Isaiah 64:1-8 {Prayer} In 1950, Dave Ellis’ daughter JoAnn fell victim to hepatitis. She was an honor student at Evanston High School, the valedictorian of her graduating class, the ‘baby’ in the Ellis family, and the apple of her parent’s eye. Things didn’t look to good to Dave one morning as he…
Isaiah 25:6-9 {Prayer} The age old question that comes from the mouth of pretty much every hungry kid … what’s for dinner? {Beef commercial} Did you happen to notice all the different ways in which that simple ingredient of beef was used? My family likes to watch a cooking competition show called…
Isaiah 5:1-7 {Prayer} There are times that I really appreciate a good wine. My wife prefers the sweeter variety but for me, a good Cab with a steak or a soft Merlot with some pasta is the way to go. Great wines are the product of great care. A great winemaker is…
Isaiah 55:6-9 {Prayer} Not to put any pressure on you, but if you didn’t already know, there is only three months till Christmas. Sadly, Christmas decorations and what not are already up in most retail stores. Before we know it, we’re going to start seeing those Black Friday ads with their Black Friday…
Isaiah 51:1-6 {Prayer} Throughout the service so far, we have had a lot of mentions about rocks. We had verses about rocks in our opening Time to Praise. We had a mention of rocks in our prayer and even in our Time to Confess. You could say that our worship service so far…
Isaiah 44:6-8 {Prayer} In “The Wounded Healer”, Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned. “I have mastered a science,” said the first, “by which I…
Isaiah 49:1-7 {Prayer} Eating breakfast around our table one day this week, my family and I got on the topic somehow of why is it that babies cry when they are born. Maybe we got on the topic because it was cold in our house, which is what Jessica and Faith think all…
Isaiah 49:1-7 {Prayer} Eating breakfast around our table one day this week, my family and I got on the topic somehow of why is it that babies cry when they are born. Maybe we got on the topic because it was cold in our house, which is what Jessica and Faith think all…
Isaiah 40:28-31 {Prayer} Many of us have come to love the Christmas carol “O Holy Night.” First written in 1843 by a French poet, the lyrics were translated into English only a few years later by an American pastor. The carol’s initial popularity is often traced to its third stanza which is cherished by…
Isaiah 29:11-19 {Prayer} Imagine with me a for a moment. Go ahead and close your eyes if that helps you. You’re riding your horse through some dark woods on a really cold night. The leafless branches are moving back and forth in the wind. Backlight by the moon, the branches cast a dancing…