Pastor’s Blog

Just hours before Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified, he spent time teaching and ministering to his disciples in the upper room and as he walked with them en route to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:17-36a; Mk 14:12-32a; Lk. 22:7-38; John 13-16). During this time, he washed his disciple’s feet, he predicted that he would have a betrayer and a denier, and he explained to them that he alone was the way, the truth,

Well, it’s March again, and you know what that means? March Madness! You know; the annual NCAA college basketball tournament for which basketball fans, both young and old, longingly salivate. And when I think of this hallowed tournament, and college basketball generally, I can’t help but think of the late, great coach of the UCLABruins, John Wooden. Wooden is considered by some to be the greatest college basketball head coach of all times. His teams’

Have you ever heard the phrase “killing with kindness” or perhaps used it yourself? This phrase in our personal experiences usually means that when we are confronted with someone who is critical, unfriendly, or unloving, we respond in an unexpected fashion with extreme love. This is performed in hopes of changing the other person’s attitude and actions. Whereas conventional wisdom calls for killing our neighbors with kindness, a thirty-year-old guy in Santa Rosa, Florida by

In his book A Journey to Bethlehem, pastor, writer, and musician, Jason Soroski, offers the following definitions of a resolution: “Resolution. Webster defines the word as being ‘marked by firm determination.’ The word dominates every New Year’s Eve. To the musician, a ‘resolution’ is a harmony line moving from a dissonant tone (one that does not fit the melody) to a consonant tone (one that fits). Harmonies can dance and amaze us with varied complexities

Every year on or around the Thanksgiving holiday, families across the USA begin decorating their homes with Christmas decorations, both inside and out. My family is no different. The Thanksgiving turkey was not yet fully digested this year and Tina and my oldest son, Brett, were busily putting up the Christmas tree and other yuletide decorations. For many, this is a cherished family tradition. For others, it is a cutthroat competition where neighbors crazily battle