Prayer for Today

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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

Joy in Verse Encouragement for 20220411

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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

What Happens When a Congregation Loses the Ability to Designate Where Donations Go?

A View from the Pews

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

Joy in Verse Encouragement for 20220410

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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 Church Bylaws Have Consequences

A View from the Pews

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

Prayer for Today

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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

Joy in Verse Encouragement for 20220409

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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

Have You Watched a Dream Dissolve Before Your Eyes?

A View from the Pews

I admit to  my tendency to be codependent. Acceptance and belonging have always been at the top of my emotional needs, and I struggled through the steps of recovery to figure out where it all began. Watching my dream of being loved and cherished in a marriage melt away took years to unfold. I never … Read more

Prayer for Today

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Savior, you are the lover of my soul and my sanctification. You set me apart and grow me to be more like you. Use me as a conduit of your love to those around me. May they know I am a Christ follower by the love that I share. I ask in the name and … Read more

Joy in Verse Encouragement for 20220408

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Today is a beautiful day, because “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be … Read more