Author: lawsonjohnfl

Can Our Personal Spiritual Growth And Community And Church Work Become Unified?

  Good Morning Friends,  Maybe we should value both an easy faith in our practice of religion and one that suffers too. Probably we are to meet problems in the church and our personal life with an attitude that difficulties must be addressed, and some are there because we are doing something right not something … Continue reading Can Our Personal Spiritual Growth And Community And Church Work Become Unified? →

Are We Being Called In The Comfort Of The Holy Spirit To Provide Hope For Lost Sheep?

Good Morning Friends, One of God’s favorite metaphors in the Bible is that of a shepherd. All throughout the story of Scripture, the importance of leading the flock is threaded through the message. Abel kept flocks. Abraham amassed an enormous number of sheep and goats. Moses and David were the two central leaders of the … Continue reading Are We Being Called In The Comfort Of The Holy Spirit To Provide Hope For Lost Sheep? →

Will The Hope We Find In The Story Of The Birth Of Jesus Move Us To Be Better?

Good Morning Friends, Here in the story… history and His story and our stories converging in the compassion of the great commandment… a Jesus in a manger, a Jesus on the cross, a risen Jesus…and now Jesus in us. Friends, when we trust in God, we overflow with the hope of the Holy Spirit. When we … Continue reading Will The Hope We Find In The Story Of The Birth Of Jesus Move Us To Be Better? →

What Are We To Say About What We Believe When Jesus’ Love Heals Us Spiritually?

Good Morning Friends, Today’s devotional is about blindness and primal trust and our will to believe in the power of Jesus while at the same time, without being paranoid, realize that some people who want to play God will seize opportunities to make a trap for those that uphold hope. It is about inner blindness … Continue reading What Are We To Say About What We Believe When Jesus’ Love Heals Us Spiritually? →

Is Our Soul In A Healthy Union With Others When It Comes To Ministry?

Good Morning Friends, Every generation seems to think that the end game is closer than ever. And yes, in many ways the Kingdom of God of Heaven is closer each moment and yet both judgement and grace come every day. The thought of the end times could fill people with panic attacks. But the message … Continue reading Is Our Soul In A Healthy Union With Others When It Comes To Ministry? →

Will You Join Us In Having An Abundant And Healthy Spiritual Feast This Advent?

Good Morning Friends, There is a lot of talk about feeding with love this Advent and appropriately so. Today in a passage from Isaiah we see the great joy and hope of a feast without death and in the Gospel of Matthew the means of this movement of love multiplied in the grass roots to … Continue reading Will You Join Us In Having An Abundant And Healthy Spiritual Feast This Advent? →

Are You Willing To Wait Patiently For A Holy Spirit Proclamation Of Christ’s Joyful Tranquility And Rule?

Good Morning Friends,    If you read chapter 10 of Isaiah, you would read about Isaiah proclaiming the Lord’s judgment against Assyria and against Israel. Assyria was a great nation that one-day would destroy Israel and that would be the end of them. The Lord would punish them. They would no longer rise again to be … Continue reading Are You Willing To Wait Patiently For A Holy Spirit Proclamation Of Christ’s Joyful Tranquility And Rule? →

What Happens When Christ’s Authority And Our Belief Converge?

Good Morning Friends, Yesterday the Advent candle of hope was lit during our worship service. Today’s lectionary text from Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew touches on the hope that was made possible by Jesus. The prophet Isaiah foresaw the Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, and painted a picture of this hopeful future … Continue reading What Happens When Christ’s Authority And Our Belief Converge? →