Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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My recent days have been filled with planning for Advent, the church season that begins on November 29 and continues for four Sundays. Advent is a time of preparation and waiting for the Christ child to be born at Christmas. Our Advent theme this year is “It’s True!”, based on the song of the same name by Christian artist Sara Groves. This song captivated my heart several years ago when it came out. As I listened to it again and again, my heart swelled and ached at the truth contained in the lyrics. On Christmas Eve of that year, I had the oppo...
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 118:1 I have been sitting here in front of my computer for over an hour, and the only thing I have typed is the Bible verse above. I keep typing a sentence or two and then deleting it. About 30 minutes ago, it felt like I was on a roll, having written a couple of paragraphs... and then I deleted that too. With Thanksgiving approaching, my desire is to write a beautiful and inspirational sermonette about being...
“I don’t have any.” “None.” “I think I understand, so no questions.” These were some of the answers I got on “Sermon Note Forms” recently turned in by our 7-8 grade Confirmation students. The prompt was as follows: One question I have is:_______________________________________________ Sermon Notes are a required part of Confirmation in most Lutheran churches. Students are expected to give a short report on the pastor’s sermon. The idea is that it promotes active listening, and it challenges the hearts and minds of young people to wonder— w...
Do you have a favorite Bible verse? John 3:16 is always a top pick, as is Psalm 23. Other top picks include Micah 6:8, Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 11:1 and Philippians 4:7. Each verse, in fact all of Scripture, is chock full of promise and grace. I discovered my favorite Bible verse around 20 years ago, and it has captured and challenged my heart and imagination since then. Here it is: From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace - John 1:16 When I think back to my discovery of this verse, I am pretty sure that at the time, I was feeling...
First Congregational Church I am moved by what poet and songwriter Sara Graves shares in her song “The Dream” about her grandfather’s recurring image of God: You are standing in the driveway As I come up the street I can tell by your movement you’re not angry You are waiting there Because we humans worry. We see the chaos of the world around us. We worry that we’ve done something, that we’ve caused God’s wrath on us. That we don’t deserve the radical love that God offers. Human reason says that “everything happens for a reason” and that...
When God taps us on the shoulder and introduces Himself, we are faced with a decision to either listen, or excuse ourselves and walk away. Some individuals when convicted with this holy invitation will accept His love and are filled with joy as they proceed into an exciting life-changing journey of faith and hope. Others are confident in their abilities and intelligence to steer their own vessel and perceive the concept of allowing Jesus to come in and take over, as not exactly what they had in...
God (probably) doesn’t want to bail you out by Joe Greiner Evangelical Free Church In Jeremiah chapter 15, we come across some of the most painful language Jeremiah ever uses to describe his situation. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable? Jeremiah 15:18 Jeremiah is in anguish because his calling to be God’s prophet has led to an extreme isolation. Everyone hates him. In the nation, he is entirely alone and despised by all. He has...
The First Congregational Church in New Rockfod has stood in the same spot for more than 100 years. In fact, it has graced the corner of Central Avenue and 5th street since long before those streets were ever paved or even had names. In the past weeks, Dean Wallace Construction completed the daunting task of reshingling the roof and steeple of the historic structure. Erected in 1884, the church building and its congregation have bragging rights for being the town's oldest church. In the early d...
To be perfectly transparent, I have no idea how many people read these, or if there are regular readers of sermonettes. As I write them, I imagine there are some who read them each week. If that’s you, you may have noticed a theme with my last couple of sermonettes. Sin. I talked about how sin starts small, how sin loves the dark, and how sin inevitably hurts those around us. These messages have been reflections of the valuable lessons I’ve learned recently, however, I suspect today’s might be the most important: sin is not the enemy. Some...
Sin is a concept I don’t enjoy. I know, that’s not very surprising— a pastor who doesn’t enjoy sin. However, my struggle with the concept isn’t what you might assume it is. Obviously, I struggle with it because part of me enjoys sin, and part of me hates it; but that struggle is simple and easy to understand. No, what frequently bothers me about sin is how confused we often are about what actually is sin. The word is thrown around frequently, both in and out of church circles, but I don’t think we usually use it properly. See, “sin” isn’t...
I’m sure many of us know John 3:16. As the most famous verse in the Bible, almost everyone who’s been in a church has it memorized, and many outside the church as well. However, the entire section is excellent. Including this little gem in John 3:19. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. John 3:19 This is a statement that I understood, but gained a deeper understanding of lately. Sin loves the dark. The dark conceals things, it removes cla...
I am attending a wedding this week. What is amazing to me is that not so very long ago, those who knew me would have been very surprised at that statement. Truth is, I would go to great lengths to avoid such gatherings. I don't really know for sure why that was but I just didn't go to them unless absolutely necessary. If it were a family event involving a sibling or a nephew or niece, that was different. It was always great to see relatives I hadn't seen for a while and the partying was usually pretty good also. But other than that, I didn't...
