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
Gandhi and the Sugar
I wasn’t preaching Sunday, Reverend Jackie Chandler was. And she talked about the power of influence you get when you practice what you preach. This famous illustration came to mind. It fits Jackie’s points quite well. Enjoy!
Not Just for Parents
Our current sermon series is about How To Talk Parent, but it doesn’t require any of us to be parents to appreciate the bits of wisdom OUR parents shared with us growing up.
If Not Higher
Here’s a story I wanted to use when talking about ‘what you do when no one is looking’ yesterday. It’s a wonderful illustration of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:1-6—do what you do because of who you want to be, not so that others will take notice and praise you.
The Perfect Church
There is an old joke about the perfect church. We talked just a little about the perfect pastor, but turnabout is fair play. It goes like this:
The Clothes You Wear
Sunday I talked about Joshua the High Priest having his filthy clothing replaced by a cleaned and beautiful garments. I also used the illustration of a boy becomes a dragon—who ‘wears’ dragon scales—and is stripped of those scales in order to be restored to a boy. In fact, I could have done the whole sermon around all the clothing imagery in scripture.
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”
One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...