You’ve heard that phrase before right? If you live in tornado alley and your house is decimated by a storm your insurance company is likely to call it an act of God. I don’t like the implications of that phrase when it comes to storms and destruction but there is another way that this phrase… [Read more…]
January 3, 2012
I believe in Jesus Christ and in the power of the Gospel which began in Bethlehem. I believe in the One whose spirit glorified a small village, of whose coming the shepherds saw the sign, and for whom there was no room in the inn. I believe in the One whose life changed the course… [Read more…]
January 2, 2012
But you knew that already. On the church calendar we call this season Christmastide. It ends on Epiphany which is January 6th. Today is the 8th day of Christmas and in another post I mentioned the supposed Christian meaning of the 12 days of Christmas song…so in keeping with that notion today the songs says… [Read more…]
December 29, 2011
This was too good not to post here – it is a daily devotional from the UCC and it spoke volumes to me this morning Please take some time to digest what the writer is saying Matthew 23:3 “For they practice but do not preach.” Reflection by Donna Schaper The “Spiritual but not Religious”… [Read more…]
December 29, 2011
December 28th on the church calendar is the day of the Holy Innocents. Scripture tells us that not long after the magi left the Christ child an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod the king of Judea was planning to find and… [Read more…]
December 25, 2011
The place of Jesus’ birth is under occupation today by the State of Israel. I was there in 2007 and what I saw shocked me and caused me to wonder how many Christians know that Bethlehem is under siege? The pictures below show the “wall” built by Israel. They call it a security measure but… [Read more…]
December 25, 2011
Luke 2:1-20 The Message 1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in… [Read more…]
December 24, 2011
Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” O’ gracious God we have been waiting these past four weeks for Christmas day. We have been praying for and placing our hope in the coming of the Holy One. We have waited to hear your still… [Read more…]
December 21, 2011
I first heard this Hymn when I was traveling through the Palestinian West Bank…it speaks to the disciple of Christ about what Christ would have us do. Today I am thinking about this as I reflect on my own relationships with those around me and I find that I want more and more to do… [Read more…]
December 21, 2011
It’s the end of the fiscal year for most businesses and even for most churches and my church has been busy crafting a proposed budget for the upcoming year. With all the talk of projection -vs- actual, of income -vs- expenses it’s easy to get lost in the financial jargin and forget who and what… [Read more…]
UCC News
January 8, 2012
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