34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteo...  Read More

Yesterday my heart was heavy as I followed the news reports of the mob that stormed the Capitol and desecrated our national symbol of democracy. This was not a peaceful demonstration, but an ugly act of bully tactics instigated by our President. The thought of a sitting President stoking the fires of this insurrection on our Capitol is beyond comprehension or justification. And what was the rallyi...  Read More

James 1:1-41 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.As we draw closer to the end of the yea...  Read More

I’ve never had a problem being thankful.  It’s one of the things that my mom always said that I’ve had ever since I was little. I find I’m a fairly optimistic person, sometimes to the point of naivete.  This year though has been tough.  It seems like every time we get through one crisis, another emerges (or re-emerges as with COVID).  Even for myself this year, I’ve found challenge with losing my ...  Read More

A couple weeks ago I met with our youth for a Q & A session where they could ask the “expert” questions on just about anything that captured their imagination. I use the term “expert” very loosely but since I was the oldest person in the room by a wide margin that has to count for something! A few softball questions related to my basketball abilities were a nice set up for the questions that the s...  Read More

Heavenly Father, today our nation will be electing a man who will lead our nation for the next four years. We pray that whoever occupies this office will lead humbly, righteously, and courageously. We ask that you surround him with people who are wise as they work for the good of our nation and the world. We ask that you would use them to bring our nation together. For those whose candidate is ele...  Read More

We are just days away from our election and while there are many local public offices on the ballot, our presidential election has the greatest repercussions both domestically and internationally. On November 3, or whenever all the votes are finally tallied, we will have chosen the man who will lead our nation for the next four years. No matter who is elected, there will undoubtably be allegations...  Read More

It seems that we’ve spent the better part of 2020 in crisis mode, trying to fight against the invisible enemy of COVID-19. The physical threat from the virus, especially to our loved ones who are most vulnerable, has been piled onto by the cascade of all of the falling dominos that have come because of it – isolation, children trying to learn remotely, parents caring for kids while trying to maint...  Read More

As we enter the four-year spin-cycle of the presidential election, the unwritten rule for many family dinners and social gatherings is to talk about anything but religion and politics. No doubt, this aversion to talk about these volatile subjects comes with the hope that everyone can get through the gathering without bloodshed or at least avoid a heated argument. The reason these two topics have b...  Read More

Early into the pandemic I was asked the question, ‘is Christ coming back soon?’ It’s a legitimate question that is often asked when there are significant, catastrophic events – whether man made (wars, anarchy, genocide, widespread human depravity, global economic recessions) or “acts of God” – (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, drought, blood moons, and yes, pandemics). What struc...  Read More

As our country continues to deal with generations of racism and injustice, Christians can and should feel conflicted. Peaceful protests can suddenly erupt into violent anarchy. Discussions of reforming law enforcement and weeding out bad officers, pivots to defunding police departments entirely. Affirming that black lives matter as a movement, yet not wanting that to be construed as agreeing with ...  Read More

“24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25It’s hard to believe that our last time physically gathering together as a church family for corporate worship was on March 15, almost four months ago. During that time...  Read More