The Gift of Wisdom

October 24, 2021
Who is wise and understanding among you?  Some translations say who is wise and knowledgeable among you? James is asking a very interesting question. Is he asking who is both…

A Word Fitly Spoken

October 17, 2021
Last week Phil and I took a few vacation days and headed out to Elk County, Pennsylvania.  It’s about an hour and a half northwest of State College.  The area…

Keeping the Royal Law

October 10, 2021
This might just be the craziest thing James has said yet.  He accuses the church of favoritism and tells them, "Stop courting the rich!"  Remember, James is writing to a…

Helping Build Hope

September 26, 2021
My dad had a plaque on the wall by his work bench that said, “Work fascinates me.  I can sit and look at it for hours.”  I don’t know who…

Consider it Pure JOY!

September 12, 2021
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds."    I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the Jewish Christians who were…

“Celebration Sunday”

September 5, 2021
Over a month ago, when I planned worship for today back, I decided, let’s call this Celebration Sunday.  I figured, it’s Labor Day weekend—our last chance to enjoy summer before…
  When I was in seminary, I had a professor who used the term, “huckster religion” to describe people he thought were peddling theology that sounded good, but was not…