It seems counter-intuitive. You would think thatif you want to be happy you should seek happinesswherever you can find it. But modern research isshowing that the single-minded pursuit of happinessis leaving people less happy. I read this in a recent edition of Readers Digest(April 2015): In a study published in the “Journal ofPositive Psychology,” psychological scientists askednearly 400 Americans whether they thought theirlives were meaningful and/or happy. The researchersfound that happy people get joy from receiving:people leading meaningful lives get joy from givingto others. “Happiness without meaning characterizesa relatively shallow, self-absorbed, or even selfishlife, in which things go well, needs … Read More
From Pastor Tom for March 2020: “Doing Well”
“…whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Mark 10: 43 & 44 Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem with His disciples. James and John, two of His closest disciples, come up to Him with a request and Jesus says to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They responded by asking Jesus if they could sit at His side when He becomes king, one at His right and one at His left. They wanted to be His chief of staff in … Read More
From Pastor Tom for February 2020: “Doing Well”
If you ask someone about their children or their grandchildren, you invariably hear the phrase, “They are doing well.” What they usually mean is that they are doing well financially, or that they have just purchased a new car or a beautiful home, or maybe received a job promotion. Our measure of success is usually centered on money, material things, or theaccolades that this world has to offer. “My son, Bill is a doctor and just built a second home in the country. He’s doing very well!” “Linda is a professorand just published her first book. We hope she will … Read More
From Pastor Tom for January 2020: “Renovation or Recreation”
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 This is the time for New Year’s resolutions: setting new goals, vowing to lose that weight you can’t seem to lose, tackling things you have been putting off, making some progress toward a new you. But there is something quite flawed with that kind of thinking. I’m going to quote Craig Barnes at length here because he says it so well: After a while you get tired of self-improvement programs. You stop trying … Read More
From Pastor Tom for December: “Silent Night—Sounds of Glory”
“Silent Night” is my favorite Christmas Carol. It portrays in a beautiful way the quiet and humble birth of our Lord. He came into this world largely without fanfare. There was no glitz and no glamour. No media attention. No crowds swarming to see this amazing event. Jesus’ birth occurs without any of the events that we associate with great moments in history. It was a silent night with God in human form, sleeping in a borrowed manger, in a lowly barn, in a little town called Bethlehem. Few people knew that one of the greatest miracles of all time … Read More
From Pastor Tom for November: “Water into Wine”
“Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11 The first miracle of our Lord was performed in the country setting of Cana of Galilee. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding He was attending withHis disciples. It’s really a pretty insignificant miracle (if any miracle can be insignificant). No one is healed or fed or raised from the dead. Jesus beginsHis public ministry by turning about 180 gallons of water into wine. Wouldn’t you think that Jesus would perform His first miracle in … Read More
From Pastor Tom for October: “Will We Recognize Him When He Comes?”
It’s fun when you recognize a famous person. We were in New York number of years ago, just walking down a street in midtown Manhattan, and we noticed a guy with a TV camera and another with a microphone and out of a black car emerged George Clooney. We watched him give a brief interview, and then he was gone. That was probably the closest I’ve been to a star. It was easy to recognize George because we have seen his face a hundred times, but in the days before mass media, famous people were harder to recognize. Carl Sandberg, … Read More
From Pastor Tom for September: “It’s Nice to be Nice to the Nice”
Frank Burns from the TV series, “M.A.S.H.,” said a lot of funny and stupid things. But one of his more memorable lines was, “It’s nice to be nice to the nice” (for those of you who have no idea who Frank Burns is or what the show “M.A.S.H.” was all about, please catch some reruns—it’s one of the best TV series ever!). I think most of us would agree with Frank’s words. We have been taught from the earliest age to be nice. When we describe someone we will often say, “He’s a nice guy.” We want to be seen … Read More
Exciting Relationship With The House of Praise and Worship
We have entered into an exciting relationship with another Covenant Church. It is called, “The House of Praise and Worship.” They are a large congregation of about 150 members and will be worshiping in our facility at 10:30 am each Sunday morning. Their membership is largely Hispanic but they also have Blacks, Anglo’s and Brazilians in their congregation. Their worship service is bilingual – everything is presented in both Spanish and English and the music is contemporary in style. Our two congregations will partner in taking care of our facility, worshiping together occasionally, supporting each other’s ministries, and enjoying the … Read More
From Pastor Tom “A New Adventure”
Faith is an adventure. Sometimes God allows us times of stability, comfort, and safe routines. But more often than not God calls His people out of theircomfort zones and into times of adventure. God called Abraham, when he was an old man, to leave the comfort and security of his home and to travel to a new land. God promised Abraham descendants too numerous to count and to give those descendants a wonderful land overflowing with milk and honey. Even though Abraham and his wife had no children and were well beyond child-bearing age, Abraham trusted God and left his … Read More