Matthew 5:1-12 {Prayer} As I mentioned earlier, we celebrate today the end of one year and the start of a new one, all in one service. This is a unique time for us to look back at what has been and to look forward at what will be. What do we see…
Matthew 5:1-12 {Prayer} As I mentioned earlier, we celebrate today the end of one year and the start of a new one, all in one service. This is a unique time for us to look back at what has been and to look forward at what will be. What do we see…
Luke 2:8-20 {Prayer} Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day? How about your stockings? Do you get to check those every day or just on Christmas morning? Is your tree artificial or real? Do you decorate the outside of your house as well as the inside? These…
Luke 1:39-45 {Prayer} Being that my daughter is ten and going on 17, it has been a while since I’ve been to a baby shower. And being that she is only ten, it better be a while before I attend another one. Last year seeing her as a pregnant Mary in the Christmas…
Luke 1:67-79 {Prayer} Don’t you just hate it when someone tells you something really awesome, really great … and you can’t tell anyone about it? Jessica and I have learned over the years that we don’t tell the kids what it is that we got each other for Christmas because they can’t keep…
Matthew 25:31-46 Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is the last Sunday of the church year. It is the Sunday we honor Jesus as the king of our lives and the king of the world. This Kingship of Jesus is clearly seen in our gospel text as He says: “When the Son of…
1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 {Prayer} Here we are the weekend before Thanksgiving. Many people across our nation, including my family, we will be traveling. With that thought in mind … have you ever been in an airline terminal when the plane you are waiting for is late? Once that announcement comes across the intercom,…
Amos 5:18-24 {Prayer} Ever just have one of those days? You know the ones. One of those days where everything is going along great and then something happens. You burnt your toast, you spilled your coffee down your shirt, the heater in the car didn’t work this morning. Things just keep coming at you…
Revelation 7:9-17 {Prayer} As a kid growing, just like kids growing up today, I thought I was being deprived by my parents of what I thought were the bare necessities of life. When I was told no when everyone else I knew was being told yes or that it’s okay, I felt like…
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…
Matthew 22:15-22 {Prayer} I want to admit right up front, I’m not much of a chess player. And even though I’m not like those professional players who win in no time flat, I have won a few games in my time. Now granted, it was usually against someone like my kids who really…