It’s hard to believe that this coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Well maybe not so hard to believe given that the Christmas music has been playing for over a month not to mention the ads and other ways to extend the season. Soon the Christmas movies will...
The great 20th century Reformed theologian Karl Barth once wrote: “Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning.” What Barth and the Reformed tradition...
We saw people dressed in their suits and carrying flashlights as they directed traffic. It was about 5:45 on a Saturday morning as our bus pulled up to Myungsung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea, the largest Presbyterian church in the world. We were there...
In the third chapter of Exodus, we read this exchange between God and Moses: “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” This image of taking off...
Two weeks ago, Rebekah and I closed on our house. It is the first house we have owned and we spent more than four months looking at houses. When new houses hit the market in our price range, we raced with our realtor to visit them because there just were not many...
Astronauts, a cowgirl, superheroes, a princess in pink sneakers, and so many others joined together around pumpkins, candy, and laughter. It was a joyous time on Sunday morning as the little ones, donning their various costumes, went from class to class around the...
Friends, I wanted to update you on where we are with the proposed project where the Shetler building currently stands. Thanks to all of you who participated in the information sessions or watched the recording of the one that was offered on Zoom. Here is the link to...
Just last week in a gathering of Biscuits & Bible we jumped into Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount, specifically the Beatitudes. When is the last time you read the Beatitudes? If you have been to Israel, perhaps you visited the Mount of the Beatitudes. Located...
After some opening words of welcome and a prayer, John Atkinson said “Go!” and more than150 people went into action Saturday morning packing 20,000 pounds of food into over 2,000 packages at Neil’s Meals. There were people assembling the boxes, others bringing boxes...
Where have you glimpsed the kingdom of heaven? Where have you seen God’s presence? As we looked at the first of the Beatitudes, this was a question we reflected on at a young adult gathering last Wednesday. Perhaps you, like me, also wish to reflect on this one more...
