Yesterday was All Saints Day. Admittedly, this is a day created by the church of the past to offer a more Christian focus for celebrating the transition from October to November. It never quite eclipsed the celebration of Halloween, but it did add an important day of remembrance to the church calendar. When the Bible refers to “saints” it is clearly a reference to all […]
“I don’t want to study!” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard those words, and how many times I said them. There are times when all of us would rather not expend the metal effort to take in more information. Sometimes we feel too tired or maybe the material does not excite us, but whatever the reason, we don’t feel like learning any […]
Thank you for your patience. The post I planned for yesterday no longer felt right, and what I sensed I should write needed time to be written with the right words. This past weekend, our region learned of the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old boy who was struggling with some significant issues in his life. He was also dealing with bullies. On […]
“I know what I’m doing!” You’ve heard it said, maybe said it yourself, and whether it is spoken to a parent or a spouse; a teacher or a supervisor, the implication is always the same, “I don’t need you or your input.” Numerous times as a father I heard these words as I attempted to teach one of my children how to do something. Their […]
What we give our attention to during the day, often makes its way into our nights. Many of us likely remember a few scary dreams that came after watching a frightening movie, or waking up with a song we listened to playing in our heads. It is not uncommon for things we studied to surface in our minds as we try to sleep, and many […]
I am always amazed at how God can weave even our mistakes into something meaningful, and today was no exception. I awoke this morning well rested, especially since we were able to gain an hour last night as we set our clocks back. I was equally well prepared for this morning’s events after spending a fair amount of time in final preparations last night. It […]
My adult Sunday School class recently asked me if we could find a study of how the early church fathers read and understood the Bible. I must say that as a pastor, a request like this really warms your heart. I spent some time looking for possible studies to use, but in the end, chose to write the study myself. I started working on the […]
I remember the excitement I felt prior to my wedding. After several years of dating including a two year engagement, the day we waited for was about to arrive. Our wedding day was even postponed one year due to an unexpected illness, so as the time approached, we were both ready to celebrate. More than anything, I could not wait to make our new home where […]