Articles

It is believed that most of the ideas behind the night we now call “Halloween” originated with the Celtic religion of Druidism which flourished for around 300-350 years between the second centuries BC and AD. For the Druids, this night meant that the “lighter” part of the year was coming to an end and the “darker” part was beginning. They further believed that on this night the veil between the li...

Most people have some sort of streaming service in this period in time and everything out there has ads. Whether it’s coming from our phone or tv while we’re watching movies, shows, listening to music or playing games, very dark content is delivered straight to our minds through ads. This content glorifies Satan, demons, blaspheming of God, torturing people, doing hardcore drugs, having inappropri...

Football season is here. The lights. The roar of the crowds. The rivalries and team spirit. The hot dogs and soda pop. It is time to go to the games and support the team. I’ve been going to the games for years. I know that it’s the right thing to do. I know I should, but I’m not going this year. Do you want to know why? I’ll give you 12 good reasons why I am not attending those football games anym...

I was a little surprised at myself at how sad the news of her parting made me feel. More puzzling, is that I am having a hard time putting it into words as to exactly why losing her saddens me like it does. Already I feel as though we will miss her greatly. Of one thing I am certain, her behavior demanded our respect. She bore the unique burden of royal leadership with such grace and dig...

The above is a direct quote of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, 6:2. Wow! Helping someone with their troubles fulfills the law of our Lord? Yes, that is what his apostle writes, but how do you bear another’s burden? Following are a few suggestions: Ask how they are doing, then listen to their response. In the process of listening, keep your judgments and advice to yourself. Those with hea...

Almost out of the blue, a generous family member has offered to take Deb and myself on a tour of Israel! How great is that?!?! Our itinerary will take us to Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, the valley of Megiddo, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, Magdala, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Masada, Jerusalem, the Pool of Siloam, the Mount of Olives, the Pool of Bethesda and more. A bonus will be that our travels wil...

The word ‘goodness’ is agathos in Greek and it describes that which, a person being good in character or constitution, will be beneficial in its effect on others. Goodness or the act of being good is looked down on in mainstream society. Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) yet, goodness is an old-fashioned quality and is now synonymous with being lame. It’s much better to be edgy, pop...

How will the world know that you are a disciple of Jesus? They will know that you follow Jesus when they see your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe this because Jesus said: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” John’s gospel, 13:35 How will the world know that God has sent Jesus to save them? When they see you united with your...

“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” John’s gospel, 12:48 No surprises is what that means. The judge already gave us the book. His book says the “weightier matters of the law” are such things as justice, mercy & faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). You can practice justice by treating others with fairness & h...

In celebration of my wife’s heritage, she has sewn garments for our children like those of her ancestors from Czechoslovakia. Each puffy sleeved blouse or ruffly skirt starts with a pattern, or a set of patterns designed to create all the individual parts of the garment that are eventually sewn together. Those patterns are just pieces of paper you lay on whatever fabric you are using so you can cu...

Why a picture of a puddle? Because even a little rain in a drought is precious. All living things need water; no exceptions. Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus asked a woman for a drink of water. She was a Samaritan, and was evidently surprised that a Jewish man would even speak to her, much less receive a drink from her hand. Perhaps she was more surprised when he told her that if she knew who he was,...

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you…” Philippians 2:12-13 We can’t earn our salvation, God added us to His kingdom when we confessed the name of his Son and were baptized into Christ. “Work out your own salvation” doesn’t mean to find out how to be saved. It means to work your salvation with the abilities , time, health, and wisdom that God has giv...

It’s 6:30-7am. You open your eyes after getting a great night’s sleep and see the dawn light coming through the blinds. After stretching, you roll over and put your feet on the floor, and you go to make your coffee. As your coffee brews, you look around your home and it’s peaceful. The kids are still sleeping, it’s clean and tidy which invites you to enjoy it. You pour your cup of coffee and step ...

Ask any experienced aviator, and he will tell you all about the walkaround. Before getting in the cockpit to fly, a pilot will literally walk around his plane inspecting it to make sure it is safe to fly. After all, he is about to trust his life to this machine at high altitudes and high speeds, so reason compels him to make sure everything is as right as it can be. What is he looking for? He...

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” -George Washington, 1st President of the United States “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the whole of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves accor...

Because I am afraid and insecure when I see the chaos in the world all around me and realize how powerless and vulnerable I really am. My life could change in an instant, and Jesus is the only insurance policy that prepares me for every possible contingency. Because I am guilty of sin, just like you, and have no means of doing anything about it on my own. Jesus willingly hanging on that cross in m...

Generally speaking, the importance of our mother’s influence is so naturally understood, that it requires no explanation. Appreciation for the profound impact made by our fathers, however, may not be realized at first. Perhaps this is at least partly because mothers connect us to home and hearth where we spend our early years, while fathers tend to be our guides into the world at large after we’ve...

Moses argued with God about whether he was the man for the job. The job was going back to Egypt, from which he fled as a fugitive, to tell Pharoah to let all of the Israelites go free. It did not sound like a winning proposition to Moses, but if you’ve read Exodus, you know it turned out fantastically. Best not to argue with God. Gideon was not at all sure about being called to lead the fight agai...

This month our congregation has been focusing on prayer. There has been something selected each day this month to be in prayer about. This Sunday, our focus of prayer is on new Christians. In the last year we have baptized several into Christ from young to old. No matter where one is in their stage of life, if they are capable of understanding, one who believes and wants to follow Christ is baptiz...

Most encouraging thing about prayer – it works, or rather God works when we pray and Jesus said so (Matthew’s gospel 7:7-11). Easiest thing about prayer – it need not be long. The prayer Jesus used as an example of prayer in the sermon on the mount is only 58 words long in some translations. Most convenient thing about prayer – God is always ready to hear from me as if he were always just right th...