Are you enjoying this Christmas season?  Have you been able to spend much time thinking about the real reason behind it all?  There is a lot that can keep us from enjoying the season or remembering the reason for it, especially in 2020! Take a minute out of all your busyness and join us for an opportunity to reflect on the real Christmas story.  I love the many different performances of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, “The Polar Express” is fun to watch, and “The Grinch” has always been a favorite, but none of those really speak to the reason we …

How many of you have had packages or mail delayed this last month or two?  Have you noticed how long even a letter can take to get from sender to recipient?  I was talking to someone the other day who was an office manager and they said that it is taking 10-15 days for letters to be received.  How do you feel about that?  Do you like waiting?  Does anybody like delays? How about convenience?  Is that important to you?  How has this year worked out with that?  Been a little bit of an inconvenience?  Nothing wrecks plans like a …

What do you think of when you here the word “Peace”? Peace is complex and multi-faceted.  Do you think in  terms of political peace or inner peace? Maybe national peace?  We could go on and on talking about what peace means.  Today, I want  to share with you some things that the Bible says about peace.  I will discuss four categories of peace, talk about which one is the most important, and most of all, how we can achieve peace. Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace” so I think it is fitting we will look at what that means …

Our hope is only as good as what it is in.  When what we hope in fails us, we are devested, wrecked, and may not recover.  It is so important to take an honest look at what our hope is in and what are we hoping for.  There is only one sure hope, and it is Jesus Christ.  He needs to be where our hope is.  Many of you reading this may already know that, but let me ask you that other question, “What are you hoping for?”  You may say you have hope in Jesus, but what do you …

Are you a glass half full-person or glass half-empty?  Some of that is related to personality, I realize.  Just going around optimistic all the time may sometimes be more about ignorance and avoidance than virtue (according to the pessimist), but being thankful is a choice.  Being thankful is not thinking everything will work out right.  Being thankful should not be contingent on a perfect world or a perfect situation in your world.  Giving  thanks is a choice to acknowledge the blessings we have, even when they exist together with many troubles.  More than that, giving thanks does something in our …

What are you doing with your life that Satan would love to stop?  What are you doing that Satan would love to see you keep doing?  Those are two big battlefields in your life: the things that you know you should do for God and the things you know that God wants you to give up.  Two weeks ago we looked at the reality of spiritual warfare and the danger of thinking we are able to handle it ourselves.  This week we want to continue that study, looking at how we can be successful in it.  We truly live in …