Second Church Steps

I sat in the sanctuary Sunday, and it felt VAST.   Some might think of it as “empty…” but there was a huge sense of space and a connection to beyond the walls.   I realized that Our Church circle is SO WIDE! We were gathered, in our own homes, but each of us was there standing, kneeling, sitting,and  praying together before our God.   Your home is a “room” in the House of God if we gather in the name of Jesus Christ.   Kid’s club has been talking a lot about how we do not do “random” acts of kindness.   We do them on purpose!   We do INTENTIONAL acts of kindness in the name of Jesus Christ.   We do them because Jesus asked us to do them! God helps us to do them! It is part of who we are and WHOSE we are as God’s beloved children. One activity from Kids Club is the “I CAN” cube .   It helps to remind us that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).  You can do this at home.   Take an em...

It doesn't matter if it is in a restaurant, at work, at home, or just about anywhere.  If you ask me, "Do you need anything?" I am probably going to respond, "World Peace." I figure the ONE time I don't ask will be the ONE time we could get it. Well, we could all use a little more peace these days. This past Spring, I was in a meeting and gave my usual respond, "World Peace." The person asking was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean by, 'World Peace'?" I have thought about this alot. Thanks to Eden Theological Seminary and Joretta Marshall in particular, I was prepared with an answer. My quick answer, "Peace is persistent relatedness in the face of a disconnect," raised more questions.  The easier answer would have been, "Shalom." At the risk of hearing from every academic library class participant I ever taught, I will use the Wikipedia definition of "Shalom." There are many, but I would...