Ephesians, one of the later letters of the New Testament, reveals that the early Church had come to terms with the “no quick return” of the Messiah (Ephesians 1:15-23). The Church had been “left behind.” This is not necessarily a bad thing because the Church has been “left behind” to make a difference for the […]
There is one thing for certain that we learn from the life of Paul and the life of Christ: Doing good will not always win people over, you may be stoned or crucified (Acts 14:7-28). Their lives tell us that in spite of resistance we are called to bring blessing to our community and to […]
Let us pray that we practice in our lives the faith we profess: Ever living God help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord, and to express in our lives, the love we celebrate. Grant this through our Christ our Lord. Amen. (Sunday Missals)
Let us pray that our love draw its strength from God’s own love: God, loving Father, you revealed to us the depth of your love in Jesus Christ. Although our love remains brittle and fickle and falls short, may we love one another the way Christ has loved us. Give us a bit of your […]
Last month we hosted the Holy Week Services for the Galax Area Minister’s Association. I do thank all who worked to prepare our fellowship hall for the Holy Week Services. We were blessed by the food, singers and speakers of West Galax UMC, First Baptist of Galax, Cornerstone, Hillcrest Baptist, Riverhill Baptist, and the Church […]
The history of Christian mission is God embracing those outside the covenant, and making them a part of the people of Christ filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:1-18). Together, all of us share in God’s grace and compassion and in turn share God’s grace and compassion with the world; yet, as the history of […]
“I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole. No one could steer me right, but mama tried. Mama tried, to raise me better, but her pleading I denied, that leaves only me to blame cause mama tried (Merle Haggard).” As the young man brought pain to himself and his mother by rejecting her voice, […]
Let us pray that we truly know and love the Lord Jesus: Our loving Father, you have let us experience how much you care for us by giving us Jesus as our Good Shepherd. He carries us in his heart, and may we be ever close to him so that we learn his voice, hear […]
Loving Father, our eyes have not seen your Son Jesus Christ. We have not touched the scars of his wounds, yet we come together in his name. May the Holy Spirit breathe new life within us and among us. May the Holy Spirit lead us to look with new eyes at our world so that […]
Christ’s Church is commissioned to carry out the task of offering forgiveness and the retaining of sin (John 20:22-33). Yet, how much healing has not happened because we refuse to forgive? When we retain sins that God has forgiven, we misuse the commission God has given us. We have the great privilege to convey the […]
