By Pastor Gary on
5/22/2013 9:52 AM
Most of the folks in Moore, Oklahoma, have had their lives shattered by the tornado that ripped their community, hospital, schools, homes, families this past week.
This tornado was extremely powerful. It left rubble in its wake and grieving families in its path. We are awed, even frightened by its great power. For many this tragedy creates feelings that God is distant or does not care what happens to us. Our own questions rise: Is God powerful? Is God good? Does God care for me?
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By Pastor Gary on
5/16/2013 10:01 AM
In January 1998, I traveled to Siberia to teach a two week class on the Gospels at the St. James Bible College in Magadan, Russia. It was also my privilege to attend worship in a variety of Russian churches. I don’t speak Russian but I did notice that worship services were filled with people saying, “Slava Bogu.” I asked my translator what the people were saying. He said the “Slava Bogu” means “Praise God” in Russian. Praises for God’s goodness, power, and love were always on the lips of the Russian Christians.
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By Pastor Gary on
4/23/2013 10:51 AM
In John 13:31-35 Jesus commanded that his followers love one another. What does it mean to love one another? I believe there are three loving actions that are certainly included in loving one another. To love one another we must learn to forgive one another, be servants of one another, and share our lives with one another.
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By Pastor Gary on
4/12/2013 10:47 AM
It is a serious challenge to condense a week's-worth of life-changing experiences into a few paragraphs. But I will make an attempt. This year I was one of the nine representatives from our church to participate in the 2013 Honduras mission trip. The team served in several capacities – medical, optical, vacation bible school, sewing and construction. I helped with the construction team to begin the foundation work for what will be the main United Methodist church in the capital city in Honduras. Since I am used to a desk job, my week’s work with a shovel in my hand in Honduras tired my muscles but I could feel a change in my heart as well.
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By Pastor Gary on
4/1/2013 6:19 AM
On that first Easter morning women went to Christ’s grave to anoint his body. They found the tomb but the body was gone. Instead the saw an angel who said, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." (Luke 24:5-6 NRSV)
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By Pastor Gary on
3/13/2013 8:08 AM
Kelly is a girl who lived next door to me in Ironwood and she had a gift for making me feel like “poor old Mr. Wilson” of the comic strip, Dennis the Menace.
When Kelly wanted a Popsicle, like she did one particular day, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Can I have a popsicle?” she asked me. “No,” I said. “Why?” “Because I don’t have any popsicles.” “Why don’t you have any popsicles?” “Ran out.” “Why?”
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By Pastor Gary on
2/26/2013 1:16 PM
In 1 Corinthians 13:5 St Paul says about love that “it keeps no record of wrongs.” The word “record” is a first century accounting term. I am reading Adam Hamilton’s book, Forgiveness – Finding Peace Through Letting Go. In the second chapter, Hamilton describes the curious accounting procedures in many marriages. Couples focus on keeping track of perceived wrongs committed against them by their spouse and forget to keep track of the blessings. The result is “a pretty miserable relationship.”
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By Pastor Gary on
2/12/2013 11:54 AM
Why does lent begin with the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday? What do the ashes signify?
Lent is a period of time set aside by the church for us to reflect on our sins and our need for God’s forgiveness. Two important parts of our reflection are confession and repentance. In confession we admit our failures to ourselves and to God. Repentance is a commitment to change our ways and not repeat the sins we have confessed. We ask for God’s forgiveness and with God’s help we go forward as forgiven people.
In the Bible fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes are a part of the confession and repentance of sins. In what is most probably a gentle attempt at humor in an otherwise serious book,
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By Pastor Gary on
2/5/2013 8:39 AM
As Christians, we may fail badly. What kind of a Christian would do
that? We think: how can I ever serve Christ again? But as we develop in
the Christian life, we leave those failures behind and daily use our
God-given gifts for Him. In time, those failures will be forgotten
footnotes. We remember Peter as the forceful preacher and leader of the
church he became, not the champion of the first century
Put-Your-Foot-In-Your-Mouth contest. God's grace overcame Peter' flaws
and failures.
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By Pastor Gary on
1/30/2013 10:23 AM
My friend Gwynn Lewis was a missionary to Medellin, Colombia. Medellin was the “capital” of the drug cartels when Gwynn ministered there in the 1990s. He told me the following story.
A group of high school students from a church in the Twin Cities came on a mission trip to Medellin. I arranged for them to have dinner with the 100+ street kids we were helping. These kids had been orphaned or abandoned by their parents. They ate whenever they could steal food or find something in a garbage can.
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