Scripture: Mark 8:34 After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” Thought for the Day: John Bunyan, best known for the book The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), offered these words: You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.
Scripture: Proverbs 22:6 Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it. Thought for the Day: My family and I went to the Islamic Art Festival this past Sunday. It was a magnificent experience, and we all enjoyed our time at the Mosque. While I was there, among such a diverse group of people, I was reminded of our similarities
Scripture: Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ. Thought for the Day: It was St. Augustine who wrote: Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the reminder is needed by others. It is an
Scripture: Romans 8:24-28 We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.
Scripture: Psalm 116:15 The death of the LORD’s faithful is a costly loss in his eyes. Thought for the Day: Sing with me, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere we go…” In fact, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas with a strange ghostly, thanksgiving edge to it all. As you have probably experienced in the last few weeks, there are stores with
Scripture: Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain… Thought for the Day: I have watched people take these words literally – sitting back and waiting for the Lord to do the work. “Come on, Lord, build this house! Do your magic! Make it so…” I don’t believe that is exactly what was meant with these words of scripture. The author
Scripture: 1st Peter 4:10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Thought for the Day: In his book, Yes, Lord, I have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses, James Moore talks about the stagecoach of the wild west. He says there were three kinds of tickets: First, Second and Third. A First Class ticket
Scripture: Ephesians 2:10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Thought for the Day: In the book, Radical Hospitality by Father Daniel Homan and Lonnie Collins, we read the following: “It is very hard to keep a straight face and say there is good in everyone. We have seen evidence
Scripture: 1st John 3:18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. Thought for the Day: I came across a little stewardship devotion I wrote years ago based upon these words from 1st John. The devotional said, “We bring the gift of ourselves in hopes that love may flourish among us and through us. This comes through our honesty before the
Scripture: John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Thought for the Day: Coming off last weekend’s theme Fuel the Fire, I was intrigued by something our Board Chair, John Basel, told me. Recently, John finished teaching a Sunday study on the Gnostic Gospels, and he