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During Lent we are tracking through the “7 Deadly Sins”: pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, lust, and gluttony. We are spending this time dealing with the sin our lives because “Sin is real, and it’s a part of each of us” (Dunnam & Reisman). Last week, we looked at pride, the itch for recognition, and … Read more
Proverbs 14.30Galatians 5.15-21 The sin of the evil eyeEnvy defined: from the Latin, “to look maliciously upon.” The New Testament Greek literally means “to have an evil eye.” Saul and David 1 Samuel 18.5-9, “Saul killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” This made Saul angry “So Saul eyed David from that day on.” … Read more
The seriousness of sinIt is the tradition at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for anyone who speaks to begin by saying, “I am name and I am an alcoholic.” Maybe we in the Christian community should begin in a similar way: “Hi. I’m Joleen and I’m a sinner.” (from “Rebuilding Your Broken World” by Gordon MacDonald.) Sin … Read more
Good morning. I’m Randy and I am a sinner. Today (the first Sunday of Lent) we begin a new series on the “7 Deadly Sins.” The seven deadly sins, a list that began developing as early as the fourth century, are pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice (greed), lust, and gluttony. As you think about this … Read more
We’re back from Phoenix. Our last day there (Sunday) was incredible — 82 degrees! We landed in Pittsburgh shortly after noon on Mondy as it began to snow. We drove home in light snow and 25-degree weather. Talk about a rude awakening! One of our assignments upon returning from Phoenix has been to write and … Read more
We switched venues today, moving from CCV to Community Church of Joy (CCOJ) for the final day. We listened to presentations by Walt Kallestad and Mike Breen (pastors at CCOJ) in the morning followed by presentations by Dale Galloway and Cynthia Hale. After a dinner break, we closed out the conference at Phoenix First Assembly … Read more
We had the local news on this morning and the weather forecaster consoled the viewing audience, "It’s going to be a cool day. Only 66." Can you believe that?! Well, it wasn’t so bad! 🙂 The bad news for the local area weather-wise, though, is that it has now gone 127 days with no rain. … Read more
Wow! Where to start! It’s been a great day. The weather was great even though we spent much of the day indoors. And although a cold front moved in for the week, the 60 degrees (not to mention the sunshine!) we had today was a lot higher than the 37 degrees back in PA! (Each … Read more
Greetings from sunny Phoenix! The good news is that I’m writing this around 6:45 pm (MST), but the bad news is my body is telling me it’s really 8:45 pm (EST). And if you knew how much sleep I got last night (keep reading), you’d know that’s not a good thing! Joleen and I arrived … Read more
Last week we talked about worship as a lifestyle (basically, our individual worship). Today, we want to talk about our worship as a community. Let’s start with Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples in Acts 1.4 …"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this … Read more