Dear friends, Here we are at the end of 2016. As you look back over the past year, do you have feelings of remorse, or guilt, or regret? As you look forward to 2017 do you find yourself feeling anxious, uptight, or even fearful? Reading yesterday’s news or tomorrow’s predictions may leave you with feelings…
Posts from 2016
Santa or Jesus? Well that would be a choice between history and fantasy! Many people choose fantasy over reality not only at Christmas but throughout the year! How do you picture Santa? Can you describe him in less than 20 words? How about describing God to someone in less than 20 words in 30 seconds? Suppose I asked you…
Throughout the Bible we see invitations from God to come to Him and worship. Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! Matt. 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. As we finish up the…
Have the holiday goodies started showing up in your office or home? About this time of year, those open boxes of chocolates, homemade cookies and, yes, even fruitcakes appear almost everywhere you go, tempting us to eat food we don’t really need. This will soon be followed in the New Year by all kinds of…
Have you done any waiting recently? Waiting for that turkey to come out of the oven on Thursday? Waiting for friends or family to arrive from a journey? Waiting for an image to load? Waiting for your favorite store to open? In 2014 one man in San Jose took Black Friday waiting to a whole…
While facing tremendous national and personal distress over the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln had learned how important it is to stop and thank God. On October 3, 1863 he established the national celebration of Thanksgiving. “It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged…
Yesterday I talked to my next door neighbor how she felt about last Tuesday’s presidential election. I asked, “Are you rejoicing or weeping?” (She was sad, but not quite weeping.) I had just read Romans 12:15 which says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” In the wake of a very contentious…
Dear Church Family, Prepare for “scare.” This weekend when you go about your business look out: you’re going to see lots of people in freaky costumes and ugly masks. And it gets worse, because on Monday night others will be pounding on your door, demanding treats lest they play some haunting trick on you. (Hey,…
This Sunday we will join with thousands of Christians around the world to pray for the persecuted church. Over the next several weeks the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is encouraging all Christians to lift up their brothers and sisters who are suffering for Christ. · Pray that persecuted believers would know…
On a summer day in Enfield, Connecticut, a preacher delivered a sermon by reading calmly from his notes without theatrics, gestures, power point, video, or anything other than the Word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The message so deeply touched people that they threw themselves on the floor, sobbing with repentance.…