09 Sep Fridays Are For Family – Grandparents Are Great!
Last weekend our family took a couple of days and drove 11+ hours (in a mini-van, with a pregnant woman and two preschoolers) to our home...
Pastor Brad’s Notebook
07 Sep Devotional Thought – The Everlasting Gospel
"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." Revelation 14:6
It seems rather strange to consider a flying angel holding something that is said to be "everlasting." It seems a paradox, a contradiction, that the words "flying" and "everlasting" should be used in the same context. Yous see, to read of something flying brings to my mind that which is moving, fleeting, passing. It is the opposite of that which is permanent or everlasting. In fact, the very act of flying suggests changes of altitude, direction and environment. Thus, the angel the Revelator sees and describes is not some sedentary, stationary figure. He is in constant movement - "flying." Yet, in the hand of this flying angel is something that John says is not moving. It is something that is constant, changeless, permanent, eternal - "the everlasting gospel."
05 Sep Devotional Thought – A Mountaintop View For Valley Service
"Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: 'Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!' . . . Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, "Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you." Ezekiel 3:12,22
Could anything be more anti-climatic? Here we find the extraordinary forsaken for the ordinary. The Spirit has taken Ezekiel up only to send him right back down. He was first lifted into a state of exhilaration - placed on the mountain's height far above the daily grind of this world - so that he could experience the immediate and empowering presence of God. But as soon as he got to the top of the mountain and saw the Lord's glory, God said, "I've brought you up here to tell you that you can't stay. Go back down to the dust and drudgery of the workaday world and I'll meet you there."
02 Sep Fridays Are For Family – 12 Rules For Happy Homes
I remember seeing a poster years ago explaining the stereotypical differences between men and women that was presented in what really was a sarcastic, smart aleck and rather demeaning manner. I'm sure you've probably seen a version of "The Rules" at some time or another. While there is some tongue-in-cheek humor to be found in the "The Rules," it certainly won't help you to have a happy home.