It’s Good Friday, and we aren’t able to attend our local congregation. Our family misses our brothers and sisters in Christ immensely. We miss the faces, handshakes, hugs, smiles, voices, most of all, the hearing of God’s Word and reception of Christ’s flesh and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. It’s frustrating. It would be easy to simply become mad with the situation, to grow disheartened, to allow this frustration to take root and spill forth. But I cannot do this. I have a responsibility as head of my house to lead my family and to train up my children in the way they are to go. (Proverbs 22:6a) There is a yearning in every member of my family to be with our fellow saints. This time will come again, and I pray it will come soon. For now, my responsibility is to lead my children to the cross of Christ. Being Good Friday, we will hold family devotions, we will sing hymns, we will pray for you our neighbor, and we will participate in Good Friday ...
July 4, 2021 Luke 5:1-11 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. On the 4 th of July, the country pauses for fireworks and picnics. But why? Well, for many, because we work hard and need a break. But, what is the 4 th of July? It's our nation's day of independence. It is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, a document few will read, but many will quote these words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So, you are promised an existence. The right to life – being alive. And you have the right to liberty, meaning you are free. But, you are also given the pursuit of happiness. Well, what does this mean? Is the pursuit of happiness a state of being, or does the word "pursuit" mean chasing after or seeking happiness? If you ask most people to...
Text: John 12:12-19 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. An NPR reporter recently asked Twitter followers to use the hashtag #TheMoment to share where they were and what they were doing nearly one year ago when they realized they were now living in a pandemic. Many responses included photos of individuals grocery shopping amidst empty shelves – as pandemonium led to shelves with no canned goods, not a shred of toilet paper to be found, and a void where cleaning products use to exist in excess. For others, #TheMoment was when the classrooms went empty, and teachers were forced to package their students’ belongings into bags to be gathered by parents. One at a time, parents collected those belongings at school as they determined how to divide their attention between work and ensuring their children completed their studies. Yet, for others, the moment was more profound as the government ordered distance between people, caused iso...
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