Burnham: Speak up with words

You may think you have nothing to offer.

Don’t overlook God in the daily shuffle

God is our refuge and strength, a help always near in times of great trouble. That's why we won't be afraid when the world falls apart, when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea, when its waters roar and rage, when the mountains shake because of its surging waves.

Scharf: The gift of the spirit

This Sunday was Pentecost in the Church year - the day we mark what happened in Acts 2. If you aren't familiar - open up your Bible and read the story. Pentecost was really the kick-start to the New Testament Church - with miracles all over the place - the sound that filled the city, the flames of fire, the speaking in all those languages! Can you imagine being there? And it wasn't just the ...

McCoy: Trinity Sunday celebrates good things in threes

Now faith, hope and love remain - these three things - and the greatest of these is love.

Scharf: That the world may know

Have you ever heard someone pray for you?

The wind is blowing!

When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Just a thought: your work matters

Do you know your work matters to God? Yes, and it matters to your employer and your co-workers.

Holy Spirit transforms

Do you show evidence of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in your daily life? A look back at the disciples before and after photos gives us some things to look for in our own personal lives.

Thanks again, Mom!

How can I describe the emotions of parents who love their children? We stamp a remarkable similarity in heart and in appearance on the character of small children. This is especially true of mothers, who have even more sympathy than fathers toward the feelings of their children because they gave birth to them in great pain.

An ounce of mother

There's an old Spanish proverb: "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest." So, on this Mother's Day weekend, let's thank God for many ounces of godly mothers.

McCoy: Always follow the true leader

Do you remember playing games when you were younger? I love to watch children play Simon Says or Follow the Leader.

Scharf: Listen to the shepherd’s voice

McCOY: Don't get tired of doing good

I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

Scharf: Peace in everything

Peace be with you. That's one of those things churchgoers hear all the time. So how is it working for you? Is there peace in your world?

Under his wings

It's one of those stories I've heard in so many different variations that I wonder about the real facts: A farmer comes upon the scene of a recent fire and finds a hen with wings spread, burnt to a crisp. He wonders why the hen didn't fly away and escape the fire until he gets a little closer and sees the little chicks are still alive and moving under the wings of their charred mother. They had been insulated from the fire by their mother's sacrifice.

Radical hospitality

"Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.'"

The tongue is just the messenger

You have heard it said, "One of these days, your tongue is going to get you in trouble!" But it isn't the tongue's fault - the tongue is just the messenger. The real culprit is the heart! (Luke 6:45) While the tongue is neither good nor bad, it can be used for both. Again, this is an issue that begins in the heart, but, if we set our heart on speaking truth, encouragement, godly instruction, ...

Scharf: God’s grace

"Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"

McCoy: Having faith when reality hits

While Jesus was speaking to them, a ruler came and knelt in front of him, saying, "My daughter has just died. But come and place your hand on her, and she'll live."

Scharf: I will sing to the Lord

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me."

McCoy: A spiritual check-up

"Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Don't you know that you have the Holy Spirit from God, and you don't belong to yourselves?"

What's keeping you from being great?

Solomon's humble spirit and request of the Lord resulted in God making him great (2 Chronicles 1:1, 7-12) He stood high above all others and had no peers who could compare. However, while God (and his walk with God) made him great, something happened, something that took this great man down.

An impossible laundry list

"So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

Bowing down before the Lord

Have you ever thought about how silly worship seems? And I could go through so many of the goofy seeming things that we do in the ritual of worship, but I just want to cut to the chase. Think about how crazy it seems that we give offerings. We go out of our way to get to church and then just give up significant proportions of our income...for free. Why? Why on earth would we go to church and take our time and give our money?

Solomon's great fall

What do you do when the bottom falls out from beneath you? I don't know about you, but some people look up, others look around, and yet some jump up. By the end of Solomon's reign he was experiencing a great fall. He never does look up; he never does look around. In fact, he just keeps acting like this isn't really happening. But it did happen and it was Solomon's own fault. And at ...

Reflect, repent, revive for change

Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven! Matthew 3:2 (Common English Bible) My geometry teacher in high school had a simple message to us as students: "Be sure your sins will find you out." Mrs. Quick was a kind and gentle Godly Presbyterian woman who took her teaching very seriously. She wanted us to learn all that we could so that we would be prepared to enter college with learned ...

Jesus shows love after Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Did you remember? Did you do something big? Now, I know my wife loves me, and I am pretty sure she knows I love her. But there is something to this encouragement we've had this week to show it, isn't there? Proclaim that love for all to hear. When someone shows us his or her love in an obvious way, in those over-the-top displays - it's awesome to see. When two ...

Scharf: Today, God is working

Today is a big day. It might not seem like anything special, but let me let you in on a secret. Today, God is working. Our text is the story of one of Jesus' first sermons, in his hometown of Nazareth. Imagine the scene Luke 4 paints: The people were excited having heard rumors that he had made a pretty big splash on the rabbi scene in Jerusalem, and now he was back home to ...

Dees: Goodbye, Covington

You may have heard that I announced my resignation at First Baptist this past Sunday. Paige, Emery Anna and I are moving to Birmingham, Ala., as I have been called to pastor Valleydale Church. While we are excited about this move, we are very sad to leave a Covington community that we love very much. All of that to say, this will be my last column for The Covington News.