Zeng Shen, who lived from 505 to 435 B.C, was an influential Chinese philosopher and an ardent disciple of Confucius. Although young enough to be Confucius’ grandson, he won high praise from the old sage.
One of the sayings for which Zeng Shen is famous goes something like this. “Every day I ask myself three questions.
The first is, “Have I sinned in my thoughts and actions toward others?” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22
With the beginning of baseball season, I’m reminded of a story about George Brett who enjoyed an All-Star 20 years career with the Kansas City Royals during the 1970s and 80s.
Brett was once asked by a reporter what he wanted to do in his last at-bat when he retired. No doubt, many ballplayers would like to end their career with a 400 foot home run like Ted Williams did at Fenway Park. However, that’s not what Brett said. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Tonight the #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks play the #8 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
It’s the culmination and climax of March Madness, one of the most exciting times of the year for all basketball fans.
Even though my bracket is shredded, I will predict the winner of tonight’s game. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
“Virtue is to the soul, what health is to the body,” wrote the French Essayist François de La Rochefoucauld.
Using that analogy it’s not an exaggeration to say that a spiritual pandemic pervades our society today. To deny it is to ignore the violence, lawlessness, immorality, perversion, and wickedness in the world around us. Hitting closer to home, maybe even the vice within our own minds and hearts.
This year in connection with our theme “Let’s Renew in ‘22,” we’re using our word of the week to encourage renewal and revival of spiritual qualities that may be ignored in our culture and even neglected by Christians. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
March Madness is here with its passion, enthusiasm, borderline crazy fans, and its exuberant color commentators.
If you watch any of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament over the past few days, you know what I’m talking about.
We had to listen to a few games on the radio while driving home, and those announcers know how to colorfully describe the game to make it come alive.
If you’ve ever attended a tournament game the atmosphere is electric. The fans, coaches, cheerleaders, bands, and players are excited about the game of basketball. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Several years ago Barna Researchers conducted a survey to find out what people knew about holiness. Surprisingly, they discovered that “though the Bible talks a lot about holiness, most adults are confused and even daunted by the concept.”
Only 1 in 4 of the Church goers they interviewed believed they were holy.
And when asked what holiness meant, the most common answer was “I don’t know!” Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
The graphic scenes we’re seeing from the Russian invasion of Ukraine remind us of the problem of human suffering in this sinful world.
Suffering, however, isn’t confined to faraway places. Nor is it always the result of the intentions of evil men. Or the impact of something as overt as war. You don’t have to look very far to see hurting people.
Hurting people are everywhere. In your community. Your church. Maybe in your home. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
“I would like for you to meet our minister.”
Have any of you preachers ever been introduced by one of your church members to their friends with those or similar words?
Have any of your ever introduced your preacher, as “my minister”? Or “the minister”?
Such a notion may imply that the preacher is entirely responsible for the ministry of the church. This, however, is not a Biblical idea. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
Have you noticed in the past 12-18 months the number of reports dealing with mental health problems people are facing?
The virus has not only taken a toll on us physically and affected our economy and politics but also impacted us emotionally and psychologically.
One survey showed that 51% of young adults say they feel down, depressed, or hopeless.
Another survey found that 40% of all Americans have reported some mental health issues related to the pandemic. And 11% had considered suicide. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
There’s an old joke about a woman whose husband died and she had inscribed on his tombstone words to this effect:
“The light of my love has been extinguished.”
In time, however, her heart healed, she met another man and fell in love. As she planned to remarry, the inscription on her first husband’s tombstone bothered her. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
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