The Deacon's Bench

One of the more interesting concepts that we learn from Judaism is the todah sacrifice. You see there were many different types of sacrifice but the todah is one that we will all recognize very quickly as Christians. The todah was a sacrifice offered in recognition of God delivering someoneContinue Reading

We have to be careful what we say, because the tongue is a terrible beast to tame. Do we often consider what we say and who we are talking to? Jame said, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corruptsContinue Reading

Baptism by fire. It is a topic that has brought a lot of thought and discussion over the years. The book of acts indicates that when the apostles where baptized with fire, they literally saw tongues of flame resting on each other. Then they went out speaking tongues, that isContinue Reading

Wheat or Tare Though darkness may attempt to consume meThe light of day always comes throughFrom the fruit of the forbidden treeCame pain that no man could subdue Independent thought came the call Of spilt blood against the handHidden, but not secret the fallAs it resounded through the land WanderingContinue Reading

There is a story in the book of Tobit that a dear friend of mine wrote about in his blog. Fr. Tim wrote about how Tobit’s wife Anna received a goat for her work, kind of a bonus for doing a good job. Tobit however had recently slept in anContinue Reading

I would like to post a prayer request today. I’ve had a heavy heart the last few days, a heavy heart for humanity. I feel that we are missing the mark so to speak. We as a species are ready to perpetuate any amount of evil in order to keepContinue Reading