Archive | The Witness of…

Years ago I used to sing a chorus that began, “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart,” based on Psalm 100:4. Then a friend of mine saw a connection to Psalm 24:7 and composed some music to “Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, your ancient doors, that […]

Do you find yourself needing a “one-eighty” to see your resources as not really being yours? Are you sensing the need for a makeover of the heart in order to see yourself as a manager, not the owner, of all you have? I know the message Pastor Sean preached on Sunday is certainly contrary to […]

There’s a popular book titled The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. One of the ways we show and receive love, according to Chapman, is through giving and receiving gifts. I couldn’t help but think about this as Pastor Sean talked about God’s constant, extravagant, controversial generosity this past Sunday. I mean, even if your […]

There’s a word hovering in my mind when I think about this story of Moses gathering the materials needed to build the Tabernacle in Exodus 35. The word is “willing.” So I took a quick count of the times this word was recorded in my NIV Study Bible and found five. The first time was […]

This past Sunday, when Pastor Sean asked, “How many of us see our homes as sacred space?” I thought of the mission statement I have stuck to my office computer – “My mission is to serve others out of a sacred place of fellowship with Jesus Christ.” In both cases “sacred” implies something set apart, […]

I saw two movies this last weekend. The first was a screener version of “The Song,” opening at Edwards Theater in Mira Mesa this weekend on Sept. 26. Please, PLEASE go see it. It is the picture version of exactly what Pastor Greg was telling us this past Sunday about covenant promises between us and […]

After hearing Sunday’s message, I have this picture in my mind:  it’s me, a loaf of banana bread in hand, knocking on the door of each apartment in the apartment building where I live. When the door opens I introduce myself and strike up a conversation. And then we become friends and I invite them […]

September 8, 2014 I love looking again at this story of Peter walking to Jesus on the water, don’t you? It’s one of those New Testament miracles that inspires me. But it challenges me as well…to consider my own relationship with Jesus. I mean, when’s the last time I even thought about how much courage […]