2026 Annual Meeting
The 271st Annual Meeting of the First Congregational Church of Rockport, Massachusetts will be February 1.
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Life of ChristPhilippians 2:1-11 Prose Introduction Verses 1-5 are a prose introduction. If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy,2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind,...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Jesus preaches his summary of faith. Luke 4:14-21 Prose Introduction Verses 14-16 are a prose introduction. 14 Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 He began to teach in...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Simeon and Jesus open up ethical monotheism Simeon’s song of praise is an embedded poem that makes it clear that Jesus’ mission will extend to Gentile or non-Jews. There is a prose introduction and a prose conclusion. Luke 2:25-35 New Revised Standard Version Prose...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Mary’s pondering in Poem and Song Luke: 1:46-55 46 And Mary[a] said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.Surely from now on all generations will call me...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Micah, a prophet for all times Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high?Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Fourth Blog Psalm 104 is a psalm for our time. A portion of Psalm 104 14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate,to bring forth food from the earth15 and wine to gladden the human heart,oil to make the face shine and...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
What are the characteristics of biblical poems? The most prominent feature is parallelism. Bishop Robert Lowth, 18th century scholar, was the first to note parallelism after he explored poetry in the Old Testament. The two most important forms of parallelism that...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
What are the types and forms of biblical poems? There are two basic types of biblical poems. One type is the stand-alone poem. Psalms are stand-alone poems. We will explore one psalm in the 4th blog. The other type is embedded poems in narratives or put another way,...
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Why are biblical poems important? Reading a poem in the New Testament book, “Revelation,” will introduce you to the importance of biblical poems. As you will see towards the end of this blog, you can buy my book, Biblical Poems Embedded in Biblical Narratives, at...RECENT POSTS
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
"Never delete the rainbow. Never delete the rainbow." - 10 year old boy atop Sulphur Mountain in Canada's Banff National Park.
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
The passage from Isaiah that Jesus read in Nazareth summarized the essence of his faith. Because Luke shared the story of Jesus' mission of good news to the poor and the release of those captive and oppressed, Luke spread the social teachings of Jesus into nascent Christianity. New England fall colors suggest hearts aflame with faith.
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
The sun rises over all humanity like the love of God for creation and all people. Jesus opened up ethical monotheism that Simeon foreshadowed in his prayer of dedication and prediction. The ethical dimension even without the monotheism is a compass for many people. Therefore the teachings of Jesus are not just for people of theistic faith. Bridge building among people with diverse perspectives is possible.
Bit by Bit Biblical Poems
Mary, the mother of Jesus, poetically intuits God's ultimate reversals of unfairness into justice. Luke the implied author of the Gospel of Luke understood hearts and minds. It has even been suggested by biblical scholar, Mark Reasoner, that Luke could read minds. Therefore Luke's ability to understand Mary's thoughts and write for her anchors her poem/song, the Magnificat in history as well as in theological story telling..