Archives For Family

God’s New Society, Part 3: The Church As the Family of God (Hebrews 2:10-13 and Selected)

May 21, 2012 — Leave a comment

My birth certificate has always been as mysterious as President Obama’s. There are, to be sure, a lot fewer people in the world who are interested in my birth certificate than there are in his. Still, mine is pretty crazy.

For starters, there were three originals, and they all had a different birth date (March 30, March 31, and April 1, 1965). Second, the named father is not my biological father. And third, my birth certificate had to be reissued after the following “Decree of Abandonment” was signed by a Montgomery County judge:  Continue Reading…

In Sermons , , , , , , ,
permalink

Remembering Mom, Seven Years Later

March 15, 2012 — 8 Comments

“She didn’t give us her blood, but she gave us her love, and so we called her ‘Mom.’ It’s every orphan’s dream to be hand-picked and placed into a good home. But to be hand-picked by Cherie Valentino—that was beyond a dream because she was the embodiment of motherly love.”

That’s how I began the eulogy for my mother, Cherie G. Valentino, who died seven years ago today. I knew that if I could just get past those first few sentences, I’d be able to finish the message. By the grace of God I did, but even now those words meddle softly with this grateful heart.  Continue Reading…

In Bits & Pieces , , , ,
permalink