Pastor’s Column 5th Sunday of Lent March 29, 2020 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he remained two days in the place where he was. John 11:5-6 It is safe to say that most people, upon hearing of the grave illness of a close friend, would naturally try to drop everything to be by the side of their loved one as soon as possible. If, like Jesus, we had the power to cure our friend, how much more would we want to hurry! And yet, not only does Jesus not hurry, he deliberately waits until Lazarus is dead. The scriptures make it quite clear that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister (Mary) and Lazarus.” When you think about it, Jesus seems

Pastor’s Column 4th Sunday of Lent March 22, 2020 One of the most famous stories of a miraculous cure for blindness involved Saint Padre Pio. A little Italian girl named Gemma was born with an extremely rare congenital birth defect: she had no pupils in her eyes. Physician records at the time made it clear that experts in the field had told her she was incapable of sight. Yet, after a nun brought this girl (at the age of seven) to Padre Pio that he might pray with her, she did regain her sight, yet continued to have no pupils! As an adult, Gemma continued to testify to the miracle all her life (for more information about the scientific debate about this miracle, search online or see http

Pastor’s Column 3rd Sunday of Lent March 15, 2020 What was it that the woman at the well found most attractive about Jesus? He told her everything she ever did! You and I too will each have a "woman at the well" discussion on the last day of our lives with Christ. Jesus will point out where you influenced someone to the good, as well as where you hurt someone and how it played out in their lives. If only we could have this conversation now. What good is it to wait until life is over to see which areas of our lives please the Lord and which need to be corrected? Isn't the time now? If only he could get through to us now, how much more effective servants we would be for him. A deep exami

Pastor’s Column 2nd Sunday of Lent March 8, 2020 Beloved: Bear your share of hardships for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. 2 Timothy 1:8 As hard as we try, we simply cannot avoid suffering in our lives. For both religious and non-religious people, suffering is simply part of the human experience. Neither money, television, good health, alcohol nor drugs can insulate us from the cross. Many of us simply do not understand the value of suffering. In the transfiguration, Peter, James and John would have preferred to stay on the mountaintop with Jesus in glory forever. In a sense they were briefly in heaven, and who would want to leave that place? Yet Christ made it

Pastor’s Column 1st Sunday of Lent March 1, 2020 The story of Adam and Eve is so familiar to us. Adam and Eve were given everything they could possibly imagine. Their food literally grew on trees; they lived in beautiful surroundings; most importantly, they were able to walk with the Lord and converse with him face to face. They knew God existed and lived in friendship with him. But there was a catch – they were also in the middle of a test – the test of obedience. What was the nature of this test? God made one tree deliberately off-limits. It was appealing to look at and the fruit looked delicious and seemed to have benefits they would gain by disobeying God. Yet God had warned them t