High up in the gable of my home church's sanctuary was a stain glass replica of Heinrich Hofmann's Christ in Gethsemane.  It was beautiful, inspirational if inaccurate.  Still I loved to gaze at the window.  In the balcony of the sanctuary I would sit and study each pane of glass with peace.   I think…Read more Gethsemane

Yesterday was a day of sadness.  We said good-bye at the funeral to a young man that one year ago placed his faith in Jesus Christ.  After his commitment to Christ, he joined a small group and started growing as a follower of Christ.  I sat in his bedroom, where he died, the other day…Read more In memory of Juan

Andrew flew home, last weekend for a brief visit.  Dana's bridal shower was held at Woodland.  They are so happy and of course so are we!  We consider Dana an answer to prayers we have offered since he was a baby. Over the years we have prayed for our children's wive or husband.  We've prayed for…Read more Miscellaneous

My greatest joys in relationships and work have resulted from commitment.  Building commitment into my life has been rewarding to say the least.  My model for commitment has been Jesus Christ.  Think about Christ's commitment to us.  His commitment to us carried Him to Calvary for our salvation and our new life in Christ.  I…Read more Building Commitments

I'm praying that tomorrow will be a joyful day when people realize that life can be wonderfully, and as we said when I was a teenager, radically different!  I was reading Mark 6 in the Message and this passage stood out in box car size letters.  "They preached with joyful urgency that life can be…Read more Saturday Night Fever!

Growing up in a non liturgical church meant that we didn't observe the special dates on the Christian Calendar with the exception of Easter and Christmas.  I didn't really know much about Lent.  If you had said "Lent" to me I would have looked to see in there was "lint" on my clothes that needed…Read more Lenten Thought

Pastor Mark spoke for our weekly staff devotions today and used a canteen for an illustration.  The analogy was great.  God determines the size of our canteen, which determines how much water we can contain.  Secondly God puts water in to be drank and then refills the canteen.  Third it's not the size of the…Read more Canteens and Paczki Day

ABC Recently presented a special on Appalachia.  The telecast ignored a lot of good work being done by hard working people.  Work that is carried out by volunteers, churches and non-profit organizations.  ABC believes stimulus spending by the government will help solve the problem.  The problem is that small business owners cannot compete with government welfare…Read more Stimulus Spending

I had lunch with a friend who is a therapist today.   He made a statement that I thought I should share with you.  "The best form of revenge is a life well lived."  Tom is great brother in Christ and a professional that is a credit to his field.  I am a better pastor because…Read more Friends