In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 18, 2021 by Michelle McKinney “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” –Ephesians 4:31-32 Martin Luther King, Jr. […]
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Jane’s Blog – When Things Don’t Make Sense: Suffering
There’s a song on an album by the group Casting Crowns titled “Just Be Held.” One line in the song – “But life hits you out of nowhere, And barely leaves you holding on” – struck me as I was thinking about our current message series. It became even more poignant as I was praying […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 4
How do you describe something as supernatural as our encounter with God on Sunday – awesome, amazing, powerful, deep, life changing, scary? How could something as simple as dipping our fingers in water unleash such a sense of freedom? Or was it the act of making the sign of the cross on our forehead as […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 3
One of the verses I frequently see quoted by our confirmation students is also one of my favorites. It’s found in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The context, […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 2
There’s an old kids’ song that says, “Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart.” It ends with “…because the King is in residence there.” I love the imagery, don’t you? Flags, of course, can be used as “symbols or signals.” It fits with the song, doesn’t it? But no matter […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 1
The idea of a “Palms Up” year is very appealing, isn’t it? Youth Director Danny Scarbrough’s message on Sunday brought to my mind a related prayer technique I learned years ago, and since “Prayer” is the Holy Habit I want us to embrace this month, I love the intertwining I sense from God’s Spirit regarding […]
Jane’s Blog – Christ’s Time, Part 3
God knows what he’s doing, you know? I mean, out of all the Jewish girls available, he chose one who could and would ‘ponder’ and ‘treasure’ the things happening to her and her people. It begs a few questions: Was she something of an introvert like me? Was her life any less hectic and hurried […]
Jane’s Blog – Holy Habits, Part 4, Worship and Celebration
At a recent Christmas party I was blessed to hear a group of men singing “We Three Kings” with great enthusiasm! The lyrics reminded me of an article I recently read in Christianity Today about the Star of Bethlehem. It seems that biblical scholar Colin R. Nicholl is taking a shot at explaining the mystery […]
Jane’s Blog – Christ’s Time
This week Pastor Sean invited us to anticipate, and he taught us about “Kairos” – a Greek word for “time.” Kairos, he said, is a time when God breaks into chronological time with a special message just for us. And he challenged us to “expect Jesus to ‘break into’ your life now.” But there’s a […]
Jane’s Blog – One in Christ
PLC’s combined service on Sunday with San Diego Bethel Church was an amazing blessing! I loved the inspiring choir music – both in English and Korean, the spontaneous applause of appreciation throughout the service, and the sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence in Pastor Kim’s message. I also was moved by the “Worship through […]