Two Decades of Disaster Relief in the OPC

by Jamie Dean

In the summer of 2005, the OPC had a heart for helping people after natural disasters, but not a mechanism for organizing relief on a wider scale. What they did have was a man who could start figuring it out. David Haney served the OPC in many capacities during his decades of service to the denomination. He unexpectedly went to be with the Lord in 2019. But in August of 2005, he was driving south toward the wreckage of one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and set off one of the most massive relief efforts in a century. There were no OP churches in the worst zones of Katrina’s wreckage, but a groundswell of OPC members were asking for ways to help those in need. Haney went to check it out. That trip laid the foundation for the next twenty years. The wheels began turning for a more organized structure, and a few years later another David—David Nakhla—began serving as head of disaster response for the OPC. Nakhla has seen the ... Read more

The Gift of Gifts

by M. Jay Bennett

As we enter another Christmas season, we do well to remember that we are under no obligation to keep any time for a holy rest other than what God has commanded in his Word, namely, the weekly Christian Sabbath. Nonetheless, it is always appropriate for us to meditate on the incarnation, including its connection to one of the traditions of the season: gift-giving. Our consumer culture has radically commercialized this tradition—we are under constant pressure to perceive the value of owning this product or enjoying that service. This Christmas season, as we meditate on the incarnation, let us guard ourselves against the grievous evil of covetousness and remind ourselves of God’s remedy for it. A Grievous Evil In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, calling himself “the Preacher,” observes: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2). He then asks: “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (v. 3). In other words, “What ultimate purpose may be found in this ... Read more

Out of Egypt I Called My Son

by Zachary C. Herbster

When George Bailey shops for a suitcase in It’s a Wonderful Life , he tells the man at the counter that he wants a “big one” before stretching his arms out wide. We make the same motion when we tell children how much we love them: “I love you thiiiiis much!” If we understand that our arms cannot contain our love, how much more must the Father love his Son, Jesus? Their relationship is prominent in Matthew’s infancy narrative and points us to the prophet Hosea to understand the depth of the Father’s love for his Son. We’ll look at Hosea 11:1–9 to get a fuller picture. Matthew Quotes a Prophet In Matthew 2:13–15 we read about Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fleeing to Egypt from Herod the Great. As Matthew points out, this episode fulfills a somewhat obscure Old Testament prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1). We recognize the parallels between the Old and New Testaments: Jesus’s earthly father wasn’t the first Joseph to shelter his family in Egypt. Jesus wasn’t ... Read more