Drawing Near

A Pastoral Perspective on Biblical, Theological, & Cultural Issues | The Personal Website of James B. Law, Ph.D.

Hope Archive

Thursday

21

August 2014

1

COMMENTS

Suicide: Where Do We Go From Here?

Written by , Posted in Church Life, Devotional

On a cold November night in the early days of my ministry, I received a panicked call from a family in the church I pastored. The request in between sobs was simple, “Come now.”

As I raced to their home and pulled into their driveway, I was stunned by the sight of a young man who had hanged himself in the family barn. The young man had been residing in their home to attend a local community college, and for a reason unknown to anyone decided on that day to end it all.

I sought to comfort the family as they tried to process this tragedy and found myself praying for his parents who were coming from out-of-town to the scene of their son’s death. (more…)

Thursday

28

March 2013

0

COMMENTS

Jesus Christ: The True Hope Giver

Written by , Posted in Uncategorized

susan-boyle-filmThere was strong reason why Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent in April of 2009 received 100 million views in the first nine days online.  It was absolutely astonishing to watch a 47 year old woman, frumpy by any standards, stand before an audience of doubters and scoffers and bring them to cheers and tears by the sound of her voice. We love to watch the underdog climb to the top, and Susan Boyle certainly did that with her singing voice.

However, there was another reason for her viral popularity around the world, and it is found in the emotional pull of the song she sang, “I Dreamed a Dream” from the Les Miserables. The English lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer which were based on the original French libretto by Alain Boublil.  The song resonates with the human experience as it speaks of dreams that are dashed and hope that is extinguished. Listen to a few excerpts: (more…)