Pastor's Blog (Page 29)
Violence
Dear Woodland Hills Family, What was it like just before the flood? God tells us: “the earth was filled with violence” (Gen 6:11). The word “violence” in Hebrew is hamas. It means “violence, wrong.” Arabic also has the wordhamas but in this language it means “enthusiasm.” In yet another twist, hamas is also an acronym…
Accomplishments
Dear Woodland Hills Family, You may be immune to this sort of thinking. I am not. It happens whenever I step back to take a look at my life’s accomplishments. It’s especially acute when I compare my accomplishments with others’ (yes, I know comparisons are dangerous). Inevitably, these look-backs produce varying degrees of discouragement. The voice…
Mr. Shepherd
If you were at WHCC on Christmas Sunday you heard our special guest speaker, Jesse Shepherd. Mr. Shepherd told us first-hand about the night the angels’ announcement led him and the other shepherds to Bethlehem to see the baby in the manger. Afterwards, WHCC enews caught up with Jesse Shepherd at Starbucks for an exclusive interview. We thought you’d enjoy…
Taxes
Taxes! Christmas is only four days away and our Congress and President are locked in an impasse over taxes. Our taxes! Funny how things stay the same, isn’t it? Two thousand Christmases ago everyone was in an uproar over taxes, too. Same song, different verse. The emperor then was Caesar Augustus, a brilliant man and formidable ruler of a vast empire. So highly…
Good News
Good News 10 Lakini malaika akawatuliza akisema: “Msiogope! Nawaletea habari njema ya furaha kubwa, na habari hii ni kwa faida ya watu wote! 11 Kwa maana leo katika mji wa Bethlehemu, amezaliwa Mwokozi ambaye ndiye Kristo Bwana. (Swahili Bible) 10 Thiên s? li?n tr?n an, “??ng s?. Tôi báo cho các anh m?t tin m?ng, s? là ni?m vui l?n cho toàn dân. 11 Hôm nay…
Money, Gifts, and “Stuff.”
This past Sunday my talk from Philippians was entitled 5 Safeguards Regarding Money, Gifts, and “Stuff.” Safeguard #3 was: Resolve that your money and “stuff” will be first & foremost an instrument for gospel advancement. Well, Richard Peters told me that he and his wife Jo did some hard thinking about their “stuff.” Are we really…