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Matthew 5:5(ESV) “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  As we look at the third beatitude spoken by Jesus on that mountain that day, we can’t help but consider the first two; blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and blessed are they that mourn for…

Matthew 5:4 (ESV) says, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Comfort is largely enabled by hope.  In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says, “Hope…means…a continual looking forward to the eternal world…It does not mean we are to leave the present world as it is.  If you read history you will…

Jesus had just chosen his first disciples and was drawing massive crowds as he traveled throughout Galilee teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, healing every disease and every affliction among the people.   He retreated to a mountain, sat down as his disciples gathered around him and he began providing foundational tenets to them. …

As we closed out in song this past Sunday with Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child, one set of lyrics stood out above the others.  New Life, New Hope, New Joy He Brings couldn’t have been stated more truthfully.  While there must have been trepidation within Mary as Gabriel, God’s messenger angel to her, gave…

Luke 2:1-6 (ESV) In those days a decree went out from Augustus Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Suria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth,…

In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays a confused, dissatisfied thirty-something character with a vague sense that life is passing him by.  Jack Palance – ancient, leathery, wise-to-the-world (“a saddlebag with eyes”) – asks Crystal if he wants to know the secret of life.  “It’s this”, Palance says, holding up his index finger.  “The…

Just like darkness is the absence of light, despair is the absence of hope.  As we transition from our series entitled Between Two Mountains, we light the candle of Hope on the first Sunday of Advent, one of four Sundays where we celebrate Christ’s birth, the other following three candles representing Peace, Joy and Love. …

As the series “Between Two Mountains” continued in the New Testament book of Acts, Pastor Mark shared three lessons from Paul’s life: faith, sacrifice, and courage. I find Paul the most relatable of the apostles. None of us are Old Testament Jews who lived before Jesus, nor are we disciples who were able to sit…

On Sunday we looked into the apostle Paul’s third missionary journey and dwelt on the encounter of Eutychus, a young man who fell out of a window and died while Paul was preaching. God then worked a miracle as Paul rushed down and embraced Eutychus, declaring him alive! The part of the story that jumped…

Atenas. Una ciudad que deslumbraba a los ojos, pero que dolía al alma. Pablo camina por sus  calles y cada paso le revela algo nuevo: templos majestuosos, esculturas de mármol, altares  dedicados a dioses que prometen tanto y ofrecen tan poco. Athens. A city dazzling to the eyes, yet aching to the soul. Paul walks…