ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 7, 2024Have you been watching the Olympics? Like most Olympic years, I have not caught as much as I would have liked, though replays are available online. There have been some rather embarrassing so-called controversies that have been shown to have not been controversies. Like so often, some folks fanned the flames of outrage only to discover there was a lot of fake smoke without even
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 6, 2024In Deuteronomy 11:1, we read: “You shall love the Lord your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always.” I love God, but I don’t know if I’ll ALWAYS be able to keep the divine charges, decrees, ordinances, and commandments. The word ‘always’ makes me nervous, as I don’t know if I am capable of even hitting 85%…maybe 70%—on
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 5, 2024Prayer for the Week: O Spirit grace and wisdom, patience and creativity, today we give you thanks for all those who have been called and then accepted that call to serve you in the indispensable task of teaching. Sadly, there are many powers and principalities that are not supportive of those who give so much to the education of our children, often putting more and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 4, 2024Does God wait for humanity to figure it out before God acts? The answer is a simple but definitive “No!” Our vision and mission at Cypress Creek Christian Church are rooted in the words of 1st John 4, where we read how we are to love BECAUSE God first loved us. It wasn’t even a back and forth with God saying, “I like you, and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 3, 2024I know it is a text usually associated with Christmas, but the words from John 1:14 ring true even in the heat of summer. John was writing about the eternal Word that was with God from the beginning, and he wrote: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” Some of you know that the phrase “lived among us” might not be the best
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 2, 2024In the opening words of the Prophet Isaiah, we read: Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; for the Lord has spoken:I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib;but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, people laden with iniquity,offspring who do evil, children who deal corruptly,who have forsaken the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 1, 2024I started the morning wanting to put July 32 on my Etching, as, to be perfectly honest, I did not get done in July what I had hoped to get done. There is a story in Joshua 10 about the sun being stopped in the sky, extending the length of the day. The larger story is troubling as it speaks of God throwing hail stones
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 31, 2024There are so many folks who volunteer their time around the church, and I am beyond thankful for the impact they have on the fulfillment of our mission: Helping individuals and families put love first in all things. Of course, many of these people’s contributions to our work are done behind the scenes and ever-so-quietly. Now let me add a quick apology for what I’m
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 30, 2024It is easy to fall into the trap. I know I have done it more than I’d like to admit, but so often we find ourselves speaking passionately about what we oppose but not what we support. We know what we do not believe, but we struggle to articulate what we do believe. It is easier to declare something to be evil, immoral, vile, or
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 29, 2024Prayer for the Week: Whether it is the stress around children beginning a new year of school or the ongoing suffering of children in Gaza or other places of violence, we bring before you, O Spirit of Hope and Justice, all that weighs upon our hearts. Sometimes our worries at home seem to pale in comparison to the tremendous anguish and trauma in the lives