
When asked
What is truth?
Jesus was silent
There was
No political verbiage
No religious rhetoric
He just stood there
As if to say:
“I’ll show you
What truth is
When you witness
The blood, sweat,
And tears of
My torturous death
Because
Sacrificial Truth
Speaks with no words
Words are cheap
Sacrificial Truth
Is costly action
It speaks for itself
Silently, secretly
It’s what My Kingdom
Is going to be
Built upon
Not political rhetoric
Or religious verbiage
But acts of Mercy, Love
Compassion
And Forgiveness.”
So, right now
The only truth
I can honestly say
I believe in is
The Sacrificial Truth
Of Jesus Christ
And the actions
Of those who
Silently, secretly,
Sacrificially
Follow in His footsteps
Without recognition
Without fanfare
Without expecting
Anything in return
Only their faith
Their commitment
No verbiage
No rhetoric
But, all action
Costly action
Acts of Mercy, Love
Compassion,
Forgiveness,
And the blood,
Sweat, and tears
That sometimes
Go with these actions
These are still the
Building blocks
Of His Kingdom today.

06/18/2020

IT’S JUST MY OPINION
It’s just my opinion
And how true that is
Because
Everybody has an
Opinion
I think, I believe
Is a God given
Capacity
That makes us
Truly unique
As human beings
Which means
There are 7 billion
Opinion makers
In this world
Each capable of
Of saying
I believe, I think
This to be true
And that’s okay
It’s a God given
Privilege
To be able
To express
One’s opinion
And believe it
To be true
But remember
There are 7 billion
Other opinions
In this world
And no two are
Exactly the same
Because no two
Life experiences
Are exactly
The same
That is why
It’s just your
Opinion
One of 7 billion
So to expect
Everyone else
To think exactly
Like you
Is humanly impossible
That’s why
Expressing your
Opinion
Is just that
It’s your opinion
Nothing less
Nothing more
And, that’s my opinion

05/25/2020

OH SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY
Greater love has
No man
Than to lay down
His life for
Another
And who is
That other
But you and me
Sitting quietly
In our homes
With the
Full protection
Of the blood shed
By many who
Died valiantly
Sacrificially
For the cause
Of a Nation so
Grand and free
Oh sweet memory
Of the red
White and blue
That waves above
The graves
Of those
Honored on this
Memorial Day

04/10/2020

HELLO I’M GOOD FRIDAY
No I’m not Ash Wednesday
No I’m not Maundy Thursday
No I’m not Easter Sunday
But, I’m Good Friday
And you know what
I don’t know why
They call me “Good”
Because many years ago
On this “Day”
A young man died
A horrible death
He was crucified
Tortured, beaten
Ridiculed, mocked
Abandoned, left alone
To die on His own
I remember the words
He said
Before His last breath
“It is finished”
And over the years
I’ve learned why
He said those words
It was all meant
For the “Good”
Salvation, Justification
Reconciliation, Redemption
Expiation, Glorification
All these big “tion” words
Have taken years
For me to understand
Why He did what He did
On that fateful “Day”
Many years ago
And I was there
I was that “Day”
When it was all meant
For the “Good”
I guess that’s why they
Call me “Good Friday”
So Goodbye and
Have a Good day!

03/23/2020

The True Corona
It wasn’t long ago
When Corona was a beer
I drank on occasion
But now Corona is part of
My life in ways I never
Thought possible
It permeates everything
I think, say, and do
I must admit it’s
Kind of scary
Kind of depressing
Kind of overwhelming
And then this morning
During my devotions
I was reminded of the
True Corona
The Crown worn by
My Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
His Corona (Crown)
Is not of this world
It is a Heavenly Crown
It is a Spiritual Crown
It is an Everlasting Crown
He is the true Ruler
Of our lives
And will see us through
These difficult times

01/01/2020

HAPPY ANNO DOMINI
We are celebrating
The arrival of
2020 AD (Anno Domini)
Anno (in the year)
Domini (of our Lord)
One simple life
Changed the course
Of human history
No other person
Who has walked
The face of this Earth
Has been able
To do that
Some have tried
By using force
And power
But one simple life
Did this without
Raising an army
Or flashing a sword
He did it by using
Sacrificial love
Wow, can you
Imagine that
How absurd
How inconvenient
How contrary
To worldly ways
But he stood
His ground
All the way
To His last
Dying breath
“It is finished” he said
And with those words
He changed the course
Of human history
Welcome to another
“Anno Domini”
Bought and paid for
Through the sacrifice
0f one simple life

12/26/2019

Merry Christmas!!
"Jesus, the Word is the living order of a prayerful obedience to reaping the New Nature within."

This sermon was delivered at the Grace Hub at 9am "Jesus, the Word is the living order of a prayerful obedience to reaping the New Nature within." December 2...

12/25/2019

MARY CHRISTMAS
Ah yes, she too
Is the reason
For the season
For without Mary
There would be
No baby Jesus
Her yes made
All the difference
In the world
For she alone
Stood her ground
When the power
Of the Holy Spirit
Came upon her
For she alone
Stood her ground
When Joseph
Confronted her
For she alone
Stood her ground
Risking everything
Including her life
For she alone
Stood her ground
In a lonely manger
To give birth
To our Savior
There would
Be no Joy
To the world
Without a young
Fair maiden
Named Mary
Who gave birth
To God’s Son
In a little town
Called Bethlehem
Without her yes
There would be
No celebration
On this special day
So, Mary Christmas

06/09/2019

"The Holy Spirit works within the tabernacle of the heart to lead us by the agape love of Christ."

This sermon was delivered at the Grace Hub at 10:00am "The Holy Spirit works within the tabernacle of the heart to lead us by the agape love of Christ." Sund...

04/21/2019

BLESSED TO BE BROKEN
I don't know about you,
but I'm broken,
and I live in a broken world.
Or, as someone once said:
"We're all cracked pots
living in a world that's not
all it's cracked up to be."
Or, as the Apostle Paul
once said:" We all fall
short of what God
expects from us."
Nothing's perfect
nor will it ever be.
But, that's okay,
because on Good Friday
I lifted my "broken,
cracked, falling short,
imperfect self" up to a
loving and gracious God.
WHO on Easter Sunday
promises to bless me
beyond any human
expectation, by flowing
through all
my broken, cracked,
imperfections, out into
the world around me.
There is the story about
tow pots...one perfect,
the other cracked.
Everyday their owner
carries water up a hill
from river to his house,
using a piece of wood
across his shoulders.
One day, the cracked pot
apologizes for losing
water through its cracks.
The owner asks the
cracked pot to look
down the hill.
On the perfect pot's
side there was nothing
but bare ground.
On the cracked pot's
side there was a multitude
of beautiful flowers
watered by the water
flowing through its cracks.
Easter is c celebration
of God loving us all
as broken, cracked pots,
and using us to water
this hungry, thirsty, world
with His Divine Presence
flowing through us.