ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS September 3, 2026 It was Mark Twain who wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” We have many people in the congregation who have traveled the world, and what I find fascinating is how often the comments, upon returning, are less about the attractions and more about the people. It’s not to say
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS September 2, 2026 For those of you who can actually get four servings out of a pint of ice cream, we applaud you. In fact, we honor and envy your restraint, while at the same time wondering what sort of mastery of willpower has brought you to such an astonishing ability. I’m sure there are some who are reading this who are confused, for they get
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS September 1, 2026 I absolutely love my plug-in hybrid, especially these days with higher gas prices. I like to track how many miles I put on the car, and in the last two months, I used six gallons of gas and drove almost 1700 miles. It is a bit of a game for me, but I like doing something small for the environment, especially because our
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 31, 2026 Prayer for the Week: We have been told that we must survive on a thin diet of hope. You provide a feast, Merciful God, yet like vultures to a carcass, there are those who seek to devour your generous gifts, leaving so many feeling as if they need to scramble and fight for even a morsel of your good and grace-filled sustenance. That
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 30, 2026 Today, in worship, we are going to be looking at the Book of Exodus, and specifically the call of Moses. Like those who have not only received an unexpected call, but one that is going to be quite demanding, Moses got a little nervous. At the beginning of the fourth chapter, Moses said to the divine voice in the burning bush, “But look,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 29, 2026 On Thursday morning, I went for an early morning walk, trying to get it in before the temps rose too high. I often walk on the streets in my neighborhood as the sidewalks are not great. At one point, I could hear a car approaching from behind. It was not loud, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I knew why it was
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 28, 2026 Some good news around Cypress Creek Christian Church. Now when we use the phrase, good news, we are usually talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the Gospel of God’s unconditional and unrelenting love. But I want to share a couple of somewhat related pieces of good news, though let’s not pretend that they rise to the same level as the Gospel. First,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 27, 2026 Like every profession, clergy run in their own circles of influence, interest, and information. There are days when my social media feed blows up, yet I must realize that 98% of the world probably does not know what is exciting in the clergy sphere. Sometimes it is wonderful news, and other times, it is something deeply troubling. Recently, it was the latter, and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 26, 2026 I have always loved the language from Exodus 13, where God is leading the people after the exodus experience, but does not take them by the easiest path. It says, “…God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness…” (vs.18). Does anyone else ever feel as if God was guiding you, but it sure didn’t appear as if God chose the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS August 25, 2026 Is change good? Is change bad? Are there times when it is to be celebrated and other times when it is to be met with caution? To that latter question, I would probably answer YES and YES. Now it is important for me to say that I am not an expert nor even a somewhat knowledgeable person in the area of AI, but