God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is and are eternally faithful. Jesus existed before his birth (John 1:1). Jesus came to earth and lived among us (John 1:14); he is our Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). Jesus suffered on the cross, dying a slow and painful death (Matthew 7:45-56), took on our sin (1 Peter 2:24) and was raised again (Matthew 28:6). He is currently at the right hand of God the Father (Romans 8:34) holding all things together (Colossians 1:17), according to...  Read More

This Sunday I’ll be preaching on this beloved Christmas hymn…it certainly is a song that blesses us as we gratefully sing it out!If we’re honest though, we probably might cynically be thinking, “Joy to the world? How about joy to just my neighborhood? Or maybe just joy to my miserable aunt? Or to Giants fans? The world? Isn’t that a rather tall order? I mean, look around, there seems to be more st...  Read More

This Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season. If you’ll be joining us in our advent observances this year and engaging with the readings each night, you’ll notice that the first section is labeled, “hope”. Hope is traditionally connected with the first candle in the advent wreath, and it’s not hard to see why such a designation is appropriate.What is harder to see is why Matthew, one of th...  Read More

Thanksgiving has once again arrived. It is a day that we set aside to focus on what we are thankful for in our lives. This has been a national holiday here in the US since President Licoln made it one in 1863. In recent years, it seems that we have drifted away from gratitude as the focus of the holiday. Our culture seems to go from Halloween to Black Friday to Christmas with no break in between. ...  Read More

I enjoy reading through the Old Testament. The accounts of men and women and their journey of faith (and unfaithfulness) I find intriguing. 2 Chronicles 27 is a very short chapter, only 9 verses. But it talks about Jotham, son of Uzziah who reigned as king for 16 years. Verse 6 gives us a snapshot of his character and reign. It says this “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before t...  Read More

October has arrived and brought with it chilly weather and spooky season. For those unfamiliar with that phrase, spooky season is about Halloween and the festivities that surround it. Trick or treating, scary movies, chilly nights, bonfires, etc. But have no fear, we are not going to be talking about Halloween today. We are going to be talking about anxiety and fear, though. October is the season ...  Read More