Life Guide Ephesians 6:10-18 Theme: Stand in Christ Sun Tzu, a general, military genius, philosopher, and prolific writer was born about 544 B.C. during the Eastern Zhou period of 771-256 B.C. Sun Tzu is most closely associated with, “The Art of War.” In this compilation of his thoughts, he says things like, “All […]
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 Theme: For the life of you, follow God “Why? Why? But, why? Whhyyy??!!” Have you ever had a conversation like this? With whom do you usually have such a conversation? Yes, that’s right, a 3 year-old. Very soon, you find that you run out of good answers and reasonable explanations because far […]
Theme: The essential for life Jesus John 6:24-35 Why are you here? You better not say, “Well, it’s Sunday morning and going to church on Sunday is just what you’re supposed to do!” Being here isn’t another thing to do because it’s a cultural norm or expectation. You’re here to find Jesus! Why, though? What […]
What do you imagine when you think of a kingdom? Maybe the European medieval version of a castle with mighty stone walls, tall parapets and towers, a big metal portcullis, and lots of knights in armor and weapons and colorful banners to impress and project an image of wealth, success, and power to be able […]
Life Guide The hymn, “It Is Well” begins, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well with my soul.’ ” How? How can it be well with a person’s soul when tornadoes destroy their house or while […]
Life Guide Later in his life, Peter would write, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15) Acts 3 is an example of what always being prepared to proclaim the […]
Life Guide If you had to choose one word to sum up Palm Sunday, “hosanna” would be a solid choice. The crowds shouted, “Hosanna! Save us!” to Jesus. There’s no one better than Jesus to direct such a request. Jesus is the savior. In accordance with God’s will and in answer to humanity’s desperate pleading, […]
Life Guide If we could keep the first commandment, we’d keep the rest automatically. How? If we really did believe, love, and trust in God above all else, every other instruction from God would fall into place. What is a “god” anyway? A god is that upon which we rely for all needs, that which […]
Life Guide If only we could more fully realize the degree to which these verses are true for us. We’d walk around without a care in the world and people would think we’re bonkers. Let’s pray for a little earthly off-our-rocker-ness, then. Let’s pray for an otherworldly knowledge of just how true the things this […]
Much of what God calls us to do isn’t easy, but difficult. Yet, these are things which God himself does. When God calls us to be holy, he isn’t just tossing up some hollow ideal, he’s calling us to be as he is. He tells us to be like Jesus who does all things in […]
Life Guide The 1959 Chevy Corvette is a beautiful car. The ’72 Corvette Stingray is bold yet sleekly styled, aesthetically pleasing. Then there’s the ’88 Corvette Stingray. I don’t know what happened there. Rough decade for car design in general. Then, the 2024 Corvette Stingray got things back on track and looking like a super […]
When kids are going to do something they know they shouldn’t be doing and don’t want to get caught doing it, a lookout is assigned. The lookout’s usually the one all the other kids think will mess up whatever mischief they’re trying to get into. Even though it kinda stinks to be lookout, it’s a […]
(John 1:14) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. In Christ Jesus, who was born to be the God-man, dear fellow redeemed, Many communities in our country have […]
Life Guide What’s the difference between a name and a nickname? A name, in our culture at least, isn’t generally given with a ton of thought put into the actual meaning of it. We like the sound of it or choose it because of a family member. “Joseph” means “He will add /increase.” Was I […]
The year was 1990. I’m four years old. I’m sitting dangerously close to a 90lb tube TV watching a moving, the same movie, for the 4th time that day, for who knows how many days, for who knows how many weeks. What movie? Why, “Mary Poppins” of course! What a lady, Mary Poppins! Going around […]