various After a year of marriage, I drove from Boston, Massachusetts with Annie and our baby daughter to my new position as youth pastor in a Methodist Church in West Virginia. We had a U-haul truck that towed out car. We made the 1000 kilometer trip, parked the truck and car in front of the…
various I talked in the RICEmail this past week about why we should make September 1 the start of our year. (If you are not receiving the RICEmail, let me know. I want to keep you informed of what is happening in our church community.) January 1 comes in the middle of the year. It…
Luke 10:38-42 Jesus had many disciples. There were seventy-two he sent out on a short-term mission trip and among those, he chose twelve to train to be leaders of the church that would emerge after he died and resurrected. Of the twelve, three were closest to him: Peter, James, and John. Jesus also had friends…
Luke 5:27-32 In Luke 5 we read about Jesus coming up to Peter, James, and John who were fishing in the Sea of Galilee. He called them to follow him and they (Luke 5:11) pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. In the text for this morning, soon after Peter, James,…
Luke 4:14-30 When I was in sixth grade I tried out for a school musical and played the part of Santa Claus. I had a solo to sing, “I am old man Santa Claus; I come from far and near,” and then something about bringing Christmas cheer. We rehearsed. I knew my lines. My aunt…