Posted by hlewis |
I made apple crisp today, and it hardly made a dent in the bag of apples my kids picked at a local orchard this weekend. The cider donuts and slushies are long gone, but what to do with all of the apples? As a kid I remember climbing what seemed to be very tall trees, and sitting up there chomping away on sweet, juicy apples — I’m sure we brought mountains of them home, and mom probably canned…
Posted by dwhetter |
Do you remember that sitcom on the late '80s, Who’s the Boss? ? It was about a widower and former baseball player who had to give up his baseball career because of injury, so he decides to become a housekeeper for a high-powered divorced businesswoman. We had come a long way in the '80s, but the premise that a man would be a stay-at-home dad and housekeeper while a woman would…
Last Friday, September 22, the season of fall officially began at approximately 3:10 PM. Just as fall began last week, so did Sunday School for children, teens, and adults. Our Wednesday night program, Oasis, also began last week. Choir has started back up, and our Pantry Pack program seems to be busier than ever. In addition, our facility planning has picked up and, with the direction of…
Posted by dwhetter |
Living in community is never easy. It would be so much easier if we could just live in a world where everything we did, said, or thought was the way we wanted it. But, the truth is, that’s not how things work and that’s not how God created us to be. God created us to be in community. As we heard two weeks ago, living in community means that at times we will experience conflict, and…
Sunday School started up this week and I was a part of the adult education discussion. We started the year off talking about Community: An Unexpected Family. And if you’ve read any of my letters before, community tends to be a topic I refer to a lot. And the discussion we had on Sunday was a great one about how we as individuals are as a part of community.
We referred to the verse…
For over ten years both Sheila Rehder and Ellen Sandelin, with the support of many leaders, have provided an amazing children’s ministry program for our little ones. As they moved on from their roles in children's ministry to pursue new opportunities at Salem, many leaders have stepped up to help our program grow and evolve.
Over the past six months an amazing group of children’s ministry…
Posted by dwhetter |
Well, if you ask me, this set of rules that Jesus has laid out for us in this story today makes a lot of sense, and it doesn’t sound that difficult, does it? I mean if someone sins against you, go talk to them, face to face. If they listen to you and respond positively, then move on. Your relationship has been restored. But, if they don’t listen, you have more work to do. Jesus says at this…
Posted by hlewis |
Those who know me (even just a little) can probably guess that I am not a fan of conflict. I like to look on the bright side of things, see the good in people and situations, and help others do the same. I’m actually surprised to find myself writing about it, as conflict is something I intentionally avoid whenever possible.
And yet conflict is a part of life. We have the ability to escalate…
Posted by dwhetter |
Our gospel story today actually began last week with Jesus asking the disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (16:13). In response, they reported that on the street people were saying he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another one of the prophets. But Jesus also wanted to know who the disciples thought he was, and when he asked them, Simon Peter said, “You are…
This past Sunday, we read Matthew 16:13-20. Jesus had been traveling around teaching about the Kingdom of God and performing miraculous deeds, like feeding the 5,000 and healing people. The religious leadership were unsure of him and did not believe he was from God. In the midst of all this, he took a moment to ask his disciples who they thought he was. When he asked this question, Peter…