Greetings dear friends in Christ. It’s hardly news anymore. I can’t imagine there is any person, anywhere, that isn’t aware of COVID-19. In actuality, it hasn’t been that long since the coronavirus first made the news even though it seems like it's been around forever. As I recall, back then it was a news item but not of any particular importance. IT was just another bug, somewhat reminiscent of the Swine Flu or the Bird Flu of a few years back. We would just let it run its course and all would be fine. Well, it hasn’t worked out that way....
The Christian worldview of life is about learning what God requires and willingly accepting the call to become a devoted disciple of Christ. This life-changing decision has everything to do with yielding mind, body, and soul to the Creator of heaven and earth. It’s definitely worth considering since He has promised with all certainty that He is the way, the truth and the life. Most Bible scholars are convinced there are two categories of judgment and are commonly referred to as the saved and the unsaved. Even though there are levels of good a...
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:15 One of the things I’ve learned lately is how sin starts small. Perhaps it’s different for others, but for me, I was surprised to discover that my sin issue could be traced back to a point when I made a small decision. Not a huge, life-hangs-in-the-balance sort of decision, but a small one. The kind of decision that we make dozens of every day. When I look back at that very first moment, that very first choice where I first vee...
Someone mentioned the other day about how after pouring out some heated frustrations on one of their Facebook sessions, they had a headache and was terribly depressed. For those who read this column regularly, you know I do not talk a lot about politics or social issues. I just feel we already have all the arguments and opinions we need and besides, I’m more into sharing about how God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have e...
Do not fear. Fear not. Do not be afraid. All these commands are found in the bible. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she was to become the mother of our Savior. He tells her to not be afraid. It is certainly understandable that when all of a sudden an archangel from God appears, at first she would have been afraid. Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream and is told that he is not to be afraid to continue his betrothment, to take Mary as his wife even though she is with child. It was the will of God. Shepherds, keeping...
On Sunday, August 2, the "JT Rice North Dakota Chapter of Pilots for Christ" will be hosting a FREE Golf Ball Drop and Celebration fly-in. This is the eighth annual ball drop for the organization and again this year the members would like to give back in appreciation of all that has been given to them through donations of time, talent, resources, and funding. The group formed a prize committee to choose prizes to be given away. The committee chose 1) a gas grill. 2) a one-hour helicopter tour....
Within the Christian life, there are many pillars of truth which are critical to our spiritual development and one of these is discernment. The word may have several meanings, but mostly it's associated with having spiritual sensitivity. Within the Biblical view it is used to identify whether something is good or evil and being able to interpret and understand God's voice. You see, we cannot hear what he is saying if we are not walking close to him or even aware of his presence. It's elementary...
There was a television program some time ago, reruns continue today. “Fraiser” was based on a psychiatrist who had given up private practice and now had a radio program where people would call in with problems of various levels of seriousness, though usually intended to be humorous. On one particular episode, the psychiatrist was told that he had to have a little song to be played as an intro to his program. Eventually, at the program’s ending, what they came up with was if you wanted help, no matter what your problem, if you wanted help,...
Greetings. What a wonderful time of year. Swimming pools are open, we can again have picnics in the park, chase that little white ball around golf courses, and enjoy leisurely walks in the evenings, listening to the birds singing. If you have the inclination, you can even sit back and relax in the sun with a fishing pole in your hand. We have no worries about icy roads, wondering if the car will start, and so forth. But, this year, after such a cold winter, we were so looking forward to finally having spring and then the coronavirus hit. While...
I really appreciate readers who send me emails and even hand-written letters, they are truly an encouragement. Actually, I received a wonderful letter the other day by a gentleman from South Carolina who had recently lost his wife and he said one of these columns touched him deeply. My topic was about how God’s eye is always on the sparrow, and this reminded him of a precious memory that he and his wife had experienced many years ago. He sent along some photos and it was just a very kind e...
And I know He watches me I was working out in the yard the other day and a tiny sparrow landed on the ground just a few feet from me. I watched as it moved its head around and then flew off with lightning speed. I was reminded of the passage in Matthew chapter ten which states that God keeps His eye on every sparrow and how He watches us even more closely. What a comfort to know that wherever we are or what experiences we are going through, we can rest assured that He is attentively observing ev...
I’ve had several conversations with different people about anxiety lately. Last week I wrote about worry and stress, but I think anxiety can fall into an entirely different category. Yes, most of us have everyday things we are anxious and worried about, but these conversations have been about the type of anxiety that consumes you and stops you in your tracks. Some people have anxiety that stops them from functioning, makes it hard to get up in the morning, or makes the simplest of things seem like life or death. These conversations made me r...
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” -Psalm 46:10 The Lord has been reminding me of the basics lately. He has been bringing me back to him, his heart and the building blocks of knowing him. Two weeks ago, I wrote about prayer, last week I talked about love, and this week I want to explore the idea of being still. I want to explore what that means and why it’s important in our lives. Last week I had a busy week. I went to Fargo, went camping, had to work and got ready...
