June 7, 2022
by Eric Stillman
It is hard to know how to best respond to the ongoing tragedies in our country and world. On May 24th, an 18-year-old gunman tragically took the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. Despite the horror of that day, it was sadly just another in a long line of mass shootings. And despite the tragedy of these mass shootings, they are only part of a larger spike recently in our country of “deaths of despair,” including suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related deaths. And, if that is not depressing enough, a survey of the global scene shows the continued ravages of war, poverty, slavery, and other atrocities....Keep Reading
Posted in: Suffering Tags: Suffering, Lament, Uvalde, violence
August 4, 2020
by Eric Stillman
This past weekend, Pastor Justo of the church in Barranca where NewLife sent a mission team last March passed away from COVID-19. He leaves behind a wife, Janeth, three boys, and a thriving church. Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal Misionera Barranca....Keep Reading
Tags: Death, Peru, Lament
June 9, 2020
by Eric Stillman
In my preparation for the current sermon series on lament, one reality that I have heard pointed out often by the authors I have read is that anywhere from 30-40% of the Psalms can be classified as laments, while in our modern hymnals or collections of worship songs, the percentage ranges anywhere from 5-15%. Besides seeing this as an interesting discrepancy, what might this reveal about our modern Christianity? I can think of three things:
1) We are too consumer-driven...Keep Reading
Tags: Worship, Suffering, Lament
