When Jesus quotes the law in Deuteronomy with “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”, he begins with heart. There is no way to prove that the order suggests a priority, but it does raise the…
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ~ Deut. 6:5 Jesus answered. “The first (commandment) is Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your…
November and December bring us to what is often called the holiday season. Probably no time receives more attention than Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both are firmly rooted in American’s faith tradition, although both are celebrated beyond people of faith. Thanksgiving may be the purer of the two, in so far as it has not been…
I have had the privilege of joining you in your ministry these last two months. Now I look forward to what is to come in the time before us. September and October both have much to which we look forward. September is the time in which we return to the more traditional schedule. Sunday school…
In the latter part of the 19th century, a young couple left their home in Indiana and homesteaded 190 acres of parched, dry land in Arizona. Life was hard, but they persevered, building a home and having two children, a boy and a girl. One hot summer day, the husband left on one of his…
Spring is here, and I’m loving it. April showers and warm spring temperatures have brought forth the beauty and glory of new life. Tulips, daffodils and flowering trees of every description are in full bloom, blessing our senses with sights, fragrances and beauties, only God could have dreamed up. When I think about all the…
Never has the world needed a Savior more than today. Our nation sends drones from afar to destroy and kills Islamic terrorist, while they, (the terrorists), have vowed to kill anyone who is not them. Fearing invasions and preemptive attacks, nations around the globe are posturing and rattling their sabers, hoping, praying, that once known,…
I’m sure that most of you know what follows, but in the event you have never heard or may have forgotten how our Methodist Book of Worship describes the season of Lent, let me highlight it for you. Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday, (this year…
It’s winter, the fields are brown and barren and the crop is in the bin. Those of us who live in farm communities know it didn’t get there by accident. We know that farmers, perhaps more than any other profession, practice a special kind of faith. After the crop is planted, they do as much…
Later in his career, the British actor, A.E. Matthews, found himself dealing with occasional forgetfulness. In a play in which he was cast, Matthews was in a scene in which he walked across a room, answered the phone and engaged in conversation, the content of which was crucial to the plot. When he picked up…