Dearly beloved, To be loved dearly by someone probably is the closest thing to heaven on earth!  But to be loved unconditionally as well as eternally by Someone whose sovereignty rules over all is the greatest news possible! Last Sunday the message title was, “A Profile of a Christ Follower.”  I asked everyone to think…

Dear friends, We have 6 nays and 12 ayes, so the ayes have it – the “yes” votes win! Aye is an archaic or dialect word meaning ‘yes’ now used in standard speech when voting! Election day is almost upon us and I urge you to vote! Since coming to Valley I think we have had 6…

Dear Valley Church family, On Tuesday Valorie and I were at a live gathering of some of our elders, pastors and spouses. It was so good to be together again for our “Fifth Tuesday” fellowship, since we had missed several due to the shelter in place regulations. With outdoor gatherings of up to 60 approved…

Got any major demolition on your “to do” list today? For several summers during my college years I worked for a contractor. My primary responsibilities included carrying wood and clean up, but my favorite part of the job was demolition. I’d walk into a bedroom or bathroom and get to tear it down to the…

In 1936 the Queen Mary was the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner ever built. She was unsurpassed, with the furnishing of the finest hotels, beauty salons, air conditioning, two indoor swimming pools, and telephone connectivity to anywhere in the world. But in World War Two, because of her record-breaking size and speed, she…

Dearly beloved, Having any problems breathing?  Have you found some “cool” places to hang out? My simple mind tells me that breathing is more important than finding some “cool shade.” I was reminded afresh in the last 3 days that by “God’s Word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for…

Dear friends, Have you made any resolutions since COVID 19?  If so, what are they and have you broken any? Many “New Year’s Resolutions” do not even make it until the end of January, but why? It normally is not due to “bad intentions.” Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Protestant…

Dearly beloved, In March of 1996 I was holding my dad’s hand in our bedroom surrounded by 2 of my sisters, Patty, Kelley, and Glen when he took his last breath on planet earth. It was a painful separation from the father who I had known and loved for 53 years.  He was suddenly gone!…

When is the last time you googled something? if you are like most people, you probably consult the internet search engine numerous times every day. In fact, in 2019 Google received over 63,000 searches per second on any given day. That translates into 3.8 million searches per minute, 228 million searches per hour, 5.6 billion…

Most of the time I’m happy to be ignorant of the latest fads, celebrity news, sports, movies, music, and the like. But I’m concerned about a trend that appears to be taking over. It’s the “cancel culture”.  While there may be different definitions, it’s the phenomenon of promoting the “canceling” of people, institutions, brands and…