The Love of a Mother

Recently I witnessed one of the most remarkable events in life, the birth of my granddaughter. It was remarkable in many ways. New birth always amazes me. How could anyone deny the existence of a God who designed the universe when something as

Our New Space

We had our first Sunday in our newly revitalized worship space two weeks ago. It’s going to take some getting used to, in an amazing way. The feel is so different, and figuring out the technical side requires a learning curve.

We Have a Vision

As part of our Healthy Church Initiative prescription, we have been tasked with creating a vision for our church. We have a mission statement: To Glorify God By Making Disciples For Jesus Christ. But what does that look like?

The Armor of God – How to WIN Against SIN

We have begun a new curriculum in our children’s Sunday school classrooms (1^st through 6^th grades). It’s a nine week lesson study where each week the children will learn about the different pieces in the Armor of God.   Each grade has a different activity or craft that ties in with the week’s lesson that is appropriate to their age/grade level.

The first piece is the Belt of Truth. 3^rd-6^th grade had bible verse races for their activity, on different scriptures referencing “truth”. The 1^st & 2^nd grade class had a craft, making Belts of Truth from foam paper; which I was extremely excited to see how they would turn out! After Sunday school and before worship service began, a few of the children come walking in with their Belts of Truth on along with big smiles. This warmed my heart. Hearing one child explain his Belt of Truth, I knew this curriculum was not only a great choice we’ve made but also a God send! Here is this boy’s explanation of what his Belt of Truth is made of:

“Well, it’s like Batman’s utility belt only different. Mine has the bible on it and God’s love and Jesus and those are things that help me fight against the devil and maybe the Joker!”

Next week: The Breastplate of Righteouness

Ephesians 6:11

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Fearless

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take some of our students to Dare2Share’s 2015 conference “Fearless.” The theme of the weekend was tapping into the power of God to be fearless in our desire to share the gospel with others.

Heart Health

February is Heart Month – How is Your Heart Health?

As I think about heart health, I am just as concerned about my spiritual heart health as I am about my physical heart health. When is the last time I prayed? What have I done

Worship From the Gym

For those who may not know, we have been holding our worship services in our church gym for the past few weeks. We are in the midst of a sanctuary “renewal” project: increasing the stage area, refinishing the ceiling, painting the walls, refinishing/recovering

Lord, I Need You…More Than Once

So, I’ve blogged about this song at least twice before, but as we sang through it in yesterday’s worship set, it dawned on me that this is not a bad way to begin the new year.

A Prescription in Motion

For those keeping score, we were given a prescription for our Healthy Church Initiative a while back that our administrative council voted to put into practice. We have set this prescription into motion, starting with the formation of two committees: the Vision Team and the Discipleship Pathway Team.

Stones Cry Out

I read a devotion this past week written by Julie Ackerman Link for Our Daily Bread that I truly enjoyed (and shared it on my FB page) and now will share again here. I hope you enjoy this reading as much as I do…http://odb.org/2014/12/08/stones-cry-out/

 

Every year it seems that Christmas becomes more and more commercialized. Even in nations where the majority of people call themselves “Christian,” the season has become more about shopping than worshiping. The pressure to buy gifts and plan elaborate parties makes it increasingly difficult to stay focused on the real meaning of the holiday—the birth of Jesus, God’s only Son, the Savior of the world.

But every holiday I also hear the gospel coming from surprising places —the very places that so commercialize Christmas—shopping malls. When I hear “Joy to the World! The Lord is come; let earth receive her King” ringing from public address systems, I think of the words Jesus said to the Pharisees who told Him to silence the crowds who were praising Him. “If they keep quiet,” Jesus said, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40 niv).

At Christmas we hear stones cry out. Even people spiritually dead sing carols written by Christians long dead, reminding us that no matter how hard people try to squelch the real message of Christmas, they will never succeed.

Despite the commercialism that threatens to muddle the message of Christ’s birth, God will make His good news known as “far as the curse is found.”

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found. —Watts

Keeping Christ out of Christmas is as futile as holding back the ocean’s tide.