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Church Blog (Page 17)

Maranatha!

I know pastors who feel compelled to address nearly every mass shooting or terrorist attack that explodes in the news. I understand. I also understand that if I were to do the same I might never get a chance to talk about anything else. However, the most recent mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas has…

A Grateful Veteran

Feeling blessed, grateful and honored. Again, this year for our local “Wreaths Across America,” I have been asked to place a wreath on a U. S. Coast Guard unknown soldier tombstone in our National Cemetery. If you’re not familiar, this service coincides with the service in Arlington, Virginia! So emotional and well serving. I’ve been…

True Colors

I read something once that described young people as “cut flowers.” It was a metaphor reminding the reader that young people eventually grow older, wilt, and die just like everything else. They may look fresh and beautiful for the moment – but just wait! However, I prefer to think of getting older as the process…

Syncing Up

Sometime this week, I hope to watch our own Jim Vandenburg spend some time working with his son’s horse. Apparently, Jim really has a way with horses, which is why this horse came all the way from Montana for training. One of the things Jim explained to me about training horses is that horses are…

We Are All Adopted

I appreciate the time and dedication Sunday school teachers and youth leaders put into their Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights here at First Christian Church. I am always touched with joy when I experience the passion teachers’ use in their lessons to lead youth to look up scripture in their Bibles whenever they have a…

Thriving in Babylon

This weekend, we’ll begin a study of the book of Daniel called “Thriving in Babylon.” In this amazing book, we see how Daniel and his three friends (whose Hebrew names were changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) learned to live faithfully and victoriously in a hostile culture. Daniel and his friends watched as their nation…

The Church

Right now, as I write, it’s about 10am on a Tuesday morning. And we have about a dozen or more people buzzing around the church working on various mission projects for the church and community. The men of Fellowship of Carpenter’s are in the back fixing and polishing up beds for those in the community…

To Do

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the theme of “Building Community.” But it’s one thing to think about community and quite another to practice it. So, here is your community “to do” list: 1. Understand how important it is for YOU to be connected to other people of faith, despite the problems that…

Taking the Heat

I recently spent time stripping paint off our sun-porch windows. I quickly noticed that paint caught fire frequently on one window, unlike others I had been working on. I adjusted the fan and temperature on the heat gun and found a setting that produced no flames. As I worked, it occurred to me that this…