Years ago in Ohio I gathered a few couples in the home of a friend once a week and taught them the basic message of the Bible. I explained the gospel and on the last of the six weeks I had our hosts, Dan and Barb Donegan, tell the story of how they came to […]
Conspiracy
[photo credit to Daniel Biferie. His photo of the Brandon churches captures the heart of what I write about here]. I used to shepherd a village church in Ohio. There were two churches in the village, about fifty houses, a general store, a township hall, a cemetery, and a park tucked in the crook of […]
When Wrinkles Discourage You
Jesus said our words reveal the content of our hearts. I was teaching a small class one day when one of the ladies opened her heart in an unusual way and revealed a dark thought that lay in the bottom of her soul. It was troubling. She said; “When my husband left me I had […]
Is Your Heart A Treasure of Good Things? (Video)
Last fall Lois and I did a couples retreat. We opened our hearts and shared 20 treasures from our hearts. (I spoke for both of us–that is the way Lois prefers it in public). This is one of the things I will be doing when we have opportunity to visits churches–sharing the treasures of my […]
When You Hurt
Be very careful when you are sinned-against. When others sin against us we are most vulnerable to sin ourselves. It’s when we get hurt, we are most likely to hurt others. Your first, natural reaction when you are hurt or when someone sins against you is usually wrong. Here is an idea: Take a drive […]
Generous Souls
In the autumn of 2001 I had an experience that made me think. Maybe it would be good for you to think about it too… I made pastoral visits yesterday and enjoyed being out of the study on a perfect autumn day. In the late afternoon I drove to Mr. Smith’s house. It was a […]