A Horrible Nightmare

In one of Tim Keller’s sermons about easter he says this. What does Paul mean when he says, “The Resurrection is going to swallow up the suffering and evil you’re going through right now”? Here’s a very imperfect illustration from my own life.

Many years ago I had a horrible nightmare. I’m not sure if the dream came from something I ate or a movie I’d watched, but I usually don’t retell this dream with many details because it was really an awful dream. I dreamt my entire family had been slaughtered. But then I woke up, and my entire family was right there. I really love my Read more…



Too Much Prayer?

Johnny, a very bright five-year-old, told his daddy he’d like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever he could to help. His dad, a very bright thirty-five-year-old, paused for a moment and then replied, “I’ll tell you what, Johnny. If you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!” Johnny responded eagerly to his dad’s challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother. Read more…



Sometimes I am Good, And Sometimes I Am Bad

A father was related this story. I was sitting at my desk in my study after having scolded my 4-year-old daughter for misbehaving. I heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in,” I said.

Bethany entered and then matter-of-factly said, “Daddy, sometimes I am good, and sometimes I am bad. And that is just the way it is.” Then she left the room just as summarily as she had come in, acting as if she had completely explained her misbehavior for all time. Read more…



2023 – A Great Year

Farmers in southern Alabama were accustomed to planting one crop every year – cotton. They would plow as much ground as they could and plant their crop. Year after year they lived by cotton.

Then one year the dreaded boll weevil devastated the whole area. So the next year the farmers mortgaged their homes and planted cotton again, hoping for a good harvest. But as the cotton began to grow, the insect came back and destroyed the crop, wiping out most of the farms.


Bible Reading Plan 2023

Bible reading is a very important part of our walk with Christ and growing in our faith. This year we are going to read through the Bible with a different plan. Each day of the week we will read from a different type of biblical writings:
 
Sunday – Epistles
Monday – The Law
Tuesday – History
Wednesday – Psalms
Thursday – Poetry
Friday – Prophecy
Saturday – Gospels.
 
Please join us on this Bible reading adventure. Our first reading are coming up in about a week. Check back here on January 1st.


A Stranger at the Door

It was a snowy Christmas Eve. Inside the warm house, the Christmas tree was cheerfully ablaze with lights and surrounded by dozens of presents.

The man’s wife and children were dressed and ready to leave for church. “Come with us,” they urged, for they love him.


Thanks

Imagine this scene: You are on the Florida coast. The sun is setting like a gigantic orange ball. It’s the cool evening on a vacant, isolated stretch of beach. The water is lapping on a vacant, isolated stretch of beach. The water is lapping at the shore, the breeze is blowing slightly. There are one or two joggers and a couple of fishermen. Most people have gone home for the day.


American Idols

In an article for The Wall Street Journal, writer Leonard Mlodinow shares a funny story from the life of baseball great Joe DiMaggio:

It was the summer of 1945, and World War II had ended. Former soldiers, including famous baseball stars, streamed back into America and American life. Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio was trying to be “Yankee fan Joe DiMaggio,” sneaking into a mezzanine seat with his four-year-old son, Joe, Jr., before rejoining his team. A fan noticed him, then another. Soon throughout the stadium people were chanting, “Joe, Joe, Joe DiMaggio!” DiMaggio, moved, gazed down to see if his son had noticed the tribute. He had. “See, Daddy,” said the little DiMaggio, “everybody knows me!”

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Best Friendship Ever

Back to Church Sunday is coming up on September 18th. We’re having a special service specifically designed to welcome people back to church, so now is a good time to start praying about who you will invite. Eight out of ten people say they are open to visiting church if invited. That’s powerful! Imagine how our community can be transformed if everyone here invited at least one person to come to church.

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What Would You Do to Save Someone?

An old man lived on a hill that overlooked the ocean. At the bottom of the hill was a public campground where people come to pitch their tents, hike along the beach, and play in the surf. One day the old man was looking out at the ocean from his window when he noticed a huge tidal wave bearing down on the campground. He knew that the people who occupied the campground below were doomed. He had no phone or any other way to warn them from his hillside perch. And he knew that if he attempted to run down to the campground, by the time he got there, he would be wiped out, too.