Thoughts on Life
What If There Were No Bible?
The American Bible Society issues an annual State of the Bible each year. The title of the 2022 survey statistics caught my eye. The study reported that roughly 26 million Americans had mostly, or completely stopped reading the Bible regularly during COVID-19. This made me sad. It says to me for one reason or another, Americans who used to read the Bible have decided they would no longer do so. The reason may be because we are busier than ever.…
Loving Life
God is the Author of Life. God loves life and God is pro (or for) life, but what does that mean? It means to think about life and value life the way God does. God values ALL life – from “womb to tomb” or “birth to earth” as some have put it. As a people who believe in and follow Jesus we should align our thinking with His. It is time to understand the pro-life case, form beliefs on more…
Redeeming Life
As was mentioned last week, this series is entitled “The Matter of Life”. We need to think about life and value life the way God does. This week we are going to be discussing more of the questions we brought up last week: Is it possible that God wants to AND IS ABLE to redeem a life that we would think beyond hope? To prepare for this week: go back to some Bible stories you may or may not be…
Sanctity of Life
Pastors Billy and Alvin have been teaching the last couple weeks on Knowing God and God being the “Author of Life”. To go along with that we are going to start a short series this week entitled “The Matter of Life”. We’re going to be talking about: I would like you to think about some questions as we look at this subject; questions that will be a part of our discussion for the next three weeks: To prepare for this…
LifeWay and the Desna Cup
The Desna Cup story and LifeWay’s long connection with it This coming Sunday, we are closing our building, leaving our church property, and heading to join a handful of local churches for a group worship service at an event called the Desna Cup. The worship time is at 10:30 a.m. and the basic instructions are highlighted for you in this week’s newsletter. Some of you, for the last several years, may have driven by Saghalie Middle School on a mid-August…
The Gospel and Our Culture
When the Church (Ekklesia) was being planted in Gentile territories in the 1st century, they quickly realized they were having to deal with issues that had long since been settled in the Jewish world of Israel—prostitution worship, emperor worship, allegiance to the government, paying taxes, polytheism, animism, child sacrifice, and many, many, many more issues. The issues today are not all the same, of course, but amazingly, most the core concerns of the historical church are the same core concerns…
A Message for Our Graduates
Excerpted from a message given to high school seniors, their families, and LifeWay Youth students at Grad Night, May 25, 2022. The next season of life is approaching for our graduates, and there are some things they will need to be prepared for in life. Here are three points that you will probably not hear at any commencement ceremony, this year or ever. (This is also important for people who are not graduates this year!) If you can latch onto…
Mother’s Day Responses
On Mother’s Day—Sunday, May 8—as part of our worship service, we asked the kids (kids of all ages, that is) to fill out a questionnaire about their moms. We were able to share some of the responses with our congregation. Their answers will put a smile on your face. Enjoy! If I could give my mom anything, it would be… Food Cookware Pay off our mortgage! A world 3-month cruise Snuggles A diamond ring Me—her well-behaved handsome son My love A…
Reflections
I have been reflecting on how God has been guiding me my whole life. I grew up in a Christian home and attended church every week from the time I was born—but in my early years, I didn’t have a good role model of a loving parent at home. I went to private Christian schools (including a college from which I didn’t graduate). I became very familiar with the Bible through weekly lessons, sermons, and classes. But it took me…
Giving Thanks
There is nothing is quite as grand and noble in life than GIVING THANKS! Thanksgiving is such a unique and wonderful American tradition, but as we learned at our Thanksgiving service last Sunday evening, giving thanks is historically not unique to America; it comes out of the tradition that God set up with his covenant people long ago. One of the powerful theological terms that we build our faith on is the word, remember. God says over and over again,…
International Students: Sojourners Loved by God at Our Doorstep
I recently learned there’s a special day dedicated to students studying outside their countries and it’s coming soon. It’s International Students’ Day that’s celebrated on November 17th. Here’s a short description via Wikipedia. “International Students’ Day is an international observance of the student community, held annually on 17 November. Originally commemorating the Czech universities which were stormed by Nazis in 1939 and the students who were subsequently killed and sent to concentration camps, it is now marked by a number…
Remembering Elgin Taylor
RECOGNITION OF A LIFE OF COMMITMENT AND SURRENDER TO CHRIST A few days ago, LifeWay Church lost one of its dear church members, Elgin Taylor. Elgin and Dorothy Taylor came into our church family about 9 years ago, and this was his final earthly church to be part of. This coming Monday, August 23, at 1 p.m. at LifeWay Church, we will be holding a celebration of his life and a “glory to God” memorial service. Everyone is invited to…
Lessons in Humility
It was a quiet Saturday evening. Elena was reading to me and I was playing with my long Covid hair. I had been feeling anxious to cut it for quite some time. As she was reading, I was grabbing locks of my hair and pretending to cut it with my fingers. I interrupted her reading and said, “I think I’m going to cut my hair tonight.” She just nodded as if to say, “Sure, that sounds like a good idea.…
How to Carry On
Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.…
Sin
You may think you have the best dog, but you’d be wrong. Klaus Von Heim, the feisty wiener dog we had when I was growing up, was the best tail-wagger ever. We acquired him from a family who had a growing pack of pooches and was willing to re-home one. Klaus, being the smallest of the lot, had learned to hold his own in all circumstances. He was a scrappy little rascal. You could almost imagine him standing on a…
Hope in Creating
I wrote my first blog post about COVID last May when I was struggling to find peace amidst my anxiety about contributing to the spread. Much time has passed, and this COVID rollercoaster (COVID-coaster?) has taken me through many highs and lows. I’m so thankful for all that we’ve learned about how to navigate life within the pandemic. I’m thankful that God has given us the ability to adjust to challenging circumstances. All the loss that grieved me so heavily…
Is There a Reward for Hard Work?
