How Will You Spend Lent This Year?

It's that time of year again! Wednesday March 5th is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40 days before Easter (minus Sundays). Lent is a time of repentance and preparation. In his article "3 Reasons We Should Keep Lent", Reverend Canon John speaks of three preparations:

First, Lent is a preparation for Easter, the most exciting and triumphant day in the church calendar. Christ has destroyed sin and death through His death and resurrection. In the forty days o

Happy Valentine's Day

How can I spread the love of Christ this Valentine's Day?

While everyone can enjoy chocolates and flowers on Valentine's Day, as Christians we should remember REAL love equals Jesus. His death on the cross is the greatest act of love, which tells us the essence of love is sacrifice. On this holiday that focuses on love, we can point people to Christ, the One who loves us the most. We can count the ways Jesus loves us. We can go out of our way to help someone else!

What do YOU Love?

One of the things I love is THE CHURCH!

Read through the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation and you quickly see Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it, and is going to return for it.

While many people love Jesus, sometimes people don't love the church. It's easy to love Jesus. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each

Happy New Year!

At the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, it's always good to look back. While it's natural to look back at the year behind, looking at things to fix, I want to also challenge you to think about the wonderful things that have happened. Maybe you started reading the Bible regularly or you talked to a friend about Jesus. Those things should be carried into the new year so God can continue to transform you.

Shelly Esser on the website Just Between Us says this, "R

A Humble Christmas Prayer

God, our Creator, we offer this humble prayer on Christmas Day. We come to worship with a song of thanks in our hearts - a song of redemption, a song of hope and renewal. We pray for joy in our hearts, hope in our God, love to forgive, and peace upon the earth. We ask for the salvation of all our family members and friends, and we pray your blessings on all people. May there be bread for the hungry, love for the unlovable, healing for the sick, protection for our children,

Christmas Music

I have often thought (and said) that most of my brain is filled with song lyrics. While I may not remember someone's name I just met, I can remember most if not all of the lyrics from a 1980's song from my teenage years!

I believe music is one of the most powerful mediums there is. Music can make us happy. It can make us sad. It can bring back long forgotten memories of times spent with family and friends. Music is the ideal time traveler. It can truly transport us in time.

Attitude of Gratitude

One of my goals for this year is to memorize Scripture verses. One of my favorites since I was a child is Psalm 100:

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God, it is He who made us and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture."

It's easy to be a grumbler, to find little or big things to complain about. Our culture teaches us to always want more, to never be quite sati

Secure in The Lord

This is week 4 of an 8 week study of David. The Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. What does that mean? David is a complex man; David is a servant and a leader, a sinner and a redeemed child of God, an instrument of God's creative purposes. God looked at David, out in the foothills of Bethlehem tending sheep, and God says. 'There's my man".

When someone has done us wrong, when we've been mistreated, we instinctively want revenge! We want that person to get wh

A Matter of Conscience

This is week 3 of an 8 week study of David. The Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. What does that mean? David is a complex man; David is a servant and a leader, a sinner and a redeemed child of God, an instrument of God's creative purposes. God looked at David, out in the foothills of Bethlehem tending sheep, and God says, "There's my man".

How do you determine whether God is leading you to do something? In Samuel 24, all signs seem to be saying it's time for

The Battle Belongs To the Lord

This is week 2 of an 8 week study of David. The Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. What does that mean? David is a complex man; David is a servant and a leader, a sinner and a redeemed child of God, an instrument of God's creative purposes. God looked at David out in the foothills of Bethlehem tending sheep, and God says, "There's my man".

Today's reading is a familiar one - the story of David and Goliath. Many times in life we face scary situations; a job ch

David

This week we start an eight-week study of King David. The Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. What does that mean? David is a complex man; David is a servant and a leader, a sinner and a redeemed child of God, an instrument of God's creative purposes. God looked at David, out in the foothills of Bethlehem tending sheep, and God says, 'There's my man". For David it was a day just like any other morning. Little did he know his life would never be the same again

Thanking God

Recently I saw a commercial that showed someone celebrating fall, Halloween, Christmas, ONE day of Thanksgiving and then back to Christmas! While I love celebrating the birth of Jesus, we celebrate gifts more than the Giver! (A topic for another day). We don't spend the time we should thanking God for all we have. What if the Thanksgiving season lasted as long as Halloween season? I read an article by Lisa Elliott which suggests 7 things we can thank God for this season.

1.

How Can I Be Sure That I Am Doing My Part?

Mark Howell says, "The Gospel will affect every area of our lives, including our passion for living today and our hope for what is coming tomorrow."

Members of the Thessalonian church were refusing to take responsibility. Some had quit working because they thought Jesus would be back any moment and didn't see any reason to exert themselves. Others relaxed because there were plenty of wealthier members in the church who were always willing to share. Regardless of the reason,

How Can I Be Sure of God's Power?

Mark Howell says, "The Gospel will affect every area of our lives, including our passion for living today an dour hope for what is coming tomorrow?"

What do you worry about? Talk to God about your fears. How will the world end? Paul advises us that Satan has yet to attack us with the worst he has, and when he does, it will be a fearful time to be alive. However, Paul also promises that God will always be in control.

God gives us a glimpse into the future so that we can live

How Can I Be Sure That I Will Go to Heaven

Mark Howell says, "The Gospel will affect every area of our lives, including our passion for living today and our hope for what is coming tomorrow."

Can I know for sure that I will go to heaven? This is a question that plagued the Thessalonians to such an extent that even after the comfort of his first letter, Paul has to write again and give further encouragement. Many people today wonder, "Does heaven exist? Can I be sure I am going there?"

The questions are taken from the