Father God, thank you for the teaching of my childhood. Thank you for parents who took me to Sunday School, no matter how intermittently. Thank you for the teachers who helped me memorize enough verses to earn my first Bible. Thank you for bringing me to a saving knowledge of who you are and who … Read more
Today is a beautiful day, because Paul taught with the eyewitnesses, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15: 12 ESV) Resurrection #joyinverse #blessedthisdayandeveryday
I recognize the need for oversight of the various ministries within a church body through reporting and even in-person updates to leadership and to membership. However, micromanagement chokes off the freedom that allows the church body to select missions they choose to support. As I mentioned in my last #aviewfromthepews blog, it also chokes off … Read more
Almighty God, there is nothing too hard for you. Your Holy Spirit can turn the hearts and minds of kings like the meandering of the rivers. I come to your throne in humility and with reverence for who you are to ask for a supernatural turning of the world leaders down to local leaders toward … Read more
Today is a beautiful day, because Paul’s faith held strong through stoning and imprisonment, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:5 ESV) Resurrection #joyinverse #blessedthisdayandeveryday
The power play to no longer allow church members to designate where they want their tithes and offerings applied strips the congregation of its control over the church finances. The corporate church model opens the purse strings to potentially allow leadership to use funding in ways the church body may not support. The switch of … Read more
Today is a beautiful day, because Paul wrote the gospel into his salutation to the Romans “according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship … Read more
Changes in the bylaws of my former church drastically changed the structure of the church leadership. They minimized the oversight the elders had over the senior minister, and they put the church into a structure similar to corporate governance. The leadership made these changes under the auspices of bringing the bylaws in line with state … Read more
Father God, you are the God of forgiveness and second chances. You are the God who changes lives through your Holy Spirit when we turn away from displeasing you and turn to follow Jesus as your Son who died for our sins and rose to sit at your right hand. Thank you for the second … Read more
Today is a beautiful day, because Paul boldly testified in the face of being imprisoned, “Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead … Read more