Psalm 127 Last week I told you I wanted to share a few weeks of personal devotion time with you—not to show you what I have learned while reading the Bible, but to encourage each of us to learn how to have our own personal time with God, letting him speak to you. As an example this week, here is a simple devotional that I had a few days ago, and what God showed me. Psalm 127:1 ”Unless the Lord…
Pride vs. Humility
On September 25, 2008, the largest bank failure in U.S. history occurred. I remember that day distinctly, because it was my husband Eric’s birthday…and because I was an employee of that 119-year-old bank. The turmoil had been brewing for a few years, and it all had come to a head. Despite the optimistic emails from our CEO saying a recovery was just around the corner, anyone who had glanced at a headline in the previous week knew that the inevitable…
Ambassadors into a New Administration
Praying for the new presidential administration as a follower of Christ—and a citizen of this country I don’t need to remind you of the chaos in our country right now. Many of us have varying opinions about how things could be, should be, should have been, etc. I have seen this coming like a storm for about 5 years now, in a direct way. I have always, as a pastor, cringed some during election times. About 3 years ago I…
How Am I Reacting to the National News Right Now?
I went to bed last night and then woke up this morning, like so many of you, pretty heavy-hearted about the state of our nation, state, region and world. Much like many of you, I certainly have reflected on the state of affairs and my reaction to them. These words reflect some of my sentiments: Frustration. Embarrassment. Shame. Anger. No surprise to most of you, I am a pretty conservative person, personally and politically. But having friends around the world…
In Praise of the Ordinary
I’ve been thinking a lot about donkeys lately. I know. You wouldn’t be the first to call me quirky. But, to continue the thought: donkeys are hardy, strong, low-maintenance creatures, and are able to thrive in many inhospitable climates and terrains. They are excellent pack animals, and even to this day, are used in many countries to transport people, essential goods and even armaments in environments that are inaccessible to modern vehicles. Have you ever given any thought to how…
Where There is Hope There is Life
The pandemic seems to have a spawned a certain number of apocalyptic memes. The Bible is unique among religious manuscripts in that it presents a complete and orderly timeline of events, beginning with the creation of the earth and ending with its dissolution. When Earth ceases to exist, what will remain? According to 1 Corinthians 13:13, that would be faith, hope and love. Of all that exists, why are these three things so essential that they should outlast creation as…
Give Thanks? How?
Give thanks???? How? In the middle of this world mess? One of the famous true stories that emerged out of the World War II years is of Corrie Ten Boom. Some of you have been inspired by her most famous biographical book, The Hiding Place, or by the movie of the same title. For those who are not familiar, let me give you a highly condensed overview. Corrie Ten Boom’s parents were dedicated Christ followers in the Netherlands when Germany…
Longing for God
What does it mean for us as Christians to long for God? Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” ( John 6:35). This is a perfect example of how we need to further our relationship with God. Longing for God is having a hunger and thirst to get to know him and to live a life according to his will.…
Saying Grace
“I coulda been a contender,” a grimacing Marlon Brando laments in the iconic scene in the film On the Waterfront. I actually am a contender. No, really! Let me explain. The Christian college I attended has a tradition in which a name, Bible verse and hymn is selected for each incoming class. My class name is the “Contenders,” our hymn “Fight the good fight,” and our verse is Jude verse 3: …contend for the faith that was once for all…