Dear Church Family, The "RedGreen Show" which aired on public television for years and now is easily found on Youtube focused on middle age men and their struggles. It poked fun at men's idiosyncrasies and hosted one section called The 3 Words that men find the hardest to say, "I Don't Know" I'll admit it, [...]
Dear Church Family, Whether it's sports, business or board games, there is a method that we all follow. We even create a strategy for tackling the challenges of each day. How would you describe yours? In our passage for Sunday, Mark 6, it stood out to me that God has chosen a particular method for getting [...]
🎉 Pastor's Appreciation Day 🎉 Today, we gather to honor and celebrate Pastor Allen here at First Presbyterian Church of Monte Vista! Pastor Allen, your dedication, sermons, and guidance have touched so many lives in our community. Your commitment to spreading love and hope is truly inspiring. Thank you for being a [...]
Dear Church Family, One of my Dad's favorite Christmas gifts was an electronic gadget that had multiple voices on it saying "NO". For some reason he got a little ornery in his old age and "NO" became his favorite word. Now, he didn't even need to speak it. He could just smile, point the device [...]
Dear Church Family, A big thanks to Alan TeBrink for filling in for me last week as I flew down to Scottsdale on Wednesday to be with Tracy. This was one more opportunity to experience 115 degree temperatures....and hopefully the last. Tracy and I arrived back in Monte Vista on Wednesday after a beautiful drive [...]
Dear Church Family, As we walk our way through the Gospel of Mark, we are discovering that human nature was the same then as it is today. Some who observed Jesus were amazed and delighted at the authority he exhibited. While others were disturbed, suspicious and threatened. What makes the difference? What will [...]
Dear Church Family, Is it possible to have "Good" conflict? Most often conflict is seen as negative because someone is causing someone else aggravation. But in order for change to occur a challenge to the status quo has to happen. When that challenge doesn't happen sometimes harm can continue. For example, aggressive behavior remains because people [...]
Dear Church Family, This year is certainly unique to me as I have never been so intimately aware of the coming harvest time. Being in the valley and surrounded by fields of potatoes, barley, alfalfa and hay has made me appreciate how fragile life on earth really is. If I remember correctly, it didn't rain last [...]
Dear Church Family, We will conclude this series on "Prayer: How They Did It" on Sunday with a message on "The Lord's Prayer". Was this how Jesus prayed or was it Jesus' prescription for us? Or both? The Scripture passage is Matthew 6:9-13. The challenge for us is to listen with attentive ears and open [...]