The Shema
Posted April 13, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Stephen Tobolowsky is an “Oh yeah, that guy” kind of guy. A character actor—you probably recognize him even if you don’t quite know who he is. He’s most well-known for playing Ned Ryerson, the annoying insurance salesman from the film Groundhog Day.
Deuteronomy
Posted April 6, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Not long after my dad passed away, I found one of his old diaries while cleaning out my parents’ home. From 1972, the little book provided some insight on his busy life at that time, revealing his daily schedule, his worries about the near future, and a little comic relief, as well.
Hope
Posted March 30, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Colorful Easter eggs will soon dot our church’s lawn as our kids arrive for our Children’s Easter Celebration just 24 hours before we all gather for worship on Easter morning. In that spirit of hope, let’s consider another kind of Easter egg hidden in plain sight on our campus, one that relates to the Old Testament book of Numbers.
Numbers
Posted March 23, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
The book of Numbers would probably be more widely read if it were titled differently. The English translation of its Hebrew name, Bemidbar, would be an evocative improvement: In the Wilderness.
Leviticus
Posted March 16, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
I traveled to Florida recently to take in some Grapefruit League baseball where, there at Spring Training, I was reminded of something I’ve always considered true about the game. Baseball rewards you for the interest you take in it. The more you watch it, the more you consider its nuance, its history, the details of the game, the more in turn it offers back to you.
Sabbath
Posted March 9, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
There’s a comedian I’ve heard with a bit in which his three year-old daughter is acting up. To distract her, he gives her a cookie. “Here honey,” he says, “you like these—have a Fig Newton.”
Burning Bush
Posted March 2, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
The book of Exodus isn't too far along when God’s people, the descendants of Joseph, though previously flourishing in Egypt, come now to live under a new Pharaoh of whom we are told “Joseph meant nothing.”
Exodus
Posted February 23, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
The Exodus is probably the most dramatic story in all of the Old Testament, which is probably what made it so appealing to Cecil B. DeMille, the founding father of American cinema. Attracted to epic stories with blockbuster appeal, DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956) not only remains the sixth highest grossing movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation, but also continues to be how many…
Judah and Tamar – It's Complicated
Posted February 16, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
In an interview with The Paris Review, author Shelby Foote said the writer’s first job is to communicate what it’s like, for instance, to walk out in the rain. However, to do more, to tell a believable story, expressing what life is and what it’s all about, Foote said, “You got to complicate it up.” Foote’s friend, novelist William Faulkner, similarly said that a story will always struggle to…
Joseph
Posted February 9, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
The last fourteen chapters of Genesis tell a rollicking “riches to rags to riches to rags to redemption” story. In what amounts to a compelling and finely-wrought novella, we follow a young man named Joseph for about 13 years, beginning when he is about 17 years old through a sequence of dramatic adventures. It’s a story of detours and destiny that instructs us on what to do when where we thought…
Jacob, the Prodigal
Posted February 2, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
There’s a story that appears at precisely the halfway point of the book of Genesis that starts essentially like this: A certain man had two sons. The boys are twins. When they were born, one was ruddy in appearance, his name Esau, the Rough One. After that, the other one came, his hand grasping his brother’s heel, so they called him Jacob, Heel-Holder.
Cain and Abel
Posted January 26, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
One way to read the third and fourth chapters of Genesis, which describe The Fall and its aftermath, is to view them as an ancient explanation for the emergence of both human consciousness and our conscience—that is, our agency—and how we as human beings know the difference between right and wrong.
Adam & Eve
Posted January 19, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Genesis’s iconic narrative of the creation of the Cosmos is quickly followed— “layered” might be more accurate to say—with another creation story, one far more intimate, focused on a symbolic, poetic, and yet particular place: a garden where a man named Adam and a woman named Eve arise. Much, of course, has been written about Eden and these two.
Genesis
Posted January 12, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Not long ago, from a California hotel balcony I watched the biggest thing in our solar system, the star we call the sun, rise over the biggest thing on Earth, a body of water which, when he first encountered it in 1520, Ferdinand Magellan described as Pacific.
Last Page
Posted January 5, 2026 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
John faced a hard deadline for the short story a literary magazine had commissioned from him. He’d started and mostly finished an account of a fictional basketball player, a grizzled veteran, who against all odds had overcome a series of injuries, relationship problems, and assorted demons from his past to now find himself, at the climax of the tale, at the free throw line in the championship…
Awestruck and Wonder-filled
Posted December 25, 2025 by Steve Wells in Advent
It is finally Christmas Day. The packages have been unwrapped. The Cowboys are playing the Commanders. You made it through the gauntlet of parties, planning, and providing. For so many around us, that is all there is. Wrapping paper, cleaning up, catching a nap, and a game on TV. No wonder my grandfather used to say, “forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.” Few…
Welcome Others with Love
Posted December 24, 2025 by Everett DuBroc in Advent
My family began attending South Main in 2012 when I was just three years old. Over the years, this church has become more than a place of worship for me. It’s like a second home; a community where I’ve grown up and learned what it means to mirror Jesus. South Main’s Youth Group has helped me discover the importance of inclusivity and how our actions should reflect that ideal.
God's Love in Perfect Timing
Posted December 23, 2025 by J.T. Spoede in Advent
Have you ever prayed for something so deeply that it seemed to take over your whole heart—yet you wondered if God would ever answer? I know I have. For years, I prayed for my daughter, asking God to touch her heart and show her His love. I wanted so badly to control the situation—to make sure she wouldn’t miss what I believed was most important: experiencing Jesus for herself.
Monday Over Coffee: "Eternity"
Posted December 22, 2025 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Though he was just twelve, Dave had been asked to read a scripture at his aunt’s memorial service. Though she was his only aunt, he was sure she would’ve remained his favorite even if he’d had a dozen or so to choose from. They had been very close.
Joyfully Welcoming
Posted December 22, 2025 by Michael Louie in Advent
My mother, Sylvia Louie, loved to decorate her house with colors and themes to suit the nearest holiday. Throughout the year, she spent her spare time researching and fabricating various arts and crafts projects, such as gnomes, roosters, fabric wreaths, and Christmas trees. In her anticipation of each holiday, she worked to ready her home and her heart for every celebration. She would put out…
