Posted by svanbaale |
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will…
Posted by rgarza |
There are many times that we go through challenges in our lives. We pray for guidance to help us through those times. But is that enough?
I start my morning with prayer, giving thanks for what I have and what God helps me with. I pray for my family and loved ones, and end with a prayer for myself. The prayer I ask is for guidance, protection, and many other personal thoughts. It’s a conversation…
Posted by hlewis |
There’s a beautiful song that our Salem choir sang earlier this year called Grace Alone. It talks of promises, prayers, steps of faith, and differences we make that are only by His grace. The words keep coming back to me as we spend this week ironing out details for our next big leap of faith together as a congregation.
I want to thank the small but mighty crew of volunteers…
Posted by jbrudvig |
Truth be told, sometimes the change process feels more like a tomb than a womb. After all, change, especially unwanted or unwelcome change, often entails loss — the loss of a building, the loss of a tradition, the loss of relationships, the loss of stability, you name it. As a result, a community undergoing change and transition may find itself challenged to see and experience God’s presence…
Posted by lcooper |
One of the best habits that we can establish in our lives is reading our Bible daily. A Bible feeds you mentally just like food feeds you physically.
Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
— Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV)
No matter what our mood is for the day, reading a few verses can calm us and set us on the…
Posted by svanbaale |
For many, the new school year has just started, or will start soon. Notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons, and markers are all squeaky-clean in that brand-new backpack (with the Salem backpack tag on it). Who knows what will unfold from August to May? The year is a blank slate.
Most schools have a back-to-school night. Some elementary schools have a “sneak-a-peek” night where you drop…
Posted by rgarza |
We all have busy days, and busy weeks. We have kids going to school, taking care of the house, yard, your financials, car repairs … and the list goes on.
Finding time to set aside for prayer can sometimes be put on the back burner. We often fear the difficult experiences of life such as illness, loss of loved ones, and financial hardships, only to discover that these experiences can bring…
Posted by hlewis |
I am a believer in miracles. Sometimes we pray, hope, and dream for them, but many times they are unexpected … and we miss them if we aren’t paying attention. I try to watch for them, as they are so often in the small details of life.
This Sunday we’ll talk about Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. His disciples did not believe they could make this…
Posted by jbrudvig |
In his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff … and it’s all small stuff, Richard Carlson writes about the importance of perspective through the responses of two bricklayers.
When asked “What are you doing?” the first laborer complained that he was an underpaid bricklayer forced to earn a living by mindlessly placing bricks on top of one another.
Yet the response was…
Posted by lcooper |
Have you ever found it difficult to forgive someone? Why is it so hard to do sometimes?
If we can forgive, we are letting go of blame and suffering that we are holding inside. This can lead to pain and depression if we are not able to move on.
To not forgive can make you exhausted. You think about it too much. It can…