Can we believe the Bible? How can we know it is anything more than a collection of sayings and stories? Can we truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God?  There are many reasons I believe in the Bible. Here are a few: Composition. It was composed over sixteen centuries by forty authors […]

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My friend and I sat across the table chatting over lunch.  With February being the “month of love” we began to discuss our plans (or lack of plans at that point) for Valentine’s Day weekend.  Eventually we moved into sharing some marriage lessons we’ve learned throughout our combined 45 years of marriage.  Without thinking much […]

What’all this talk about a new body? Do we change bodies? Is the new one different than this one? Will I recognize anyone? Will anyone recognize me? “He will take these dying bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own” (Phil. 3:21 TLB). Your body will be changed. You will not […]

Grace and Peace to You this Holiday Season!       As the world bustles around you in search of love and meaning, may your heart rejoice with the true love of Christmas. May the coming of God’s light fill you with unquenchable hope and bring you moments of inexpressible joy that fills your heart with peace […]

Almighty God, We gather this evening in the cold and dark of winter to sing songs of joy and hope, to bring light into the darkness and to bring warmth and hope to the hearts of those troubled by doubts and fear. May each candle be a prayer for peace and a sign of our […]

CS Lewis is without a doubt my favorite writer. Notice I did not say my favorite Christian writer as if that made him a lesser author. CS Lewis’ keen mind and use of allegory and clarity of storytelling revealed so much about the nature of God, myself and the world I live in that I […]

“When people cannot get facts, they will settle for myths. When people are faced with facts, they will often prefer the myths they are being asked to reject in favor of facts.” — James Hudnut-Beumler  Today more than ever before the church is changing. It is also changing so fast that no one is able […]

Well it’s been Another Interesting Year, I suppose Katelin wins the prize for the most significant life changes this year. In March, Katelin visited the University of Rochester to interview for a position in their graduate program in Psychology. She was very surprised when they called the next day and offered her a full-time research […]

How old was Moses when he died? A: He was 120 years old, according to the Bible (Deuteronomy 34:7). How tall was Goliath, the Philistine giant slain by David with a stone hurled from a sling? A: “Six cubits and a span,” What biblical Babylonian king cast Daniel into the lion’s den for praying to […]

Why is it so difficult?  And why are am I so bad at it?  Here are three very simple reasons… Kent Fenwick writes:  I will confess that I find it hard to delegate and ask for help. Many times I take the “It’ll be better if I do it myself attitude.” Delegation is a habit […]

“Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you!” John 7:37  We are told to do two things: (1) Let him come to Me and (2) drink. They are connected. Jesus tells us to come […]

The church as an institution is all about management. How do we manage the future? As a consequence we get an elevated opinion of what we do verse who we are. I think Jesus wanted us to see ourselves from God’s perspective and perhaps have a good belly laugh at all we do and how […]

 Have I really forgiven someone if a situation causes me to remember it and feel the pain all over again?  Yes. Forgiveness does not mean the same thing as being forgetful. It would be foolish to be hurt by an abusive relationship to which you return again and again. You will obviously retain the some […]

I found this so important that I wanted others to read it too. ~s  By Dr. James Emery White  1.         That pastors would see other churches in their immediate vicinity as a co-laborer, not as the competition.  2.         That members of churches would see themselves as ministers and missionaries, dying to themselves for the sake […]

The Greek word for disciple is ‘mathetes’ which means a Learner – Doer. Not just someone who acquires lot of knowledge! Disciple actually comes from the word discipline. One definition is this: “A disciple is one who undertakes the discipline of his/her teacher.” Discipleship is about learning through discipline learning how to follow a teacher […]

Audio sermon available at www.sermon.net/First_Church  “Our life is full of brokenness – broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives.” ~ Henri Nouwen  I spent this morning trying to repair some plastic […]

Dear God, Please make of our relationship a great and holy adventure. May our joining be a sacred space. May the two of us find rest here, a haven for our souls.  Remove from us any temptation to judge one another or to direct one another. We surrender to You our conflicts and our burdens. […]

 We dare not be silent about injustices, if only we can see them as God does. [John Ortberg | posted 9/06/2010]  Think about the basic human emotions we get to preach on: joy, sadness, comfort, anger, and serenity. Now think about the prophets—which emotion most often characterizes them? A few examples: “Hear this word, you […]

Deep Roots is a discipleship ministry of First United Methodist Church calling God’s people to find the depth of God’s heart and produce fruit of Kingdom Living. “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the […]

Through the prophet Micah God speaks from His heart of the frustration He feels for people he has loved and cared for yet who still stubbornly resist His gentles ways. They want to make God’s love and favor harder to achieve. Bigger gifts will earn bigger favor. In the process we make God out to […]

From Deep Roots Newsletter Whenever you find a person who says they do not believe in a real Right or Wrong, you will find the same person going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining “it’s not […]

“Should I not be concerned about that great city?”  Jonah 4:11  The book of Jonah ends with a question that speaks to the heart of what God is trying to do. Can God’s Holiness and Righteousness ever be reconciled with God’s Love and Compassion? Jonah is angry because he perceives that God has grown soft […]

“Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”  Proverbs 24:27  At first glance this may appear to be an admonition to be more industrious, produce a good crop, work hard before taking it easy and building your house. Does it make sense to you to work on your house […]

“The Land of Begin Again” by Louisa Tarkington “I wish that there were some wonderful place called the land of Begin Again, where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all our poor selfish grief…. Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again. I wish […]

God loves to use weak people! [Like Us]    “I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (LB)    A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change. Everyone has weaknesses. In fact, you have a bundle of […]

Service starts in your mind!    “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV)    Real servants […]

We serve God by serving others!    “You can tell what they are by what they do.” Matthew 7:16 (CEV)    In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many […]

 You were put on earth to make a contribution!    “It is God himself who made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Ephesians 2:10 (LB)    You were created to serve God. “God has […]

There are no shortcuts to maturity!    “I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.” Philippians 1:6 (LB)    It takes years for us to grow […]