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 [...]
Dear Church Family, When churches do things together they represent an inkling of what the kingdom is supposed to be. On Sunday we will worship with Bowen Community Church on their site at 10:00 am for our traditional "Church in the Wildwood". We're hoping to be outside (so bring a sweater) but we may end [...]
Dear Church Family, What is your threshold for pain? Whether it's physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, our friends in the Old Testament certainly put up with a lot. And for what? They all seemed to believe it was worth it to suffer for the glory of God. We won't be talking about Shadrach, Meshach [...]
7/17/2024 Dear Church Family, The amazing thing about being 63, a pastor, a father and now grandfather is the regular occurrences of life and death. Babies are born and others leave this earth. I just received news of another high school classmate departing. And I just came from visiting Kevin and Deb, our friends from [...]
7/10/2024 Dear Church Family, Today is an exciting day. My daughter Randi, gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Marianna Elizabeth. She and her husband, Joe, live in Denver. Tracy will be flying up from Scottsdale tomorrow and I'll pick her up at the Denver airport. For the last several months we've been trying to [...]