“For right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (Message) Christmas is Love I don’t suspect too many people are surprised by this one, but I do think we’ve taken […]
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“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was […]
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“the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27 Christmas is Anticipation. Have you ever tried to keep a secret, perhaps a […]
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All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:9 Christmas is Ponder While it is important, even critical, to slow down during Christmas, it should be used to gain understanding of the why and wherefore of everything that is happening. It should be a time when we […]
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“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” Matthew 2:3 Christmas is disturbing. One of the great challenges that come with having power and control is of course maintaining it. It seem like we all know that deep down inside us all there is a frightened child hiding behind […]
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Christmas is Rejoicing. And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1:46-47 Think Cheering. Think Celebration. Think Party. Well that’s what Tony Campolo imagines Christmas will be like in his book The Kingdom of God is a Party!. Not a formal dinner party but a spontaneous, expression […]
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“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 I love the fact that God did not send the Magi on some wild goose chase. Look at Matthew 2:2, […]
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Remember that Christ says, “When I come, it will surprise you like a thief! But God will bless you, if you are awake and ready.” Revelations 16:15 Christmas is Surprise. Let me explain. The word appears in Luke’s account of that first Christmas. “And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them…” Surprise! Didn’t […]
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“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:6 Christmas is Family. On that first night two very important people were present for the birth of the Messiah. Mary, His mother, and Joseph, the man […]
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“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 Christmas is Giving. Most Christmas cards have it all wrong. The Magi probably weren’t there that first […]
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Christmas. How have we managed to make it so difficult? We have turned the most amazing time of the year into a maze of commercial enterprise, contradictory influences, and confused priorities. The season of celebration has become the most stressful time of the year for so many. Over the next couple of weeks I want […]
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“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” C.S. […]
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thanksgiving is a special time for me and my family. It connects us in a spiritual way and speaks to us of a deeper reality than the Pilgrims, turkey or cherry pie can even begin to capture. I suspect if we only looked at Thanksgiving as a feast of mega proportion and fuel for […]
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Charles Rich III, [1966 - 2012] The events of the last several days have rocked our world and changed our lives. No one here will ever be the same nor should we pretend that we ever can. Life has a strange way of reminding us what deep down in side we know to be […]
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Crisis! 1. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point. An emotionally stressful or traumatic change in a person’s life. A crisis constitutes any circumstance or situation which cannot be resolved by customary problem-solving abilities. It require a new way of thinking, being and doing. It changes the world as you knew it […]
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O God, I beg two favors from you; Let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Where is the LORD?” And if […]
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“The atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a policeman.” Unknown ”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 There is an old story about unrealistic expectations that goes something like this. During a […]
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We dread Monday Mornings. It’s the end of the weekend, the end of “our time” and the beginning of “their time”. Mondays remind us that our life is in a rut, days filled with meaningless work, going no where in particular. We’re bored, restless, and aimless. We don’t like where we are or […]
READ MORE »‘Life’s not about the people who act true to your face. It’s about the people who remain true behind your back.” – Unknown Sometimes it helps to have someone nearby, praying, loving, caring, even hurting with you. Someone who walks into your life when everyone else walks out. In my life that someone has […]
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Is Violence Senseless? Once again I’ve been jolted back to reality by the horrific news coming out of Colorado. What started out for many as a simple night at the movies with friends, family or sweethearts turned into a nightmare when evil came out of the shadows and reminded us that we are not […]
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A BRIEF HISTORY What follows is an attempt to give the reader a flavor of the sumptuous meal that is offered by the United Methodist Church for those willing to sit at the Table of Fellowship. I’m offering this in response to the many confused looks I’ve received from visitors and members alike who enjoy […]
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For the next three weeks we are going to talk John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules for developing a life as an intentional Christian. But first we must consider the context of Wesley’s passion and how his rules relate to our own time and circumstances. It all begins at a time of great political, economic and […]
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“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got […]
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In his excellent book, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson, M.D. describes margin like this: Margin is the space between our load and our limits. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Margin is the […]
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Soccer isn’t a diversion from life. Soccer is flow, finesse, focus and fair-play. Life in 90 minutes or less. For the last couple of years I’ve been more intentional about getting outside the church instead of looking at the world through stained glass window and polished brass. If you haven’t gathered my now, most of […]
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“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:29-31 (NIV) With the development of the Internet comes all kinds of fun tools to become more intentional about healthy living. That means stretching our perspective, our muscles, our compassion […]
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“To make the improving of our own character our central aim is hardly the highest kind of goodness. True goodness forgets itself and goes out to do the right thing for no other reason than that it is right.” Lesslie Newbigin Though we are rooted in the here and now, we are always looking […]
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“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore” Vincent van Gogh A wealthy family used to take a month’s vacation every summer to the coast of Maine. The mother had an ritual at the beach she practiced each year […]
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Jesus told this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls […]
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This I Believe I believe I need a shepherd. Because I am sometimes timid and other times overconfident, because I often don’t know the best path yet pretend I do, because I rush into dead ends or lead others into hazardous places, because my brightest ideas are seamed with darkness, because the things I crave […]
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Have you ever felt hungry, yet nothing sounded good to you. You have a craving that needs to be satisfied, but don’t know for what. Have you ever tried everything and yet nothing completely. We really can’t live on appetizers alone, at some point we need to bite down. “The point of having […]
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“The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life, blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what […]
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3 Things you need to Know Before (and After) You Become a Christian! 1) Life offers a choice. “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You […]
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An innocent man is condemned by his community, abandoned by his friends, betrayed by a close associate, scourged until the flesh is just barely covering his bones, hung on a piece of wood in public to slowly suffocate, and is mocked, beaten and ridculed in the process. And we call this a “Good Friday”? Are […]
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Do You Have Staying Power? When the cheering stops, when the Hallelujahs turn to jeers, when the music is silenced, will you still be standing or will you have already turned to run? Here is the first stanza of a Rudyard Kipling’s poem “IF” “If you can keep your head when all about you […]
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“The kingdom of heaven is not for the well meaning but for the desperate.” – James Denney “Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68 We live in a world […]
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“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build […]
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Dr. Steve Gedon