Articles

I spent some time doing research for this week’s bulletin article. I went looking into “March Madness”. To be honest, this idea seems like madness to me. But as I was browsing the online Christian Chronicle, I saw a headline that stuck out. Did you know that Lipscomb University Men’s Basketball team went to the…

I am in the middle of a project at work—planning the 2018 DCS Conference. This conference hosted by the WA Division of Child Support will be attended by about 30% of the WA DCS staff plus some Tribal Child Support staff from across the state. The theme this year is “Think Globally—Tranform Locally”; and unlike…

Who do you trust? How much do you trust? These are questons that help to reveal the strength and closeness of our relationship with another. Where there is much trust, there is the relationship is strong and the intimacy of the heart is great—but where trust is limited, broken, or does not exist—the relationship is…

Reconciliation | NOUN |rec·on·cil·i·a·tion | re-kən-ˌsi-lē-ˈā-shən| The restoration of positive relationship; the bringing of peace and/or harmony; the act of becoming friendly again.   Could there be anything more challenging in today’s world? Consider the state of global relations: there is war, violence and terror based on differences in government, religion, freedoms, land disputes, ethnicity,…

The elders here at the Valley Church of Christ have encouraged the whole congregation to read through the Bible this year together. They church has provided at no cost to all members a copy of The Daily Bible, a chronological version with commentary by F. LaGard Smith. I have chosen to craft the sermons this…

A “Sabbatical” has come to mean any absence of length in one’s profession in order to achieve something. The word itself comes from the Greek word sabbatikos, meaning ‘of the sabbath’. I took the month of January off from preaching and writing bulletin articles, my longest break from preaching in ten years—this was my sabbatical.…

I underwent septoplasty this past week to repair my deviated septum. As I am sitting here typing this article, I have wads of cotton deep inside my nose and a plastic stint in each nostril to keep everything in place. There is a fancy black string tied to something (perhaps the cotton things?) that hangs…

Imagine you are an Israelite. David has recently been anointed as King. He’s not a politician or a palace brat. He’s not the most handsome. He doesn’t come from money—but he’s hard working. He is a skilled soldier, battle tested, and God fearing. David is a man’s man, a man’s king. So he establishes his…

The news cycle the last several weeks has reminded me of something very important: There is no such thing as a “secret sin”. First, you can’t keep it secret from God. He knows. It’s not secret to Him. In Psalm 139:7-12 the psalmist writes, “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I…

I am most productive when I am in a period of chaotic calm. I am not sure what else to call it—it is definitely chaotic—usually this period is marked by lots of distractions, competing deadlines, plenty of change, multiple responsibilities. But, amidst all of this chaos, if I can remember to pause for one second…