What the world needs now…

I recently read Walter Brueggemann’s new book, Virus as a Summons to Faith, and it was exactly what I needed. It is such a strange, unprecedented time. We are locked down here, as I suspect most of us are in some way or another. We can’t entertain or visit with friends in our apartments. Meetings and […]

A Ray of Light

Long ago, in childhood and youth, I loved the weeks of heightened excitement and anticipation before Christmas: the first festive decorations appearing in store windows, never before Thanksgiving back then, Christmas trees for sale on corner lots, and at home searching through the pages of the mammoth Sears catalog for toys to add to my […]

Advent with Rachel

I sat in a Presbyterian pew this morning, the first Sunday in Advent, with family members: son, daughter-in-law, grandson, two granddaughters – one of whom was Rachel Diane. It is Rachel’s 21st birthday today. Rachel is a young woman with Down syndrome. It is always a magnificent experience to worship God with her. Rachel is […]

A Season of Waiting

O, You better watch out, You better not cry, you better not pout,  I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. “Christmas Creep” has been happening around here since before Halloween. The great engine of American retail commerce has been operating at full speed for weeks, urging us to shop and purchase in […]

Don’t Make Me Come Down There: Part 3

Greetings on this Monday morning before Christmas! We hope you will enjoy the third and final installment of Dr. Buchanan’s sermon, “Don’t Make Me Come Down There,” delivered originally in December 2008. If you haven’t yet caught up with the first two installments they were published here on Hold to the Good last week. We hope you […]

Don’t Make Me Come Down There: Part 2

Greetings! This is the second installment of a three part series to share with you one of Dr. Buchanan’s most popular advent sermons from recent years. Please catch up with part 1 (posted on Wednesday, December 18); join us for this second installment this morning, and check back tomorrow morning for the moving conclusion to […]

Don’t Make Me Come Down There

This sermon, from December 7, 2008, will be posted in three installments.  Dr. Buchanan was eager to share it on Hold to the Good as we make our way through this busy and sometimes chaotic season. May it help you to find a few moments of peace and serve as a timely reminder of that […]

No Ear May Hear Him Coming

The weeks before Christmas are a study in contrasts. On the one hand, our consumer-driven, market economy is in overdrive. Retail business is brisk, store hours are long, shoppers follow sale after sale, looking for bargains. In fact, retail merchants depend on the weeks before Christmas for a positive bottom line at year’s end. I […]