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A place to love to learn and learn to love
Last week, while moving my son into college, the chaplain described Grove City College as a place “to love to learn and learn to love.” That line really grabbed me because that is the kind of place I want First Pres to be. I want us to be a place where people who...
Blog Archive
The Spirit is Alive!
A well-traveled highway connects Jimma and Gore, Ethiopia. Some of the highway is paved. More significantly to many Christian Ethiopians is the even stronger connection between Gore and Jimma that started with the “coming of the Holy Spirit” and subsequent “Great...
Jesus Is Risen. Now Let’s Fish?
Because I love fishing I've been thinking about John 21 recently. This great chapter, which takes place a week or more after Jesus’ resurrection, recounts Jesus’ restoration of Peter. But the whole scene is set in the context of Peter and several disciples having gone...
Easter Expectations
I’m keenly aware that this is a season of the unexpected. Despite the fact that Jesus repeatedly told His disciples what would happen, they never expected His crucifixion or his resurrection. Are we any different? This last year is proof of God doing the unexpected....
Slow to speak, quick to listen
I’ve been reflecting on James 1:19, which in part reads: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” I believe this verse tells us how we can improve communication. Half of effective communication lies with the listener. We need to...
Grace, Not Guilt
Grace, not guilt, is what should drive us to spiritual disciplines. You see, when it comes to spiritual disciplines, it is easy to slip into guilt mode. We mistakenly let a low-grade guilt drive us to practice spiritual disciplines and think that if we just do enough...
Knowing Who We Are in the Midst of Change
I’ve been reading a fantastic book, which was referenced in the National Gathering, titled Tempered Resilience by Tod Bolsinger. The book lays out that leaders in the face of rapid change need to develop the strength and flexibility of tempered steel. We can’t afford...
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...