Have you ever been caught out in a storm? It’s rather uncomfortable, isn’t it? It’s dark, the rain is coming down so hard that you can’t see a thing, the water is pooling up around your ankles, you’re cold and wet and starting to feel the sniffles coming on before you even get inside. Now,…

Every Sunday, we start out our service with Confession and Forgiveness. It usually goes something like this. We recognize that we have sinned against God and against each other. We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Then, a miracle happens. The pastor proclaims forgiveness to us. This past Sunday,…

I’m sure you have all heard this song. I was not nearly as familiar with it until one of my students this year insisted on playing it every time I rode in his car. The chorus goes like this: “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert…

When we try to grow and prosper by ourselves, we fail. That’s the simple truth. We are not wired to grow on our own; we need outside forces. And when we think about it, without an outside force driving us, why would we grow? We would have no reason to grow. We would be content…

I’m going to quote nearly this entire passage from 2nd Corinthians 5 for you. As I do, I want you to keep an eye out for the word that keeps repeating. Got that? Okay, here we go: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building…

In the Bible, we are often referred to as plants. Our process of growing is described in detail all over Scripture. However, it’s important to note that nowhere are we compared to sunflowers or zinnias. We aren’t pretty. We aren’t nice. We’re useful. We are trees or vines – plants that bear fruit. Psalm 1…