To my very dear Church Family, I’ll give you a sneak preview of the plan for this Sunday when we converge at 10885 N. Stelling. Dave Ruder has taken great care to plan the gathering for the first service. (I’m sure Daniel K. has a rich and thoughtful service for us for the second hour.)…
Posts from 2016 (Page 2)
This week one of our elders sent me an article that started with the following verse, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey…” Isaiah 59:14-15a (ESV). It may be said that one…
In the middle of all the turmoil we’re in, our nation needs prayer. This week there has been racial hatred, two African American men killed by police, protests in major cities across the country, and five officers killed in a sniper shooting. It’s enough to make you bar the door, draw the blinds, and hide!…
Dear Valley Church family and friends, Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our LOL Mexico team. Please continue to pray for our team of 43 as we leave on Sunday. We wanted to tell you a little about the family we’ll be building the home for in Ensenada. Rodrigo and Ivonn…
Look up the definition of the word “toxic” and here is what you will find: containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation; extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful. Open the newspaper today and you’ll have no doubt that we live in a “harsh, malicious, and harmful” world. Mass shootings,…
Last summer several of us from Valley Church ran in a “Spartan” race in southern California. It was 14 miles of mud, hills, dirt, mud, lake, obstacles, and more mud all at a sizzling 100 degrees! Sounds fun, huh? By the time we were done, all we wanted was Tylenol, a shower, and In and…
Dear friends, One of the most interesting places I have traveled to has a unique expression of religious devotion. Each major village is fiercely loyal to its tribe and constructs elaborate temples for worship. There are three kinds of participants in the worship service. The performers dress up in colorful costumes and engage in highly…
This week Christians all over the world are paying special attention to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you grew up in a tradition that celebrated Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, you are familiar with the rich history of Christians throughout the centuries celebrating some of the darkest…
In the story of Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen says to Alice, “Now, here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere, you must run at least twice as fast as that.”