Pastor Note #121: Praying for Justice without Praying for Revenge

On the morning that I learned of the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine, I was incensed.  My sense of justice was offended.  It was so simply and plainly and extravagantly wrong that I felt outraged.  And so, I found myself hoping that bad things would happen to Vladimir Putin and all his forces attacking the … Continue reading Pastor Note #121: Praying for Justice without Praying for Revenge

Bible Note #49: James 1:27 & Tolerating Stains

My wife and I currently have a four-year-old, ninety-pound golden retriever, Teddy.  We’ve had dogs, often more than one, for nearly twenty years.  Somewhere along the way, it occurred to us that vinyl flooring with a random pattern of brown dog paw prints on it would be a wonderful thing.  Anyone who has ever owned … Continue reading Bible Note #49: James 1:27 & Tolerating Stains

Pastor Note #117: Advent Reflection #3

So, here we are in the third week of Advent.  It’s really a terrible cliché to say that time seems to fly by as we come up on Christmas.  But cliché or not, somehow it seems to be true.  Maybe it’s because we crowd these weeks full of events and “to-do list” items and expectations, … Continue reading Pastor Note #117: Advent Reflection #3

Pastor Note #115: Advent Reflections #1

I just did a quick online search for Advent calendars and discovered that you can buy Advent calendars at Target, Walmart, and on the Etsy site.  They’re everywhere.  I also noticed that almost all of them are incorrect.  All of the Advent calendars I looked at start on December 1, and five out of every … Continue reading Pastor Note #115: Advent Reflections #1

Pastor Note #114: Michael Flynn and One National Religion

“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion.  One nation under God, and one religion under God." Michal Flynn, speaking at a “Reawaken America” event in San Antonio, TX on November 13, 2021 Washington County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse; photo by GAC It is hard to … Continue reading Pastor Note #114: Michael Flynn and One National Religion

Quote of Note #123: Christianity & Coercion

Photo by GAC "Christian civility takes human freedom seriously. I may want people to believe as I do about some basic matters--but what I want is for them to choose to see things that way. This means that I must rely on testimony and persuasion in presenting my views to them. Civil Christians will be … Continue reading Quote of Note #123: Christianity & Coercion