DNA kits have become a popular Christmas present in the last few years, enabling people to discover connections they never realized they had. In some cases, these have led to awkward conversations about family secrets thought long buried. In other cases, it has led to amazing reunions. For example, I’ve been following the case of Melissa Highsmith, who was kidnapped 51 years ago and raised by her abductors in cruelty and abuse. Melissa’s family found her after registering with 23andMe and findin...
Dec 11, 2022•23 min
There’s some debate on whether or not we should call them “Wise Men.” Matthew uses the word “magi,” from which we get “magician.” Scholar Richard Vinson wonders if their presence is an allusion to the incompetent advisors in the Daniel story or even Pharaoh’s court in the time of Moses. While guided by a star, they’re still misguided, needing to stop in Jerusalem to get directions (no self-respecting wise man would ask for directions!). Vinson points out, “They have seen a new star, indicating t...
Dec 04, 2022•22 min
My first pastor passed away yesterday. Dave Butts was, among other things (like a friend and former boss), my pastor for many years. I realize that much of my ministry has been shaped by how I saw Dave, Rich Carmicheal, and others live out their callings. As I look at my sermon text for today, I'm reminded of a quality I always appreciated in Dave—his trust in God's timing. Our church used to have attendance folders in every pew, and every Sunday morning, we'd fill out our names, whether or not ...
Nov 27, 2022•28 min
His Love Endures Forever; Psalm 136 by Bret Hammond
Nov 20, 2022•25 min
This past Friday, I gathered with friends to say goodbye to a wonderful lady named Joyce Hemingway. Joyce's generous spirit was repeatedly mentioned at her funeral—not just generous in how she gave but in how she welcomed. Every holiday, there were always a few extra at Joyce and John's table. They had a practice of welcoming international students from Denmark, Japan, and the Middle East into their home to celebrate Thanksgiving. It always struck me that these students had no national connectio...
Nov 13, 2022•23 min
I stopped into my favorite hideaway yesterday for a cup of coffee and a little time to myself. Within a few minutes, the sound system started playing “Winter Wonderland.” Next up was “Run, Run Rudolph,.” A few minutes later, Freddy Mercury belted out, “Let it be Christmas every day.” I sighed while I drank my chestnut praline latte and wondered why we allow Christmas to run roughshod over Thanksgiving. Of course, it’s a common complaint of curmudgeons my age. In our rush to get to Christmas, we ...
Nov 06, 2022•20 min
This week will mark the twenty-third year since my brother’s death as a victim of suicide. Twenty-three years is a lot of time for perspective. I know mine has changed over the years, and I sometimes wonder how Brad’s perspective would have changed if he had given it time. Would the burdens that felt unmanageable at forty-nine years old have been just distant memories at seventy-two? I would like to believe they would have. An old Swedish proverb says, “a joy shared is a doubled joy. A burdened ...
Oct 30, 2022•22 min
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 that the church is the body of Christ, comparing the church's individual members with the members of the human body. I've always heard this as a metaphor for how we serve together. Hands and feet of Jesus, working and moving us together. Eyes and ears, seeing the needs around us, and hearing the cries of our neighbors so we can reach out to them better. However, my perspective on this metaphor has changed in recent years, and I have a sneaking suspicion that cha...
Oct 23, 2022•27 min
Mary Johnson’s story is moving and inspiring. In 1993, her 20-year-old son was shot and killed by 16-year-old Oshea Israel. Rather than being consumed by bitterness, Mary began visiting Oshea in prison, eventually telling him that she forgave him. When he was released, Mary welcomed Oshea into her home. In an interview with the two, Mary said, “I treat you as I would treat my own son.” Can we even imagine that kind of grace? Honestly, probably not. As a preacher, I wonder how helpful these stori...
Oct 16, 2022•23 min
"No one ever said that to me before." My neighbor had stopped by for a talk. The day before, he told me of his wife's health and how he was caring for her. I told him I would be praying for them both. "No one ever said that to me before." It was as much a shock to my system to hear him say those words as my pledge to pray had been to his. All my life, I had known people were praying for me (even before I was a Christian). To me, it was the most natural response imaginable. To Jim, it was a level...
