I put our two-year old granddaughter to bed. “You would be so proud of your cousin”, I remarked to the four year old granddaughter, “She is closing her eyes and folding her hands now for bedtime prayer.” She asks, “What prayer do you say with her?” I was shocked. I had taught her the same,…
Last week in church we announced an upcoming “back to school” mission project, in which we will help out needy kindergartners and their families with school supplies. For some of our teachers, that announcement was too soon. They groaned to think about jumping back into the busyness of a school year. But don’t worry! There’s…
Anne Lamott tells a story about a little girl who got lost one day, she ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived, but she couldn’t find a single landmark. She was very frightened. Finally a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his…
One of the side effects of writing sermons for 25 years is that you begin to see how nearly everything can provide a glimpse of God at work in the world. For instance, when my kids were little, there was a constant temptation to use the things they said and did as sermon illustrations. Eventually,…
Having fellowship with other Christians is special. The Disciple Women’s Fellowship promotes fellowship and thereby lasting friendships. Regular meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month at 9 am, in the fellowship hall. A light breakfast, fellowship, a short business meeting and then an interesting study are included each meeting. We would love to…
Some of my earliest memories are of Vacation Bible School at Capitol Hill Christian Church – back when the church still sat a block from the state capitol in Des Moines. Before the state bought the building and sent us out to the east side, Capitol Hill’s members came together every year to create a…
Everyone told us we would LOVE being grandparents – and that it would be totally awesome. We learned how right they were on April 7 @ 7:47 p.m. Yes, God blessed Doug and me as grandparents at that exact time and our world was changed forever. Since then, there have been many prayers of thanksgiving…
This coming weekend we will begin a new sermon series on the Book of James. I’ve been looking forward to preaching on this letter for a long time because it’s one of the most down-to-earth books in the Bible. After all, it was James who had the nerve to say, “faith without works is dead.”…
Last month the Perpetual Memorial annual report was given to the Administrative Board for approval. It was the Committee’s recommendation that this year’s 25% of local outreach ($1,114.67) go towards the Disciple Worship Together work day projects (with any remaining monies to go to the church’s special account fund). The 25% for capital expenditures ($1,114.67)…
Once again, we are almost through graduation season. After attending a number of parties and hosting one for my daughter’s graduation from Culver Stockton, I’m even more aware of life’s changing seasons. Indeed, life is transitory. Life is change. But there is one thing that is eternal: God’s love for us. I heard a story…