The words we say matter deeply. They sculpt our understandings and shape the way we treat ourselves and others. And music deepens that connection. But first, I want to see how well you know some of the most common Christmas carols: Finish this phrase: – Dashing through the snow, (pause) on a one horse soap and hay… or is it on a…
Happy Thanksgiving to you, all. I hope you had a wonderful celebration. As we were preparing to host our families, we took part in one of our favorite traditions, watching the Thanksgiving Day parade. Singing and dancing, enjoying the parade – a good time was had by all. And of course, the last float was Santa Claus, where he has been for…
Today we completed our series on Rooted in Gratitude and Growing in Christ: our 130th anniversary celebration. We continue celebrating 130 years of ministry in this place and will conclude with the final historical video later in the service. For the last 5 weeks, we have been exploring what it means to be rooted in…
This has been a challenging week for our country. Deep divides were revealed. Now, some of us had known the deep divides were already there. Others of us were genuinely flabbergasted by the vastness of our understandings and perhaps misunderstandings. On Wednesday, a group of folks gathered here at the church for communion after the…
Saints are glimpses of heaven. They give us a foretaste of what we will know in fullness in heaven. Søren Kierkegaard said, “God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.” Ordinary people who through their collaboration with…
I want my listeners to accept the challenge to write a thank you note every day of November. We continue this week on a series celebrating our 130th anniversary as a people called Methodists here in West Grove. This is a week that there is so much that could be said. And perhaps, even so…
Last week, we began a series on being Rooted in Gratitude and Growing in Christ. This 130th anniversary celebration repositions us to give thanks first for how God is and will be moving in the future. We started with Gratitude, not attitude; and today, we look at being grateful for trials. It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t…
This morning, we begin a new series together: Rooted in Gratitude and Growing in Christ. A little later, we will watch the first of 4 videos recounting the beginning of the 130 years as people called Methodist in this place called West Grove. We are celebrating 130 years of God’s faithfulness and our response. This…
It was almost midnight one July night between high school and college, when I came to one of the most formative revelations in my life with someone who would continue in this role in years to come. We debated back and forth. We uncovered the truth that all occupations and vocations in some way serve…
I am one of many Ever wonder about the composition of the world? If the World were 100 PEOPLE: 50 would be female; 50 would be male 26 would be children; There would be 74 adults, 8 of whom would be 65 and older There would be: 60 Asians, 15 Africans, 14 people from the…