How much love have you got? We think maybe we’ll run of love – giving it or receiving it. In “The Call to Unite” a book of essays edited by Tim Shriver and. Tom Rosshirt, the editors remind us on page 207: Love is something we often ration. We reserve it for friends and family…

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others,  Elijah; but still others,  Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ,  the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matthew 16:13-18…

Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns.  With the fast pace of changes and the many voices which surround us, competing for our attention, I often lose focus. One of the most important resources for me that helps me remember who I am is music, and hymns in particular.  While I love many of…

Paul’s letters make up most of the New Testament besides the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We learn how to follow Jesus and who we are in Christ from his writings. There are several prayers and my favorite is from Ephesians 3:14-21. It is meant to encourage and affirm us. Reading it regularly gives…

There are many times in life where we have done something we regretted. Whether it was something that led to a fight or something that we chose not to do that led to unintended consequences. It’s commonplace to think on these times and wish we could go back and change something. However, these moments are…

Worship on July 18, 2021 we heard some verses from Mark about Jesus’ growing popularity; and yet, Jesus always wants to make time for rest. (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56) And we had the opportunity to hear in-depth from founder and Executive Director of Extreme Community Makeover, Angela Bomgaars. Angela shared the origin story of ECM and…

Back in the day (well, 2,000 years or so) Jesus was popular. He couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. Everyone wanted something from him. And he was generally eager to give. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once…

I am grateful to the devotions written by members of our church. To hear what is on someone’s heart means a lot to me. It also touches me when their thoughts mingle with mine. That to me is kind of cool.  My devotions spill out at times when my fingers typing can’t keep up with…

Here in America, it can sometimes seem like Christianity is struggling a bit when declines in church attendance, declines in religious affiliation, etc. make the headlines.   It can be depressing to hear these things.  However, I don’t believe this situation is the same everywhere. The last ten years of my career, I was very blessed…

The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they…