Oct 09, 2022•22 min
It had been a late night and an early morning. Sitting at the breakfast table with my friends, bleary-eyed, and wading through another cup of coffee, I confessed, "Look, I'm barely here. If you have anything important to say, you're going to need to repeat it, like, three times." My exhaustion was a convenient excuse, but we would all have to confess that we don't always pay attention. But I was right; repetition is the key to remembering. Way back in 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that rep...
Oct 02, 2022•23 min
Everyone has their own heroes from the Bible. When we're young, the boys choose David and dream of fighting off giants. Maybe the girls choose Esther and know that part of their beauty is the conviction to stand for what's right. Daniel inspires our faithfulness; Mary reminds us that God uses unexpected people for his purposes. Whomever you've chosen as your biblical hero, you have found something in them that you want in your character and story. As for me, my hero is the demoniac Jesus encount...
Sep 25, 2022•28 min
Tucked in the middle of the movie, The Passion of the Christ is a scene that I find my mind going back to again and again. Jesus has been beaten bloody and carries his cross through the streets of Jerusalem. The weight of the wood, the exhaustion of the beating, and the blood in his eyes from the crown of thorns suddenly become too much for him. He collapses to the ground, the cross pinning him there. His mother watches on, and like any mother who sees her child fall, she runs to comfort him, sa...
Sep 18, 2022•28 min
I’ve appeared in court on three different occasions. I was called to be a witness all three times, compelled to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And, on all three occasions, I did precisely that. The first two times, I was there to testify to the character of the defendants, or a lack thereof. I did not enjoy either of those appearances. But the last time I was called to testify was on behalf of my son, Connor. When Connor turned 18, he became an adult in the eyes of t...
Sep 11, 2022•21 min
Lyn Marshall was one of those people I would never have known if it weren't for the church. The first few times we talked, we seemed so different from each other. But, then, on a long car ride to visit her sick mother, we bonded over a mutual love of The Moody Blues. And when she told me about how she met Vincent Furnier (maybe better known to you as "Alice Cooper"), I was sold! This was one cool lady! Lyn's passing yesterday reminded me of the truth I'll try to convey in my sermon today. "So th...
Sep 04, 2022•26 min
Some churches have a long-held tradition of placing salt on the tongues of newly baptized believers and giving them a lit candle to remind them they are "the salt of the earth and the light of the world." I love the symbolism and the message it sends. It's not, "Go out there and try to be the salt of the earth," or "You better make sure you keep your light shining!" Instead, with commitment fresh and hair still wet from baptism, it lets the new believer know precisely who they are in this world ...
Aug 21, 2022•26 min
One of my first roles in the church was as a shepherd. I don't mean that in a pastoral sense, but rather in a Christmas pageant sense. In Junior High, for our church's live nativity, I was one of the three guys chosen to play shepherds. I had the headgear (one of mom's tea towels wrapped around my head), a staff (a stick with a bent clothes hanger duct taped to one end), and an old bathrobe. The only thing I didn't have—that none of us shepherds had—was sheep. We looked the part, but without she...
Aug 14, 2022•25 min
The most frequently used designation for Christians in the Bible is the word "Brother." It appears over 250 times in the book of Acts and the Epistles. So while you and I call ourselves Christians and speak of ourselves in groups as churches, the Bible shows us, again and again, that we cannot understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus without the concept of family. We often worry about the state of the family these days. We see the struggle of broken homes and absentee parents and the a...
Aug 07, 2022•25 min
Dad said I was named for one of his favorite westerns. Mom said she picked my name because it worked well with my brother's. I like dad's story better, but whether the name had meaning or they just liked the sound of it, I'm stuck with it. There are far worse names to be stuck with. For example, in the Bible, the prophet Hosea has a son named "Lo-Ammi," Hebrew for "Not my people." Can you imagine being stuck with a name like that? Whenever Hosea introduced his son, he said, "He's not mine." Peop...
Jul 31, 2022•23 min
The anniversary came and went with barely a notice last week. This past Friday marked eleven years since the fire that destroyed our old building. I looked through the pictures and thought about how far we've come and how many things have changed. The last couple of pictures from that day were of the destruction of the few walls still standing. Those walls had once brought us closer to God and each other. They made us feel safe and secure in our worship, but now they were hazards and had to be t...
