Message from the Pastors

I never thought I’d be giving thanks for teleconferencing!  Zooming in with some of our Women’s Bible Study small groups has been a huge blessing – seeing and being part of the body of Christ feeding on His Word.  It has truly given me a boost, a much-needed encouragement jolt!  From Mark 3, we were reminded of our job description as Jesus’ disciples:  to be with him, to be sent out to preach and to have authority to cast out demons.  Jesus brought salvation and…

I’ve always found it fascinating (and amusing!) to compare the different success rates required in different professions! Maybe it’s because I experienced grading systems in several different countries growing up. In school, we become familiar with the concept that 90% is an A. But how does that translate when we enter the workforce? Do I expect my doctor to be 90% right? How about my surgeon? What about my pastor? Suddenly 90% might not ‘feel’ like an A anymore. And…

For the past month-and-a-half Christine and I have been working on our Christmas Eve Family Service.  Not only contemplating how Covid will make it different this year, but what we want to talk about and focus on, and how kids and students might be able to be involved.  This has been a somewhat new experience for me, since I am usually pretty strict on when I let myself begin to celebrate holidays.  I don’t like to listen to Christmas music…

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, February 25, 2020, Anders Hoffman completed Project Iceman. Just under 73 hours after starting (including 27 hours sheltering from a blizzard), he had finished the first Ironman-distance triathlon in Antarctica. There were many points when he thought he wouldn’t make it, his body constantly telling him to give up. The only way through was to divide the distance into manageable chunks and just get through that next chunk. This is what he’d done…

Several weeks ago, we recited the Apostles’ Creed during a worship service. In preparation for that service and afterwards, I talked with a few pastors about the significance of the Creed. These conversations prompted me to start memorizing it, and to encourage you to join me!   Bernard wisely says that “Though liturgy often gets a bad rap, much thought went into prayers and creeds we’re familiar with, like the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Nicene Creed. There…

Last week before our Livestream recording I shared with the gathered worship team the following. My wife Milann and I are very close to Dave and Linda Doolin. As many of you know, they recently moved to Oregon. The Doolin’s arrived safely, but the moving van and all their possessions were consumed in a firestorm. Everyone on the music team at one time or another have had fellowship in their home. Dave and Linda are the ultimate hosts, welcoming every…

This week in Women’s Bible Studies, part of our lesson was from Mark 2:18-22.  When Jesus is asked why his disciples do not fast, he explains that the wedding guests don’t fast while the bridegroom is with them.  Jesus is proclaiming he’s the bridegroom and while he’s with the people, it’s not time to fast but to feast and fasting will come when he’s taken away. Then Jesus speaks of patching an old garment with new fabric and how it won’t hold.  Nor…

When I first saw the schedule for the blog and today’s date next to my name, I didn’t think much about it. Rotating through the staff, my turn to write an entry comes up roughly every four weeks, but somehow the September 29 date caught my attention. Then it came to me… tonight will be the first debate between the two major party presidential candidates, so you may be reading this either just before the debate if you have taken a…

Heaven has received another saint this week. Jeff Heaton’s dad, Jim Heaton died on Sunday, September 20. Emily and I considered Jim and Marion to be our spiritual parents. After our son David died, they invited us into their home for dinner once a week for a year— the best gift a young couple could receive when they are swallowed in grief. Being inspired by Edith Schaeffer’s story of L’Abri, they asked God to use their home for his kingdom and God answered…

At the end of each school year I read the following passage to our 8th graders:  “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.  We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages.  We are impatient of being in the way of something unknown, something new.  And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability –…

Love never ends… or does it? Contrary to Paul’s words here, often love is one of the first things to end. It seems that Love must make way in the face of our preferences, opinions and traditions. Like all good things, it seems all too easy for Love to come to an end. Bad things are so difficult to shake and refuse to stay gone. By contrast, good things have a tendency to slip through our fingers. So how can…