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Ref. Matthew 5: 21-26 Is it just me, or do so many people seem angry these days? Now, all in all, this is nothing new. Someone is always angry about something. Yet, it seems that, whether you watch the news, scroll social media, or listen to the diner chatter, a lot of the conversations, posts and reports focus on hot-button polarizing issues that continue to spark tempers and harsh words. As I said in the beginning, anger is nothing new to the world. However, leaving anger unchecked creates an increasingly volatile situation for all those...
Ref. 2 Cor 4:16-18, Matt 1-2, Lk 1-2 We commonly call these last 40-50 days of the calendar year “the Holiday Season.” It stretches from mid-November, while many prep for Thanksgiving, until the New Year. It’s an active time of year where family groups and friend groups from all across the country and beyond make many efforts to get together to share meals, time, gifts, and laughs with each other. For many, “the Holiday Season” is a time of joy and celebration … but what if the holiday season doesn’t bring you joy? What if this is actually a...
Ref. John 1:14, Mat. 22:37-40, Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18 As followers of Christ, we speak a lot about the central command to love. Followers of Christ are supposed to filter everything about how we live our lives through the lens of love. Now, I’m not talking about the ooey-gooey lovey-dovey kind of love that you see in this season’s low budget Christmas rom-coms. That has its place, but the love that Christians are called to live by is much more in depth. In Matthew 22: 37-40, Jesus combines the “Shema” of Deut. 6:4-5 with the ending of Lev. 19...
Scripture references: Mark 5: 25-34 I saw a video the other day in which a man spoke about the many different ways people encounter Jesus for the first time. If you grew up in church, you were likely raised to understand Jesus as “Savior,” the One who forgives and ransoms us from sin. That understanding of Jesus as “Savior” is absolutely fundamental to our faith. So, it makes sense that this view of Jesus is the most common among “churched” people. But, what about those who aren’t raised in church? Growing up in church or having any basic und...
Scripture References: Matthew 4: 1-11 and 5: 38-41 Let me see if I can get a tune stuck in your head. Read the following lyrics and try not to think of the common tune that they go with: “This little light of mine… I’m gonna let it shine! This little light of mine… I’m gonna let it shine! This little light of mine… I’m gonna let it shine… Let it shine… Let it shine… Let it shine! Did it work? Could you shut the tune out of your mind, or did you naturally start reading these words to that simple and joyous tune? If the tune is now stuck in you...
Scripture references: Jeremiah 42 and 43 Trivia question for you: What is the longest book in the Bible? Most people will say Psalms, because of its 150 chapters. However, that answer is incorrect. The longest book in the Bible by word count is Jeremiah, and there is a story in Jeremiah 42-43 that I think we all need to be reminded of today. This story takes place after Babylon has come and conquered Judah, taking away many leaders and Judean citizens to Babylon as captives. Now, Jeremiah chose to stay with the remnant that was left behind....
Scripture Reference: Acts 1: 6-8 One of my favorite things to do is plant a garden. It is a beautiful thing to see a simple seed, when tended to, sprout forth life that yields pollen, nectar or produce. Even a simple clover plant (a favorite of St. Patrick) has a lasting impact, as it can both flower for the pollinators and naturally restore nitrogen to the soil it lives in. Honestly, God’s creation is truly astounding! So, it is no wonder the scriptures are filled with planting and sewing imagery. In the opening story of Acts, we see Jesus p...
Scripture References: Psalm 133, Leviticus 19:16-18, Luke 10: 25-37 I came across the 133rd Psalm the other day. It is a simple three-verse psalm that starts with this opening line: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity” (NIV). After reading that, I found myself quite pessimistically wishing that our world could live together in unity. It seems everywhere you look, there are signs of division and distrust. Just the other day, I was driving down a nearby highway and saw a flagpole flying our own country’s flag up...
Scripture References: Ecc. 3, Gen. 1, Gen. 3, Ex. 1:1 – 15:22, Lk 5: 1-11, Mat 28: 18-20, Mic. 6:8 How many seasons of change have you been through? The easy math is to simply take your age and multiply it by four, to account for the yearly seasonal changes of spring, summer, winter and fall. But what about your personal seasons of change? For me, that sense of change is still very fresh, having just moved here to Alva last July. However, as I look back, this season is simply the most recent in the long list of changes and transitions that m...
(Scripture references: Genesis 1:27, Proverbs 15:15, and 1 Thessalonians 5: 11-22) This last Sunday myself and Rev. Drew Kirtley at Alva First Christian decided to play a joke on our congregations. Drew approached me with this idea back in the fall to surprise our congregations with a secret “pulpit swap.” He thought it would be a perfect “April Fools” joke for the first Sunday of April, and I wholeheartedly agreed! So, this last Sunday we each attended our respective 9:30 a.m. Sunday school groups, and then swapped locations in the minutes...