Jul 24, 2022•24 min
Nothing was ever quite good enough for the old man. So he often “improved” items by adding a few new parts. There was the wire running from the TV across the living room, and dangling a speaker next to his chair, so he didn’t have to walk across the room to turn it up (if only he could have invented a remote back then). Extra handles on his old boat made it easier to transport. And, of course, some of you would remember his old van. Chalk it up to creativity or “hillbilly ingenuity,” but there w...
Jul 17, 2022•26 min
Robin Hood was my favorite. As a kid, it was just bows and arrows, good guys and bad guys; I didn't understand the setting or conflict that gave birth to the story. Good King Richard is off fighting, and miserable Prince John is in charge. Robin and his band of Merry Men remained loyal to the king, even though he was absent. They held to the true king's standards and fought to maintain his kingdom. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come," but I wonder if we shouldn't hear it more as a rally...
Jun 26, 2022•28 min
Life for the fatherless was difficult in the ancient world. Children were often left with no recourse but to beg, and it could be far worse for widows. Again and again, in the Bible, we read commands like the one found in Zechariah 7:10, "do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." God's heart is with the fatherless and the poor. Jesus came with that same heart but called his followers to go beyond merely n...
Jun 19, 2022•27 min
The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel connects the United States to Canada by traveling nearly a mile under the Detroit River. When we popped out of the tunnel on the Canadian side, my friends, Mark and Kimm, turned to me in the backseat and said (in unison), “Bret, when the guards stop us at the gate, keep your mouth shut.” I’m still not exactly sure what they thought I was going to say. But it was imperative that I not joke around or try to have fun with the guards. I was a visitor to their land and need...
Jun 12, 2022•25 min
My Tuesday evenings are a little more lonely these days. Like many of you, for the last six years, I spent Tuesday evenings with the Pearson family enjoying the series "This Is Us." I marveled at how the writers pulled stories together, wondered about the cause of Jack's death, was firmly Team Toby (right up until I wasn't), and watched Rebecca slowly slip away. (I guess I should have warned you about spoilers, but it's been six years, so that's kind of on you) One of the elements that I loved i...
Jun 05, 2022•25 min
It's hard to find one word that describes my feelings this past week. "Stunned," maybe. "Shocked," definitely. "Grieving," again. There's been too much to grieve and too little time to mourn it properly. We're all hurting for the families of Robb Elementary School and the community of Uvalde. When I chose to preach from Micah today, I had no idea how it would resonate with the week we've been through. The words of Micah 4:3 likely sound familiar to you. "They shall beat their swords into plowsha...
May 29, 2022•24 min
Our friend Kendal challenged several of us to a scavenger hunt. My brother-in-law and I were confident we could win! As soon as we had the instructions in hand, we took off in his truck to search the countryside for the prize. After getting stuck in a ditch and relying on the kindness of a farmer to pull us out, we were curious as to why none of our competitors had come along after us. Were we that far ahead, or were we in last place? So we headed back to the starting point and discovered the in...
May 22, 2022•26 min
I begin every morning by asking Siri to tell me the news, and every news report begins with the war in Ukraine. I hear of attacks on "humanitarian corridors," peace talks that never produce fruit, the bombing of civilians, and sanctions that seem to move too slowly. I wish I could tell you that I follow every news report with a time of prayer on my knees, but I confess that many times I shake my head and wonder when it will all be over. And then I come to Jesus' words, "Blessed are the peacemake...
May 15, 2022•25 min
The words "mother" and "mercy" seem to go together naturally. I see the connection as I watch my daughter hold my granddaughter; I see it as I watch Trish get Connor ready for school in the mornings. For many, mothers are their first experience of the blessing of mercy. But, in a parable where Jesus explained what mercy looks like, he didn't choose a mother as the merciful one but a complete stranger. Jesus reminds us that we don't only show mercy to family members or those we have a relationshi...
May 08, 2022•24 min
There was a commercial on TV when I was a child. I don't remember what they were selling, but it was a scene of an old well pump on a farm and a voice reciting Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Whenever the commercial came on, I would think, "I don't know what righteousness is, but it must be hard work. You're hungry and thirsty after you're done doing it!" I was right, just not for the reasons my young mind thought; righteo...
May 01, 2022•26 min
