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On Day Two of VBS I couldn’t help but notice how a VBS is as  church should be. Everyone has a part. One of the joys of a VBS is that everyone gets to do something. Some volunteers provide snacks, some lead small groups of children, some provide teachings in separate “tents.” Even the kids participate; they don’t just quietly watch. Our tent is popular. In it the kids, get to make simple necklaces. All the necklaces are similar but they have uniqueness. One mother shared with me how her child took her self-made necklace home, wore it until bed time, placed it on the side of the bed and put it back on in the morning. Shouldn’t church be something we cherish and take home with us? Small groups are important. The participants are divided into small groups. The groups are divided based on age; but they could have been divided based on interest. You can see special relationships springing up in the groups. In our tent, the small groups helped each other. They shared markers and helped each other with their necklaces. It may be the most effective utilization of the small group concept that I’ve seen […]

Last night was the first session of our annual VBS at Amana Christian Fellowship. It was such an encouraging evening in so many respects. We had a great group of kids many from families who don’t attend the church. It was great to see so many adults and teens enthusiastically giving their time and energy to the project. It was plain that our pastor and his wife must have been something in youth ministry. They had such a touch with the kids, a great combination of fun and substance. VBS is one of the few obvious outlets for the desire to serve which I believe inhabits all followers of Christ. Perhaps the greatest failure of the modern church is to provide sufficient outlets for that desire. The grace of God provides not only forgiveness and salvation, but motivation to change and to serve. Change and service or intertwined. The greatest moves of God which I have been blessed to witness did not occur in times of worship or miraculous interventions. It was seen in times in which a group of followers put aside all differences and struggles and united for the purpose of serving their Lord. On those occasions […]

The fact that our heart yearns for something earth can’t supply is proof that heaven must be our home. C. S. Lewis We are approaching the end of the vacation season. Folks are piling back into their cars with beach sand embedded in the carpets having had a nice vacation but thinking, “There’s no place like home.”  God puts something in us, a feeling that no matter how comfortable or “homey” we feel that we aren’t quite there. Some folks spend all their lives trying to fill that empty feeling. When we have been at home too much we can’t wait to get away. Some days we just have to “get out of the house.” We go for a drive or on vacation, but eventually the call to go home becomes too strong. We recognize even if it’s not perfect, home is the closest thing to it we can have in this world. We are kind of like Dorothy who discovered that she had the power to go home any time she wanted. She just had to click her heels together. It’s not quite like that for us. We can’t just grab Toto, close our eyes and click our […]

Luke 14:26-33 New King James Version (NKJV) 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Before I could do anything else this morning I had to change the ink cartridges on our printer. I remember when I bought the printer thinking what a great deal I […]

Death and life are in the power of the tongue… Proverbs 18:21. If you hang around playgrounds, or soccer moms, or young kids very much you will, no doubt, hear the phrase, “Use Your Words.” When I first heard this I was a bit confused. I thought maybe the kid involved had some special secret words. Upon further observation I noted that parents, mostly moms, were saying this to kids who were expressing emotions in “inappropriate” ways, like hitting or biting their play mates. I guess this is the latest substitute for Dr. Spock. I’m just not sure it’s such a great idea. Especially when dealing with boy2, words are often insufficient. Kids don’t always have a ton of words at their disposal. I get it that words are probably better than hitting, kicking and bashing. I’m afraid this “Use your words” thing will give kids the idea that words are less harmful. This is like the “Sticks and Stones” thing we grew up with. Even as a kid I knew that words can hurt you.  In fact, as I review my years, I really can’t recall the negative impact of any of the hits, kicks or bashes I […]

Men and women are different. I know that’s politically incorrect which I guess is why I feel so good saying it. They are different in obvious ways, but they are also different in subtle ways. These differences make it difficult sometimes for the sexes to communicate. Women, listen up. Here are some hints in communicating with a man. I would give some hints about communicating with a woman but, as noted above, we are different and after 64 years of trying I haven’t really learned anything on that score. Men really say what we mean. Women tend to speak in code and men, often to their detriment, just say what they mean. Don’t try to read too much into what we say. We tend to speak simply because we are simple. Related to the above, we don’t really like to give details. It makes us angry when you pump for details. Listen some time to groups of men and groups of women talking. Men talk in sentences… sometimes one word sentences. They use a lot of eye rolls and facial expressions, not to emphasize what they are saying, but in place of having to say something. Women talk in […]

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:15 I don’t know about you but I have a problem with forgiveness. It’s especially tough to forgive folks close to you because you see them so often. It seems sometimes that they are around just to rub salt in your wounds making forgiveness tough.  Forgiveness is terribly important. That may be why Satan works so hard to make it difficult for us. For me the problem is I think I’ve forgiven someone and moved on and I will see them or hear about them and the hurt returns.  I have heard many teachings on forgiveness and some of them are helpful. For example, it’s helpful to realize that the person you hold in unforgiveness is likely unaffected by you. He or she has probably moved on or maybe doesn’t even know that you were offended.  It’s helpful to consider that we focus way too much on rights. Forgiveness is giving up a “right” that we never really had. We have no right to  hold a grudge or to hold another in unforgiveness.  Unforgiveness holds us back. It takes lots of our […]

Bring me joy, bring me peace Bring the chance to be free Bring me anything that brings You glory And I know there’ll be days When this life brings me pain But if that’s what it takes to praise You Jesus, bring the rain  Lyrics from Mercy Me I went to church Sunday in a downpour. (See what a great Christian I am?) I had to break into laughter as I passed a neighbor’s home with a lone sprinkler at work in the front yard. I don’t remember ever seeing this sprinkler at work. It has been very wet lately and, like I said, it was pouring down raining. I don’t know why the sprinkler was on, but I bet there’s a good story there. It was enlightening to watch that sprinkler making its puny effort to water the lawn in comparison to God’s answer. Don’t we all do that? Don’t we try to bring into our lives those good things that can only come from God? Don’t we complain about the rain when it does come? It seems to interfere with our plans. It seems, sometimes, to be something we don’t think we need in our lives. Sometimes […]