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Joy from God...

On the 2nd Sunday of Advent this year we will be reading Isaiah 40:1-11, a passage that promises peace and comfort to people in distress. Isaiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah who ministered from approximately 745-695 B.C. In his preaching, Isaiah confronted the people over their sinful rebellion against God, warning them of the painful exile that would re...

It has been said that humans can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, and about eight minutes without air, but that we cannot survive even one second without hope. I disagree with that statement. There are people who have been living without hope for years if you can call that living. When you have no hope, you still get up in the morning, ...

Concern over the opinions of others is one of the strongest human motivators. We crave people's esteem. We fear their disapproval. We long for their acceptance. The desire to be liked and respected is natural, but when it becomes too important it can enslave us. Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare." This coming Sunday (November 26), we conclude ou...

A couple of years ago, 21 Egyptian Christians were beheaded by ISIS after refusing, even under torture, to renounce their faith in Christ. The stalwart faith demonstrated by these men is inspiring. Every believer in Jesus should be prepared to resist the threat: "Deny Christ or die. "But such situations are rare. If we brace ourselves only to face this kind of direct per...

Years ago, I had a friend who felt called to ministry, so he moved away from home to attend seminary. Before he could complete his studies, however, he received news that his father was ill and that the family needed him to come back home to care for his dad. Of course, as a loving son, he was glad to do this for his father, but he felt deeply discouraged. How would he e...

In my high school, back in the 1970's, all the cool kids wore athletic letter jackets proclaiming the name of our school and the sport they played. I desperately wanted a letter jacket, because I desperately needed to be cool. The problem was I was small for my age and not very good at sports. A varsity letter in football or basketball was out of the question for me. Ho...

Thank you everyone, thank you Diaconal team, for being willing to step forward in faith as a community to further our calling and mission from God. Our mission statement is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to our neighbors, to welcome them into loving community, and to equip them to glorify God. I want to share some snippets from my personal history as well as t...

In our country, the validity of laws and governmental practices is always determined by comparing them to the words of the U.S. Constitution. If the courts find that a new piece of legislation contradicts the Constitution, then the legislation is either discarded or changed. The older document (the Constitution) takes precedence over any newer documents that might be pro...

Years ago, the Righteous Brothers recorded a song that went on to become a classic. In the chorus, they sang, "You lost that lovin' feelin' / Whoa, that lovin' feelin' / You lost that lovin' feelin' / Now it's gone, gone, gone." We don't know the name of the person they were singing to, but, one thing is clear their relationship with that person had changed. It's not unc...