Church Blog (Page 5)

Several years ago, I was sitting at a wedding with a good friend of mine. We began to jokingly bet on what the service would contain as there was not a program to follow. We guessed songs, scriptures, and what type of unity ceremony the couple might use. We had a good laugh every time one of us got something right and the other missed it. 1 Corinthians 13 is a well-known passage on love. It is often used at…

Since becoming the pastor here at PSBC, I’ve written a few articles on Sanctuary and the power of Sanctuary. I received an email this morning that led me back to “Sanctuary” in my thoughts for this article. The email was just a regular advertising email about a new clothing line with a particular athletic brand, featuring athlete Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. They called it a Sanctuary Collection, saying it was inspired by Johnson’s farm where he goes to “block out…

This morning I walked out of my house, and an overwhelming smell hit me. It was the glorious smell of chicken manure. For those of you who don’t live near pastures or haven’t had the pleasure of smelling that strong aroma, it is an unmistakable foul smell. As I got in my truck to drive to the church, the smell was thick and it reminded me of a story from my days at Caswell. My friend and coworker, Mike Adams,…

This past weekend, my friend Brian Earley was promoted to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the Army. Brian joined the military at 17 years old as a member of the Army Reserves. He was deployed twice and his work flying helicopters propelled (see what I did there…) him to a career as a pilot for JetBlue, a commercial airline. We use words like “serve” and “service” when speaking about the military because of the great sacrifice those men…

This weekend I watched the first round of the NFL playoffs, known as “Wild Card Weekend.” I realize that you may not be a sports fan, let alone a football fan, but stick with me. The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played the fourth-coldest game in NFL history on Saturday night. The temperature for the game was minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit with wind gusts up to 27 mph, making for a wind chill of minus-27 degrees. The freezing temperatures set…

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 Every morning, I receive two emails with a “Verse of the Day.” I did this several years ago to provide me with scriptures to think about each morning. Just to be honest with you, some days I do a better job of reflecting on those emails than others. It is amazing how often the scriptures I receive are exactly what I need…

When I was a child, we had a wooden Nativity. It is the same nativity that you will still find in my parents’ home each December. It is similar to the one in the picture, but the stable was much larger. My sister and I used to argue (oh the irony) over the setup of the figures in the stable. There was of course baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, a handful of animals, and, though they arrived later in…

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” – Buddy the Elf Each Sunday this December I have mentioned how much music means to me during the Christmas season. I’m sure many of you share my affinity for Christmas music. From the hymns to the special music, children’s sweet voices to the choir’s cantata, all the Christmas music has such a special way of ushering in the celebration of the birth of Jesus. In…

During Christmas time when I was 8 years old, my family went to the local theater in Lenoir. We chose a movie about a little boy whose family is halfway to Paris when the mother realizes she left him behind. The child, however, is having the time of his life with the house all to himself. The movie is of course Home Alone. This 1990 Christmas comedy goes on to feature the boy, Kevin, defending his suburban Chicago home from…

In the days of Amazon Prime 2-day deliveries and businesses’ constantly improving their ordering process, we have gotten used to packages arriving at our door. However, do you remember the feelings you had when ordering things over the phone or online for the first time? You would make your final selection and then watch the calendar for the expected arrival date or refresh tracking updates online. You knew that special thing you’d ordered was on the way. Your excitement would…