01/03/2020
Roundabouts are a way of Life…at least in Carmel, IN
In Carmel, a frequent topic of conversation is roundabouts and certainly most everyone has an opinion. I will admit that I have always looked forward to every new one being completed. I will actually plan my route from here to there thinking about where there are roundabouts.
Maybe roundabouts can help us think about our lives for the new year (can you believe it is going to be 2020?!)
Entering a roundabout…
-Some approach with a watchful eye and carefully judge when to enter the roundabout safely.
-Some see the entry stage as a challenge and aggressively enter the roundabout dashing in and barely missing contact with another car.
-Some actually STOP even though there is not a single car in the roundabout just because they are not sure or they simply prefer a stop sign.
Entering 2020...How will you approach the New Year? With a plan and goals? Just barrel right into the year with no thought or planning? Or will you actually stop and perhaps spend time reflecting and praying about God’s will for your year?
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Exiting a roundabout…
-Some enjoy the ride on the merry-go-round so they go round and round not really getting anywhere.
-Some miss their exit and have to try again
-Some simply exit at the right place and the right time.
Entering 2020...How will you spend the New Year? Living life just as it comes with no purpose or direction? Will you have times of mistake and need to start over again? Will you frequently review your goals and vision and see accomplishment during the year?
Most importantly...look to the center of the roundabouts at least here in Carmel. Yes, those monuments can also say something to us. Those monuments are large and built to stay in place. Remember as you navigate your year that we have a God who is large and will stay with you wherever you go in 2020!!
Navigate 2020 with God in the center of life!!! Pastor Patti
Archived Posts
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I had one too many examples yesterday. Here’s the "Ask Pastor Tim" scenario that didn’t make the cut for Sunday’s sermon: (read more)
Not If, But When, the Crisis Comes
One of the best Bible commentators alive today is N.T. Wright or Tom Wright. When reflecting on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens, he wrote this:...
What I wanted to say
but ran out of time this Sunday
Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video.
The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness
I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online. Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week. What follows is an example of those discussions...
One Final Scene About Scrooge
There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.