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Where does technology fit in with our faith?
This sabbatical has been a huge blessing on so many levels one of which is the opportunity it has afforded me to think deeply. One of the things I’ve been thinking more deeply about is the proper place for virtual or digital technology in the Church and life of faith...
Blog Archive
Our Time or God’s Time?
Many of our problems come from confusing these two types of time. Abram and Sari confused chronos and kairos when it came to God’s promise of a child. The result was Ishmael but at the kairos, at the right time, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. I’ve been thinking about this...
God Works in the Rise and Fall of Nations
When St. Augustine wrote the book in the 5th century, Rome was falling. As Rome fell, many came to St. Augustine and asked where God was in all of it. By this point in history, Christianity was the official religion of the empire, so for Rome to fall to pagan...
Meet First Pres’ 10 new elders and deacons
Elder Mike Robison Mike Robison and his wife, Margie, were attracted to First Presbyterian some five years ago by the church's commitment to global missions and by the numbers of serious followers of Jesus. Mike spent nearly thirty years with Woodrow Wilson...
What are you doing with the right now?
The start of a new year always tugs our thinking both backwards and forwards. We reflect on 2020 with its hardships and blessings, and we look forward to 2021 hoping for an easier year and perhaps setting some goals. This is both natural and healthy, but what I’m...
12 Books you should read in 2021
Billy Craig Reaching The Unreached: Becoming Raiders of the Lost Art by Peyton Jones This book provides numerous ways and strategies to help the church reach the unreached. My prayer is that those who read it at First Pres can read it with a lens of what it would look...
In 2020, ‘God showed up in a mighty way’
The Silence of Advent, the Hallelujah of Christmas
You can easily see how it fits in, but in thinking about this I believe the quote applies to the season of Advent broadly. You see, the waiting, longing and silence of Advent makes the joy of Christmas all the better. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament...
The Weary World Rejoices
The combination of anticipating lighting the “joy” candle in our advent wreath on Sunday and reading an excellent reflection titled “The Weary World Rejoices” has me thinking a lot about how to cultivate joy in the midst of our weary, waiting world. Joy, as you will...
The hopes and fears of this strange year
A common theme with our hopes and fears was around how the Church responds to this multi-layered crisis we find ourselves in. Our fear, of course is that the Church will fail to live into its calling as the body and bride of Christ and that our work as pastors will be...
Advent shapes our expectations
This is why I’m grateful for the season of advent. Advent means coming or appearing, and it is a season that shapes our expectations. It reminds us that the world waited a long time for Christ’s first coming and that when he came it was not in the way they expected....