Our One Sixty Seven series has been one in which the sermons were merely appetizers for the small group conversations to follow. And such was the case last night, when I gathered with a Young Adult LifeGroup I am privileged to lead in order to discuss the sermon-based...
Several years ago I came across a startling statistic: Vocabulary of a three year old in a professional home: 1,116 words Vocabulary of an adult in an under-resourced home: 974 words As mind-bending as that statistic is, its implications are even more troubling. When...
It was Snow White who taught us to whistle while you work, wasn't it? Yet I'm not much of one for whistling. On the other hand, some music while I'm working -- in particular while I am either writing a sermon or writing notes to first time guests -- often provides...
Yesterday's message, which concluded the One Sixty Seven series, also .... got its title from a Bon Jovi song; began with a shout out to Star Wars as the names of celebrities caught up in the Reckoning that followed the #MeToo movement scrolled on the screens,...
It was 1986 and Bon Jovi told us this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZHPOeOxQQ And that video has had 184 million views! Anyway, our 21st Century American culture has taken giving love a bad name to a entirely new level, hasn't it? A toxic combination of power,...
A collection of thoughts and observations ranging from from the personal to the political and from the light-hearted to the heavy-handed ... The most exciting thing in my life over the past week has been working with a new contact lens specialist to locate a new brand...
It happened when I saw this: Between 13 and 16, the biggest songs were: Hotel California Take It To The Limit Over The Hills & Far Away Brown Sugar More Than A Feeling Stayin' Alive (OK, there are exceptions to every rule.)
They're evocative yet original. They're derivative yet authentic. They're reminiscent of yet different from. They're Greta Van Fleet, and they had me at hello. A couple of weeks ago, I friend sent me a link to know about the Michigan-based band. Within one listen, I...
Yesterday's sermon ... had a title I'm proud of: We Are All Just Prisoners Here Of Our Own Device; had a subject that needs addressing: our devices; had a bottom line that was a major improvement over the original one written -- why be captive of the urgent when you...
A high school senior from Good Shepherd shared her application essay to a national Christian college. You'll see how Good Shepherd language has deeply shaped her Christian identity: My personal faith and beliefs will contribute to [the college's] mission because of...