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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I want to share with you this meditation on the meaning of the hope we have as Christians, according to Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians. Of course, this is a document of the Christian faith that, according to New Testament scholars, has no specific recipient in its original form. That is to say, it was a circular letter to be read in all the churches of Asia Minor. In chapter 1, verse 3, Paul blesses the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul blesses God for having first blessed us with all his blessings in the heavenly places. It is interesting to ..read more

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ for his mercy and love. Today I want you to think about how our senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch aid us on our spiritual journey. What we learn through our five senses becomes recorded in our memory, so this accumulation of data in our brains as memories helps us to be the type of person that we are. In our Christian journey we need to use our experiences and the spiritual gifts that we received from the Lord to help others become more effective in carrying out the church mission. A ..read more

Pastor Rey Díaz At the beginning of his book, “The Dynamics of Spiritual Formation”, Mel Lawranz quotes the words of Count von Zinzendorf, 1700-1760: “Lord, when my eyes confront my heart, and I realize that you have filled my heart with your love, I am breathless with amazement. Once my heart was so small in its vision, so narrow in its compassion, so weak in its zeal for truth. Then you chose to enter my heart, and now in my heart, I can see you, I can love all your people, and I have the courage to proclaim the truth of your gospel to anyone and everyone. Like wax before a fire, my heart ha ..read more

I have heard a lot of folks say “something needs to change.”  Those words apply to a lot of issues and topics.  I know sometimes change is bad, sometimes change is good.  Recently my world was shaken when Culver’s announced they would be switching from Pepsi products to Coke products.  Thus, no more Mountain Dew at Culver’s.  I was and am heartbroken, I was not ready for such a significant change  .  However, in the greater scope of things, it is just not that important.  I mean, they still have custard  .  There are greater issues in the wor ..read more

I heard this song the other day and, although I had heard it many times, for some reason this time I listened more intently to the lyrics and then researched the lyrics when I got home.  I was surprised at what I found and, well, let me see what you think. In an interview, the artists reveal that the song “expresses how the rat race of life has taken away from people’s ability to communicate, except at the most superficial level.  True communication that took place around the dinner table is now replaced by dinners in front of the TV, with people only speaking just because they have ..read more

I hope this finds you all well.  Please post on Facebook pages and Websites.  Thank you. I heard this song a while back and it really moved me.  The music got you swaying and singing and was upbeat (and may have led to the gas pedal being pushed too far)  But then I got listening to the lyrics and they told a whole different story. The song was Harlem River Blues by Justin Townes Earle.  It was written in 2010 and was the Americana Music Awards Song of the Year in 2011.  One critic writes: “I really like this song as the concept seems to be original.  The se ..read more

We have been doing a Sermon Series for Advent called The Gifts of the Nutcracker by Matt Rawle.  It looks at Christian themes in The Nutcracker.  It has been awesome and I have learned a lot and hope others have.  I wanted to share one of his devotions. “Sometimes, Christmas is a struggle.  Just as the Nutcracker and his soldiers fight the evil Mouse King and his group, we have our own battles to face – things that just don’t go away and give us a break when the holidays roll around.  Christmas can be one of the most difficult times of the year. Though the Nutcracker a ..read more

I think it is interesting how music and lyrics can bring back memories or send you in to deep thought (at least for me).  The other day I heard an old song (The Long Black Veil sang by Sammi Smith).  The lyrics begin with: “Ten years ago, on a cold dark night, there was someone killed ‘neath the town hall light…” The lyrics made me ponder… 43 years ago on a cold, dark afternoon, there was someone almost killed ‘’neath the pop factory light.”  Sometimes it doesn’t seem that long ago, sometimes it does.  But that afternoon I tried to take my life but a gentleman and another w ..read more

The Conversation (the Conclusion from November 2/3). I think it is interesting how music and lyrics can bring back memories or send you in to deep thought (at least for me). The other day I heard an old song (The Long Black Veil sang by Sammi Smith). The lyrics begin with: “Ten years ago, on a cold dark night, there was someone killed ‘neath the town hall light…” The lyrics made me ponder… 43 years ago on a cold, dark afternoon, there was someone almost killed ‘’neath the pop factory light.” Sometimes it doesn’t seem that long ago, sometimes it does. But that afternoon I tried to take my life ..read more