Watch the video: At one time in western history, the church held amazing authority over the lives over all the people… even the kings and princes. Because only a few people could read or were educated, the priests and Pope had the power to even appear to determine our mortal and immortal future. And since there were almost no other group that held this authority, the people heeded and lived under the weight of the fear of their immortal future. Then one day, a young trouble making monk called Martin Luther, read the Gospels and along with the leadership of some of his mentors, he discovered that our salvation and even our eternal identity is not determined by the social and religious powers

Watch the video: Even then, I wasn’t sure how it happened. I was a point guard and I had gone in for a lay-up, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor holding my right hand. I had somehow been knocked down, and one of the defenders, # 13, after trying to block the ball from going in, came down hard with his left foot on my right hand. (I remember his number, because I too was #13 for my team.) It really hurt. It was one of those moments in a teenage male’s life that everything in your soul wants you to cry, but you just knew it wouldn’t be cool at all. Turned out to be a big deal. The coaches came on the floor. The referees had come over. In fact, everyone from both teams were cro

Watch the video: Gardening has never been my strong suit. Only the sturdiest of plants have survived in my home when I am caring for them. But then a dear friend shared with me some cuttings from her plants and assured me that if I just stuck them into the dirt, they would grow. I was skeptical. My friend was right. With a few cuttings, my backyard is now home to over ten large planters filled with multiple thriving plants that began with those few cuttings. The gift of those cuttings changed my impressions of what my yard could become. The “Heart Work” of Stewardship was celebrated at worship this weekend. The Gospel lesson we shared (Mark 4: 21-34 MSG) speaks about growing the Ki

Watch the video: We had just arrived in Paris in the early morning, after a late-night flight from Douala. We were exhausted and had just found our way to our guesthouse. On the way in, I had noticed a delightful Parisian eatery that I knew both the kids and I would like, so we were on our way to get brunch for us all. It was a new place, very different from the safety of our mission station they knew. So many cars, so many people. Slowly but surely, we made our way across the street and down the block a little bit, until we were there. It turned out that the restaurant was so popular with them, that they wanted to go there again for dinner, and breakfast again the next day. Mama