I I’m looking for a devotional book for daily reading for 2023. In 2022 I worked through the book life under God the kingdom agenda by Tony Evans. It has been excellent.
One possibility is Devoted to God by Sinclair Ferguson.
Jun 02
I I’m looking for a devotional book for daily reading for 2023. In 2022 I worked through the book life under God the kingdom agenda by Tony Evans. It has been excellent.
One possibility is Devoted to God by Sinclair Ferguson.
Mar 24
Cory Booker gives an inspirational speech to supreme court justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (see here*) and here.
Cory Booker is being:
We need this sometimes (actually, we need this more often than not). I applaud him.
He is not providing practical steps to build a business, solve a problem, or raise our children. He is being inspirational and we need that.
* The full Langston Hughes poem is here. (It is a poem. In a similar manner to Cory Booker’s words, I believe it is designed to be inspirational. It too is not providing statistics or practical steps.)
Mar 05
March 6 is the first Sunday of Lent.
Easter is April 17. It’s a good time to invite people to church, for Easter, or any Sunday. Invite cards for Point Pleasant. Invite cards for New Philadelphia.
Today I’m preaching on the letter of Paul to the Colossians. This is the first of numerous sermons on Paul: the Man, the Missions, and the Message. More information on the Apostle Paul here.
This post is from Jim Olsen’s website: faith.drjimo.net.
Jan 08
Happy New Year! Here are a few links related to our worship services and sermons in January.
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, is a book published in 1975. Includes the prayer for the New Year.
We are all blessed in many ways. It is our call to turn our blessings around to bless other people. We can do this in many small and large ways. The Bible says:
Here is an ambigram.
Located just south of Springfield, IL
Since opening for ministry in 2000, Midwest Mission has been showing God’s Love in practical ways through the distribution of education, health, micro-business, and disaster relief supplies meeting basic human needs around the world and around the corner.
Individuals and groups can sign up to volunteer. See https://www.midwestmission.org/
Hours: M-F 8 AM to 4 PM (weekends by appointment) 1001 Mission Drive, Pawnee, IL 62558 (217)483-7911 office@midwestmission.org
January 16 is Human Relations Day. It is one of the 6 Special Sundays for the UMC.
In the Joseph, King of Dreams movie there is a great scene. Joseph is in prison. Potiphar comes to get him out of prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Potiphar starts to try to appologize for his wife’s behavior that landed Joseph unjustly in prison. Joseph interrupts and says, “I Understand, Let’s Go,” and they walk out of the prison together. The rest is the history of the Hebrews. Here is the clip:
This wonderful hymn was written by John Greenleaf Whittier (1872). I like to use the first verse as a Call to Worship. Lyrics and information here. Video below.
Dec 05
The Other Wise Man, by Henry van Dyke, is an all-time favorite. The story was burned in my memory, as an elementary-age child, when our church put it on as a play at Christmastime. Our family has read the story for many years.
Here is a webpage I put together with links to the online book, audio reading, history, and information about Henry van Dyke, a very interesting and inspiring man.
Aug 15
A few notes related to today’s sermon, The Joy of POP (privilege, opportunity, priority).
Books by Tony Dungy here. They include Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life and The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge.
Super Bowl Breakfast Speech
Jun 08
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Forgive me Lord. When I approach a situation (e.g., buying a donut at the donut shop) I often approach it with the focus on completing the task (correctly, Type-A tendency). According to the Bible, this is the incorrect way to approach the situation. I should be first valuing others and looking to fulfill the interests of them. Lord, help me to remember this and put it into practice. Help me to become a person that does this.
The insight of the passage: (1) Notice how it begins. It begins squarely with our selfish ambition (which is our animal tendency). (2) Notice that it refers to everything. If it would have said, look after the interests of others and value others, it would imply these are good things to do from time to time (like mowing the yard, eating, taking a shower, taking a hike), but not something to consider all the time.