My 1st Grandchild…

Wow. This is REALLY emotional! From the moment she looked at me, she captured my heart! (Do all grandparents experience “Love at first sight”?) So, I was wondering: What if we had the same type of feelings for our spiritual grandchildren? Wouldn’t that make for a much stronger Christian family? What if every child of God knew that they had a faith community that they could count on for support and guidance all their lives? Wouldn’t that be great? And, thanks to Jesus, we are all “blood relatives”. By the way, Kathryn Quinn Sharp was born into our family 12.19.10

Wrestling with God

I was a wrestler for 4 years in HS, and it may surprise you to know that I was not very good at it! (I learned the moves, but wasn’t good at putting them together when it was needed in a match). One of my weaknesses was that I didn’t have a very strong grip. My opponent seemed to always get away from me (and then take me to the mat.)

There are several skills that would have been helpful in this sport: speed, strength, flexibility, or endurance (I didn’t excel at any of these either). But this trait always impressed me, the athletes that had a strong grip. They just managed to hang on longer than most others. They just didn’t let go. Having a strong grip is important in several other sports as well, but in wrestling it is invaluable. I guess that is why I am so impressed with Jacob…

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Gen 32:24

inadequate praise...

Sunday I was preaching on why we should worship God, and I found myself feeling desperately inadequate. It seemed as though I would need several hours just to cover some of my favorite Bible verses (mostly from the Psalms). The more I trimmed the lesson down to a manageable length, the less adequate it seemed to be, to cover even the basic wonderful attributes of the Lord God. Finally, in desperation I simply shared my overwhelming sense of inadequacy...and that was where the spirit of the congregation seemed to meet with my spirit. It seems that when we are overwhelmed with the wonder and majesty of the almighty, that seems to be when we "get it" the best. I am in awe of God! And that seems to be a good place to be! (& a good place to be together.)

iWorship - Who He Is & What He Has Done

In an age where many question whether to have faith in God at all, others are compelled to have more faith than ever before! How can this be? The question is asked: “How can you still worship God?” The reply is equally challenging: “How can you NOT worship God?”

I believe the key is to re-direct our focus off of ourselves and onto the Lord. (From what I’ve seen, this is not just a one-time thing for us!)

• We should be concentrating on who God is.
• We should be remembering what Jesus has done.
• We should be focusing more on what we could do to praise God. (and less on what God could do to please me.)

Why I PRAISE Him:

1) His Presence (He wants to be WITH us!)

2) His Patience (He gives us 2^nd chances,…& 3^rd chances,…)

3) He gives us courage to live & confidence to stand.

4) He gives us support in family & friends

5) He gives us GRACE, so we can be at PEACE!