Category: Ethics

Bible, Blues, Family, Grief, Music, Narrative, Parenting, StoryLeave a comment

Holding On

Gary Furr

Sermon four was part of the series “Feeling the Blues,” originally presented on Sunday, November 15, 2009, at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church. The title of this message is “Holding On,” and it’s based on the biblical story of Hannah that you can find in the book of First Samuel, chapter one, verses 4 through 20. Infertility and Hope Now, this is not a text about how to have babies if you haven’t. The whole struggle of infertility for so many people is a… is a hidden one. It is painful, and it’s not really the focus of this story. In … Continue reading Holding On

Aging, ancestors, Bible, Blues, Grief, Music, Sickness and Health, spirituality, Story, SufferingLeave a comment

Deathbed Blues

Gary Furr

Sermon 5 was originally the conclusion of “Feeling the Blues,” presented on Sunday, November 22, 2009, at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The title of this message is “The Deathbed Blues.” It’s based on the biblical story of King David and found in the book of 2nd Samuel, chapter 23, verses 1 through 7. And so we come to the end of this series of sermons on the blues and the church, the blues and the Christian life, the blues and the gospel. Two things that we might have been forgiven for thinking had very little to do … Continue reading Deathbed Blues

America, Bill of Rights, Christian Nationalism, Christianity, Citizenship, Constitution, Culture, First Amendment, Fundamentalism, humanity, Interfaith Dialogue, Jesus, Politics, Politics, reconciliation, Story, Theology, violence, war, worldview

Our Muslim Girls

Gary Furr

My wife was the head resident of a girls dormitory when I was in Seminary at Campbell University in North Carolina. I would commute every day to Southeastern Baptist Seminary, 100 miles round trip, for the three years as I was getting my Master’s degree. It was a godsend, because we got a one bedroom apartment with a windowless storage room that we converted into a small bedroom for our daughter, and a few years later, our second daughter was born and shared it with her. I’m sorry we lived there, though. After living with a dorm full of undergraduate … Continue reading Our Muslim Girls

Family, Justice, Love, Parenting, Politics, Reinhold Niebuhr, Story

Love, Justice, and Perseverance

Gary Furr

I read an excellent post this morning from Rich Havard, who was in our congregation as a student and now works in community building and social change in his adult life. It is an excellent piece about the struggles of being a person who is intentional in his spiritual journey working in a real world where sometimes there is puzzlement or antipathy toward the notion. He asked, “What place do spirituality and love have in the quest for a just world?” He spurred me to think about it. It’s an excellent piece I commend for your thinking. In his book, … Continue reading Love, Justice, and Perseverance

9-11, Aggression, America, Citizenship, Conflict, Constitution, Culture, Ethics, fear, Manners, Politics, Selfishness, Story, violence, war

Greenland, Respect and Treading on Snakes

Gary Furr

My World War II vets in my former pastorate are all gone. They would spit venom at the idea of being aggressors. America defends the little guys, they believed. They beat Hitler and Japan to say, “Stop it. Leave the world alone.” And they came home and raised families, earned a living and served their communities. This is what I am sure they would say: “Leave Greenland alone. You don’t treat friends like a hostile takeover.” They would have said, “No. Leave them alone. Finish the ballroom. Get inflation under control. Fix the highways and take care of the poor … Continue reading Greenland, Respect and Treading on Snakes