by jakeowensby | May 5, 2023 | God's love, John 14:1-14
Dave stood in the threshold, waving with his right hand and propping the screen door open with his left. I was sitting behind the steering wheel of my Jeep, leaning over to wave through the passenger window. A wordless affection passed between us. My heart ached as I...
by jakeowensby | Apr 6, 2023 | Matthew 28:1-10
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are [beautiful] in the broken places.” Where Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms reads “strong” I’ve substituted the word “beautiful.” That’s because I’m going to talk about the resurrection. And the resurrection...
by jakeowensby | Mar 24, 2023 | John 11:1-45
Friends show up. Especially in bad times. They may not know what to say or what to do, but they’ll sit with you in your dark place just so you know that you’re not alone. Jesus was tight with Lazarus and his sisters. So, when Lazarus fell ill, Mary and Martha sent for...
by jakeowensby | Feb 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
Kate Bowler had been suffering bouts of debilitating intestinal distress for some time. Eventually a specialist diagnosed her condition as cancer. Stage IV cancer. She was 35 years old. A rising star at Duke. Married to her high school sweetheart. And the mother of...
by jakeowensby | Jan 13, 2023 | Following Jesus, John 1:29-42
Sometimes you don’t realize what you’re getting into. I don’t have bad things in mind. Actually, I’m thinking about good things like marriage or parenting. It’s not that we knew nothing at all about these kinds of relationships before we got hitched or before...
by jakeowensby | Nov 25, 2022 | Matthew 24:36-44, Waiting
My friend John got a call one evening from the dementia unit. His father had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years. John’s father had dressed himself, packed his suitcase, and was now waiting in a visitor’s lounge. The staff had tried to coax him back into...
