“When It All Sounds Like Noise” Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense… The angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. … [Read more…]
“In Harm’s Way” Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.” Psalm 16:1 While looking through some of the Psalms this morning I came across this passage and my mind lingered on it. Does that ever happen to you? You read something, and for some reason your mind just gets stuck on … [Read more…]
“Advent Thoughts” A few years ago I was introduced to a group of pastors and churches that labeled themselves as “The Advent Conspiracy.” This group seeks to recover Advent as a time of reclaiming and practicing Advent as a time of waiting and preparing for the implications of the coming of Christ. This group has … [Read more…]
“Confessions of the Pastor’s Wife: When Serving Makes Your Quads Scream In Protest” Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people.” Colossians 3:23 Recently, we held a service event at church cleverly called “Leave the Leaves to Us.” You can likely guess what it entailed–lots of raking and … [Read more…]
“No Greater Love” There’s no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 When we were in DC this past summer, we went on a night-time monuments and memorials tour. The tour included stops at the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial (The … [Read more…]
“Investment Strategy” A couple of weeks ago, Sara and I had a conversation with an investment advisor. I’ve never really given investing a lot of thought. I’ve had a pension fund for the past 18 years that I’ve contributed into, but other than looking at the quarterly statements (or avoiding them the past 12 months … [Read more…]
A Couple of Updates The early part of this week was very eventful in our area and state. I thought I’d use this space to share a couple of updates with you about those events. As you all know, last weekend a terrible fire ripped through the nearby village of Wooldridge, burning over 3,000 acers … [Read more…]
“Cleaning Things Out” When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their … [Read more…]
“The Pace of Life” By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3 “Everyone is busy. It’s just … [Read more…]
“We don’t talk about …” Last fall, we had a message series that focused on things we don’t talk about, mainly the old adage that we aren’t supposed to talk about money or religion. In those messages we talked about the importance of not ignoring these topics and shared some positive and healthy ways to … [Read more…]