Remain

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5

Dear Friends,
My first congregation was outside Yakima, Washington located on the Yakima Indian Reservation in a small town named Wapato. The name means ‘big potato’ in the local Native American dialect.

The area’s main industry…

The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

John 10:11

Dear Friends,
This Sunday is called “Good Shepherd Sunday”. It occurs every year three weeks after Easter.

As you might guess, the Sunday emphasizes Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The assigned Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 23 which begins with the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

Each year the assigned Gospel reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 10. This is the “Good Shepherd” chapter.

Over the course of three years...

Security In God’s Love

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 Peter 3:1

Friends in Christ,

The day I write this blog is the 102 nd birthday of the children’s author, Beverly Cleary. She is best known for her two series of books, ‘Henry Huggins’ and ‘Romona Quimby’. She lives southwest of Portland, Oregon in a town called McMinnville.

She once said, “In 50 years,...

But Go, Tell

But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.
Mark 16:7

Friends,

Every year I struggle preaching on the Resurrection of Jesus. It’s not that I have trouble with the fact that Jesus rose form the dead. I believe he did. I really do.

I struggle with trying to find something new.

I often listen to the sermons of a preacher by the name of Frederick Craddock. He used to say he sent his sermons out like doves. Sometimes the sermons flew out from the pulpit and floated beautifully in the air, gracing the congregation with their presence.
Other times, Mr. Craddock said, they didn’t fly and merely dropped to the floor from the pulpit.