Many of us are familiar with the idea of recipes, which describe to us how to properly mix something together that results in a delicious treat or meal. And it is likely that if you have spent any time in the kitchen pouring over a recipe card, you know from experience how important it is...
I am very confident that no one reading this finds it distasteful or offensive to receive gifts, especially from those who love and care for us. That is in large measure why all of us, young and old alike, look forward to birthdays and Christmas, for these events are generally characterized by the receipt of...
All of us live and exist in situations dictated by “things you should know.” If you are a pastor, you should know that Sunday mornings are not a morning for sleeping in; if you are a teacher, you should love children and possess incredible patience; If you are a hunter, you should know how to...
Have you ever heard or used the phrase “sweep it under the rug?” Probably so, for it is not uncommon that as certain detrimental or harmful activities, actions, or even attitudes exhibit themselves we find ourselves tempted to ignore, downplay, or excuse them away over that of the difficult work of simply dealing with them...
For most of us, our first experience in ‘building’ likely consisted of Lincoln Logs, Legos, or the sandbox. Regardless of beginnings, and unlike the Clint Ackerman’s, Dan Erickson’s, and Matt Sandvold’s amongst us, I never achieved the status of a “wise, master builder”. This fact Gloria can attest to, and the most common building materials...
I recall moving to Ottawa, Illinios some 15+ years ago as a seminary intern, knowing absolutely nobody and virtually nothing of the church and congregation I had been assigned to. My first correspondence came through a man named David Holl, who would become one of my dearest friends during that year of internship (God bless...
Wisdom is likely something we all wish we had more of. The Word of God has much to say about true wisdom, and while we likely associate wisdom with the book of Proverbs, let’s not overlook the book of 1st Corinthians. It is here that Paul outlines wisdom for a number of topics including the...
This week we conclude our “What is Truth?” series by looking to the account between Jesus and the woman of Samaria, with a special focus on “worship” as expressed in verses 23-24 of John 4. Worship is a topic which holds many misunderstandings in our day and age, and one in which opinions often guide...
We had our Sunday School Christmas Program entitled “Stranger in the Manger” as well as a short message from Pastor Kirk titled “What Is the Truth About Fear?” Fear is one of those emotions that nearly everyone experiences in life. Admittedly, one is afraid of spiders, another of mice, another of tests, another of public...
Most, if not all of us, have at some level been impacted by the dreaded “C” word, cancer. We know that if left untreated, it is a disease that eats away our body, sometimes quickly and sometimes over longer periods of time, but it ravages the body nonetheless. This reality also applies to a spiritual...
