Pastor's Blog (Page 3)
Reminders. We use them all the time. Because we know we’re prone to become distracted or forget. Four times in the first 7 verses of 2 Timothy, Paul reaches for a remind/remember word. The first three times are what Paul himself remembers, and they lay a foundation for what Paul will say next: Stemming from those remembrances, Paul urges Timothy: And it sounds as if this…
The Promise of Life
On page 3 of the Book, God gave the man He’d just created a promise: In the day that you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die.Gen 2:17 You know the story. He ate; and he died. And ever since then death has been ruthlessly certain. It’s just a matter of when. Mercifully, against the backdrop of death is another promise—the promise of…
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. So Paul begins his second letter to Timothy (which we will begin to study this Lord’s Day). Whether to individuals or churches, Paul opens all 13 of his letters with a similar prayer for blessing: Grace to you and peace…, and in so doing he reveals what God wants to lavish upon all…
Barb alerted me to this grave marker in a church cemetery downtown. Rebecca Wright Shand spent eighty-eight years on this earth, and at her passing they summed up her life with this epitaph: “rich in good works.” She apparently never married, as she bears the last name of her father (next to whom she is buried), who was the long-time pastor of the church. Evidently she…
A JAARS missionary pilot was running the engines up for the first time since the left engine had been replaced. Temperature, check. Magnetos charging, check. RPMs, check. Oil pressure, uh oh! The left engine—the newly replaced engine—was low on oil pressure! By a good bit! Quick, shut it down before damage ensues! He headed into the hangar to alert the mechanics. Everyone…
Did you hear about the conversation concerning heaven between President Trump and the news media? Before you click away, remember that 1 Timothy 2:1-2 commands us to pray for those in authority over us. That’s what this is about. In August, President Trump said he hoped that helping end the war between Ukraine and Russia would help boost his chances of getting…