Letter from the Pastor

        Saturday of this week is the 4th of July, a date of historical significance because it marks the 250th birth of our nation. It was on  that day in 1776 that representatives of the thirteen colonies signed a document declaring themselves to be a free and independent nation. Most of us are familiar with the contents of that document. We, of course, know it as “The Declaration of Independence.” In clear and concise language, it avows that the colonies are no longer connected with or controlled by the British Empire.        That part of […]

       We Christians need to rediscover ways to evangelize, to learn the Lord’s way of  winning people back to Him.  Evangelism is a deliberate attempt to bring people to Christ  by befriending them.  As soon as some hear this, they might wonder, “Can that be right? Should we befriend people just to bring them to Jesus?”  Absolutely!!  The greatest reason to befriend someone is Jesus Christ.  The greatest gift we can give a friend is Jesus Christ.  If we are truly someone’s friend, we want what is best for him or her.   What can be better for any […]

           I suppose there are times when everyone longs to recapture the carefree innocence and joy of childhood.  We wish that for just one day  we could shake off the burdensome responsibilities of adult life and put our feet under Dad’s table once more.  Admittedly, this emotion carries with it an element of escapism, but it is not necessarily all bad.          There are, of course, some characteristics of childhood that we should outgrow and leave behind forever.  Such childish traits as impatience and total self-centeredness have no place in adult life. But there are certain basic […]

          More than 60 years ago Dale Carnegie wrote a book that made him a very wealthy man. The tile of it is “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It has since been published in every major language of the world and has sold multiplied millions of copies. The popularity of the book lies in the fact that it recognizes and deals with a very real human need – that is the  necessity to relate to other people.          Of course, Dale Carnegie was not the first to recognize that need.  Jesus […]

          Years ago, on Memorial Day weekend, nearly half a million people joined hands along a 4,152-mile-long line across the U.S. to raise funds – and consciousness – to fight hunger and homelessness.  People linked up for fifteen minutes and sang “We are the World,” the theme song of the campaign, and “America the Beautiful,” joyfully celebrating the day and the singleness of purpose from sea to shining sea.  On that very day, Sport Aid, a campaign for African famine relief, attracted twenty million people in seventy-eight countries.  Millions of people the world over tried to […]