Mary Harwell Sayler's Blog: In a Christian Writer's Life, page 16

Symbols: Water and Fire

Symbols: Water and Fire

If I asked you to name a symbol - any symbol - what would come to your mind?

This "Bible Talk" considers biblical symbols and those unique to ourselves.

Christmas poems from PRAISE!

Christmas poems from PRAISE!

God bless your Christmas! And may these poems honor our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the year.

Bible Talk: Rejoice!

Here's my "Bible Talk" for December 16: "Rejoice! For God rejoices over you!" on my website Blog – Mary Harwell Sayler.

Classic poetry from a faith perspective

This anthology of beautifully-written poetry from the perspective of faith is a must-read for Christian poets and poetry lovers of hope: The Soul in Paraphrase.

You'll not only have an excellent collection of literary poems to study and enjoy, you'll have the benefit of notes and comments by the prolific writer and long-time English Professor Leland Ryken - an expert in the field of literature and the Bible. I've appreciated his work for years and keep many of his books beside my desk for quick reference!

For a review of the book, click onto the current post on my Poetry Editor and Poetry blog .


The Soul in Paraphrase, hardback




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What do we have to offer?

Scripture Readings for November 18, 2018
1 Samuel 1:4-20
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-14, 15-18, 19-25
Mark 13:1-8

Bible Talk

Please click onto this hotlink for the talk based on the above scripture readings: “What do we have to offer?”


Revised Common Lectionary, paperback




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Hashtag #Christ to the ends of the earth

Are you on Twitter? I am - @MaryHSayler - and also on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social media sites. I hope you'll join me in seeking and praying for ways we can use current trends and hashtags on social networks that extend into every corner and curve of the globe.

Every day newly trending topics are power-tools to reach countless people who wouldn't normally cross our tweet little paths. To give you an example, earlier today on Twitter, I saw that "Trends" included hashtag "NobodyWantsToHear," which gave me the opportunity to tweet this:


#NobodyWantsToHear "You screwed up!" or, worse, "You sinned!" But guess what. We all do. That's the bad news. The Good News is that #God forgives us in the name, sacrifice, and love of #JesusChrist. As we're forgiven in #Christ we're made perfect again! [Repeat the above!]

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Is Every Trial a Court Case?

If you're a pastor or teacher who uses the Revised Common Lectionary, you might welcome this "Bible Talk" based on the scripture readings scheduled for October 28.

May God bless your study of Holy Scripture!

Is Every Trial a Court Case?

For God – or against?

Based on readings from The Revised Common Lectionary, here's the Bible Talk I'll present, Lord willing, this Sunday September 30 at 11 a.m. in the Lake Como Community of Hope, Lake Como, Florida.

For God – or against?

Remembering God with us: 9/11

Remembering God with us: 9/11

As we remember the tragic events of this day, let's remember the Lord is always with us.

PRAYER: How Praying Together Shapes the Church

In the book PRAYER, which Crossway kindly sent me to review, author-pastor John Onwuchekwa examines how communal prayer shapes the life of a church and is as necessary as breathing. I love the analogy! But, sadly, the flip side fits, too – for example, if we think of Christians holding their breath, waiting for God to DO something!

As the first chapter, “Breathe Again,” reminds us:

“Where prayer is present, it’s saying something – it’s speaking, shouting. It teaches the church that we really need the Lord. Where prayer is absent, it reinforces the assumption that we’re okay without him…. It leads a church to believe that there are plenty of things we can do without God’s help, and we need to bother him only when we run into especially difficult situations.”

The truth, however is that, “…prayer is among the most vital keys to a successful ministry. It’s as necessary as breathing. It’s not meant to replace work but enable it. If we care to see our churches thrive in faithfulness to God, then our churches must pray like their lives depended on it. We must learn how to breathe together.”

What’s wonderful about this is that breath, air, wind, Ruah, Holy Spirit power know no denominational lines! And neither does the “Lord’s Prayer” or “Our Father.”

As the author points out in the chapter, “The World is Yours,” Jesus shows us what to ask for as we pray “Our Father” in unison and follow that potent example, corporately.

Conversely, notice how Jesus speaks to the individual in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and other biblical areas where He teaches on morality.

“But when talking to this same crowd about prayer, all of his pronouns are plural.”

Our corporate prayers are to draw on scripture and lean on the Lord as we: “Populate the prayer list primarily with kingdom, whole body, and major life concerns.”

The chapter, “Lean on Me,” also includes biblical examples of how the early church prayed as one corporate being, and, as the Body of Christ today, we still have access to that prayer power! With prayer a priority – a mission – an outreach guided by God – we can effect change and draw closer to God.

May this book give our churches the CPR needed to have a lively, healthy prayer life and breathe easy in Jesus’ Name.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018, poet-writer, reviewer


PRAYER: How Praying Together Shapes the Church, hardback




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