Thankfulness is the Mother of Nearly All Good Things

          Of all places, I came across a quote from the Roman Senator, Cicero, on the business website, Forbes.com.  He said, back in Julius Caesar’s time, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”  That was the gist of what Bishop Trimble said to us from the pulpit.  ‘Thank you’ is not only a beautiful prayer, it is the well spring from which love, grace, and Christian living flow. 

God’s Top 10 Life Hacks

     This coming Sunday we will start a new sermon series, God’s Top 10 Life Hacks. We are going to look at the most important rules for living in Western history—The Ten Commandments. Rather than thinking of them as onerous commands, we will try and understand these instructions from God’s perspective.

The Jesus Guilt Cure

 When I was in seminary, I remember reading a psychologist who said that guilt is healthy if it lasts no more than five minutes or results in a change of behavior.  I put the book down and thought: “Lord, my life is nothing but an onion with layer upon layer of unhealthy guilt.”

Archived Posts

The Loss of a Great Christian Leader

         The death today of Pope Francis was particularly poignant, falling as it did on the day after Easter.  As Protestant Christians we have a once removed interest in the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Yet the pope is the authoritative leader of 1.4 billion women and men around the world.  It is worth our time to pause and consider what kind of man and what kind of legacy Pope Francis left behind.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Judas Iscariot
(Drawn from online sources)

Jesus Hears A Who

         Few people know that Horton Hears A Who comes from the 25th Chapter of Matthew. 

Matthew 24: One More Thing...

I sometimes stumble on old documents I’ve created but have completely forgotten about.  I cannot remember why I created them or what purpose they were originally supposed to serve....

Keeping the Church Doors Unencumbered

        Sunday, we considered Jesus’ disruptive actions in the Temple in light of his frustration with keeping gentiles from worshipping in their designated courtyard.  We then reflected on how we still tend to throw up roadblocks to those who don’t normally attend church.  I found the following, but didn’t have space for it in the sermon.  It’s provocative and worth chewing on for a while.