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Scripture:  Judges 6:1-20 This year was my eleventh consecutive year to volunteer as a church camp director.   For the past several years I have served at Camp Indicoso in Southern Indiana, but for the first four I was part of a team at Camp Adventure on the Lake Webster backwaters.  One of the water features … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Genesis 7:11-24; 8:13-21 When Johnny Carson retired from his legendary run on the Tonight Show it set off the Late Night Wars as his successor Jay Leno and his protégé David Letterman were soon competing on rival networks.  Personally, of the two I was always more of a Letterman fan, but Leno did have … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Exodus 3:1-14 One of the statistical dichotomies that I find most amusing is that in the United States people think that only 8 to 10% of people are actually good or excellent drivers.  At the same time, 73% of people consider themselves excellent drivers.   Those numbers do not add up.  Almost 3/4ths of people … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Romans 5:1-5 Growing up my family would always get a daily newspaper, and from a fairly young age I would daily read the comic strips.   One of my personal favorites was Calvin and Hobbes, the strip by Bill Waterson, which featured a rambunctious child and his stuffed tiger.  One of the occasional set up … [Read more…]

Scripture:  1 Samuel 17:38-50 I attended Milan Elementary School, so I know the story well.  The year was 1954, this was before Indiana high school sports had divisions based on size.   Milan High School had a total enrollment of 161 and they found themselves playing at Hinkle Fieldhouse against the ten times larger school of … [Read more…]

There are several Creeds, statements of belief, that stand out in church tradition and define the collective beliefs common to most branches of Christianity.   Most denominations, like the United Methodist Church, also have statements of doctrinal beliefs and articles of religion that clearly spell out the theological beliefs of the church.  However, I suspect … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Romans 8:12-17 Bad news has always been easy to find, but that feels a little more true these days.  In part it is our culture.  Studies have found that American news media tends to have a much stronger bad news bias than other countries have.  It does not matter if your news source is … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Acts 1:1-11 Summer movie blockbuster season is back in full force this year.  Movies that have been delayed for years due to Covid such as the new Top Gun are finally being released.  Just about every weekend this summer sees a new movie being released that is hoping to be a box office hit.  … [Read more…]

Have you ever been going about your day either shopping at a store, eating at a restaurant, or maybe sitting in a waiting room when a particular song plays?  For every person the song is different, but as soon as you hear it, very vivid memories from another time in your life come flooding back.  … [Read more…]

Scripture:  Revelation 21:10; 21:22-22:5 There is wisdom that is passed down in every family.    Every family has traditions, sayings, inside jokes, or proverbs that seems to be unique to that family.   Even if we do not realize it, these family quirks influence us, shape us, and teach us.   I know for me and my siblings … [Read more…]