Tag: transformation

Prayer Note #54 — Seeking My True Self in God

~ gachorpenning ~ 2 Comments

SEEKING MY TRUE SELF IN GOD My Father, my Lord, my Redeemer: I love you. I love you for who you are. I see in you the very essence of all that is worthy of my worship, the very foundation of all that is good and worthy of desiring. To desire you, long for you, … Continue reading Prayer Note #54 — Seeking My True Self in God

Prayer Note #52 — To the God of Light

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

Lord, you are all glorious, and the light of your presence pierces the deepest darkness of sin, sorrow, evil, despair. There is no darkness so thick, so impenetrable, so oily that the Light, Life, Love of your Being cannot invade and evaporate it. That is the truth of who you are. And so I ask … Continue reading Prayer Note #52 — To the God of Light

Prayer Note #51 — A Prayer of Longing for a Spiritual Springtime

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

Lord of Life, you are turning the ground green around me. The warming sun and the nourishing rain are renewing the life of the soil. The birds of the warm months are all returning -- the alien starlings in their noisy multitudes, the fierce-eyed, raucous grackles, too. Even the nighthawks, the dark-sky hunters are in … Continue reading Prayer Note #51 — A Prayer of Longing for a Spiritual Springtime

Pastor Note #56 — On Marriage and Redemption

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

        I’ve been married now for almost twenty-nine years.  So has my wife.  We got married at the same time.  I think I can say without much hesitation that my wife and I have a good marriage.  It has been a tremendous blessing to my life.  Nothing in my life has quite equaled it, except … Continue reading Pastor Note #56 — On Marriage and Redemption

Pastor Note #52 — Ministry Q. & A. — 3/18/2013

~ gachorpenning ~ 2 Comments

As with most organizations, the church tends to follow the 80/20 rule.  How should a pastor encourage others to get involved in church activities?  Accept leadership positions?  Participate in Sunday Worship?  Is this even a pastor’s responsibility? Bluntly put, there is nothing that a pastor, as a human being, can do to accomplish what is … Continue reading Pastor Note #52 — Ministry Q. & A. — 3/18/2013

Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

There are several steady coffee mugs in my life.  In our kitchen cabinets at home, we have quite a stable of coffee mugs.  Coffee mugs seem to just accumulate over time.  Recently, we cleared some of them out because we were running out of room on the shelves.  I’m willing to drink coffee out of … Continue reading Pastor Note #44 — Coffee Mugs and Robust Coffee, Churches and the Powerful Presence of Jesus

Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning

~ gachorpenning ~ 2 Comments

Lord, the sun is warm and pleasant on my back.  The birds of all sorts are chirping and twittering in the trees around me this morning.  Lily, my gracious, canine companion, is lying beside me with her chin on the bottom rail looking out into the backyard, watching everything and nothing in particular, patient and … Continue reading Prayer Note #37 — On a Summer Morning

Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin

~ gachorpenning ~ 5 Comments

Though I am mired in sin, yet still have mercy on me, O Father and Lord of my life.  Capture my every thought and all the impulses of my being.  Make me yours in every facet of my life, so that I might have peace and full redemption in every branch and twig and leaf … Continue reading Prayer Note #34 — Refreshment from the Suffocation of Sin

Pastor Note #36–Beyond a Pentecost According to Robert’s Rules of Order

~ gachorpenning ~ 4 Comments

In 2012, two important Christian holy days occur in May – important Christian holy days that Presbyterian Christians have tended to be uncomfortable with.  I’ll explain that statement, shall I?  The two holy days are Ascension and Pentecost.  First the easy part, I say these holy days take place in May this year, because these … Continue reading Pastor Note #36–Beyond a Pentecost According to Robert’s Rules of Order

Bible Note #11 — Exodus 3: The Call of Moses

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God routinely goes out of his way to incorporate human partnership in the accomplishing of his purposes in the world.  The fact is so plain that it is regularly overlooked by most of us as we read Bible stories about God's dealing with human beings. Here in Exodus 3 in the story of God's calling … Continue reading Bible Note #11 — Exodus 3: The Call of Moses