Unusual Times
In last week’s eNewsletter, Pastor Bennett shared with the congregation steps our staff has been taking to deep clean the church facility in light of COVID-19. To be sure, this intense cleaning will...
Disinfected and Protected
“O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my...
Great to be Home!
It’s great to be home! I have been serving as the interim pastor of Chattanooga Valley PC for the past eight months. What a wonderful church. In addition to preaching, I also assisted the Session and the Search Committee. Their Elders are good and able men, and the Search Committee...
Worry
A woman spent her entire life as a worrier. As a small child, she sat in her father's lap and would momentarily lay aside her fretting. He would take his thumb and smooth the wrinkles on her forehead. "Now, keep it smooth," he would say. "Don't let it pucker again." But it seemed to help little...
Help Me Pray
This week I’d like to share some worthwhile resources. We know that the Holy Spirit guides us in prayer (Rom. 8.26; Gal. 4.6; Jn. 14.16), and we know that Scripture warns against praying mindlessly (Mt. 6.7) and growing lax in our prayer life (Lk. 18.1-8). However, what are we to do during...
Look at the Birds
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet...
Hope Was Running Dry
How dry is dry? Elijah predicted years in Israel (1 Kings 17.1) when there would be neither dew nor rain. (Now, that’s pretty dry!) After this revelation to Ahab, God sent the prophet to a brook where he found water to drink. There, he was fed by ravens who brought him food day and night...
Ask Him to Walk With You
I always love hanging around a large gathering of men from our church. I’ve been around here for a while, so I have enjoyed a great number of opportunities to reconnect with guys I’ve worshiped with for years and also fellowship with men I am just getting to know. During these times...
Demolition and Restoration
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13.34-35 In seminary, one of my first assignments &ndash...
Name-Dropper
OK, I admit it. I am a name-dropper. The Urban Dictionary defines a name-dropper as a vain person who is insecure about his popularity, and must resort to the inclusion of the names of popular people who have no relevance to the conversation in order to achieve a self-gratifying level of social...