The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope

CHRISTMAS ROMANCE, REALITIES, AND OUR RELIGION ©Wendell Griffen, 2019 December 29, 2019 (First Sunday after Christmas) New Millennium Church Little Rock, Arkansas Matthew 2:13-23 13  Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’  14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,  15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ 16  When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.  17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

AN ADVENT PRAYER FOR DESPERATE PEOPLE ©Wendell Griffen, 2019 December 22, 2019 (Fourth Sunday of Advent) New Millennium Church Little Rock, Arkansas Psalm 80 To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm. 1  Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,    you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2    before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might,    and come to save us! 3  Restore us, O God;    let your face shine, that we may be saved. 4  O  Lord  God of hosts,    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5  You have fed them with the bread of tears,    and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6  You make us the scorn of our neighbours;    our enemies laugh among themselves. 7  Restore us, O God of hosts;    let your face shine, that we may be saved. 8  You brought a vine out of Egypt;    you drove out the nations and planted it. 9  You cleared the ground for it;   

My December 19 column in Baptist News is a call to faithful people, including (but not limited to) followers of Jesus, to denounce President Donald Trump as a corrupt, toxic, and abusive man - a sociopath in fact - with the same prophetic clarity that Vernon Johns, the brilliant black prophet who was pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama demonstrated during his eulogy of a man known to be a scoundrel.  I hope you will read, ponder, and share the column widely. https://baptistnews.com/article/impeached-congress-did-its-job-will-people-of-faith-have-the-moral-courage-to-do-theirs/#.Xf0XckdKhAE

DONALD TRUMP’S WORST NIGHTMARE ©Wendell Griffen, 2019 Donald Trump’s derangement is happening in real time in front of the world.   The whole world knows that he has been impeached – charged with abuse of his office as President of the United States and obstruction of the U.S. Congress – meaning that he now, officially, has been identified as a sociopath.   However many times he may call his behavior “perfect,” “beautiful,” “the best,” or whatever other superlatives he likes to use, Trump now is an officially known menace to the United States.   But that isn’t Trump’s worst nightmare.   Trump’s greatest nightmare, and his constant terror, comes because his impeachment has come at the hands of a woman.   Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, masterminded the 2018 campaign that resulted in Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives.   Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, is third in line of succession to the Presidency (behind Vice Presi