25 Years and Counting
“[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.“ (1 Corinthians 13:7, NKJV) The other day, Christine and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. TWENTY-FIVE. Can’t believe it’s been that long…can’t believe we are that old! So many friends congratulated us and said very kind things about our marriage. Thank you. […]
Fall Festival
PRESS RELEASE for immediate release Denton/Sanger, Texas On a beautiful Fall Sunday night, October 29, New Life Church hosted their annual Fall Festival. The church grounds were filled with 550 happy children and parents – up 100 people from the year before. Guests walked in through a hay bale castle gate (via the imagination of […]
Happy Reformation Day!
One of the great days of the year will be here on October 31. No, I’m not talking about Halloween. I’m talking about Reformation Day. You should celebrate it…well, you should at least acknowledge it. This was the day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenburg […]
God Loves You
“Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48, NIV).” I love the story of the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8. It is a story of having overcoming faith and being brave enough to push through obstacles. It should be a picture of every […]
On History and Memorials
Jesus was a master teacher, using stories, illustrations, and object lessons to make his spiritual points. When he said that memorable line: “I am the vine and you are the branches,” he and his disciples were walking through a vineyard one evening on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane. What a memorable way to […]
Down the Mountain
“As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)“ (Luke 9:33, NIV) You’ve probably read about the Transfiguration – Peter was with […]
31 Days of Kindness
“Be kind and compassionate to one another….” (Ephesians 4:32, NIV) Is it really that simple? We’re going to find out in six days. We’re calling the month of March: “31 Days of Kindness.” Each of us will do one kind act for someone every day that month – your spouse, a stranger, a co-worker. We’re […]
St. Thomas on Facebook Fights
Do you sometimes watch the fights back and forth on social media? Do you participate? Why do we care what others say or think? Why does it bug us that their opinions are different from ours? Why do we feel the need to get involved and say our piece? In last week’s Catalyst, I quoted […]
Fake News and Alternative Facts
I hear so much talk these days about “Fake News” and Orwell’s “alternative facts.” How many times have we seen untruths foisted upon us? What do we believe? Who do we believe? Pondering these questions, I was reminded of the following prayer from the 15th century German monk, Thomas a’ Kempis. May the Lord give […]
Offended!
This last year I noticed an interesting paradox in our society. First, our culture has a continuing love-affair with fame. It seems folks will do or say almost anything to be noticed by others. But in 2016, the pursuit of popularity ran headlong into another emerging trend in our society: we are offended easily and, […]
Recognize Him!
“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.“ (John 1:10, NLT) My wife shared this the other day and I thought it was worth hearing again. It is easy for us to get distracted by the chores and the busyness of the season, to-do lists, shopping, and even the […]
Symbol of Hope
“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” (Luke 11:20, NIV) You may not have thought about this lately (or ever), but symbols are very important to humans. I had this thought the other night while my wife and I watched a movie. […]
