Dear Theophilus

History isn't linear at least not when it comes to progress. when the overseers leave a space opens for something new. unless the gatekeeper is bent to conserve the old wineskins. a good herald leaves - the next one is irrelevant. we take three steps forward and then two steps back all the while we're 30 years behind the times

Sermon prepping. Figured out a way to get all the Sundays out on a Google Docs. Learned and used the formula from this site:  https://infoinspired.com/google-docs/spreadsheet/google-sheets-list-all-sundays-from-a-start-and-end-date/ listed below if copying and pasting helps.  blessings! 11/18/2018 11/25/2018 12/2/2018 12/9/2018 12/16/2018 12/23/2018 12/30/2018 1/6/2019 1/13/2019 1/20/2019 1/27/2019 2/3/2019 2/10/2019 2/17/2019 2/24/2019 3/3/2019 3/10/2019 3/17/2019 3/24/2019 3/31/2019 4/7/2019 4/14/2019 4/21/2019 4/28/2019 5/5/2019 5/12/2019 5/19/2019 5/26/2019 6/2/2019 6/9/2019 6/16/2019 6/23/2019 6/30/2019 7/7/2019 7/14/2019 7/21/2019 7/28/2019 8/4/2019 8/11/2019 8/18/2019 8/25/2019 9/1/2019 9/8/2019 9/15/2019 9/22/2019 9/29/2019 10/6/2019 10/13/2019 10/20/2019 10/27/2019 11/3/2019 11/10/2019 11/17/2019 11/24/2019

OUR BAIL BOND SYSTEM IS BROKEN: Throwing out an idea for our little community. The more I research the bond system, the more I realize how absolutely broken and unjust it is. •Did you know that America is one of the few industrialized nations with a For-Profit Bail Bond system? It is outlawed in most the rest of the world. •Did you also know that most legal institutions in America, the American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association, is against our current bond system. Why? One simple reason: it absolutely discriminates against the poor Here is what happens as I understand it. Someone is taken to jail to await trial for a suspected crime - innocent until proven guilty. If they are unable to make bail because they can't afford it, they sit in jail for months waiting for trial because the system is so backlogged. During this time they run the risk of losing custody of their children, their homes or apts, their jobs, their transportation. Poor folks run the ri...

Your laws may give you "the right" to shoot another human being in the protection of your stuff, but your faith gives you no such permission. That is a sin, contrary to will and word of Christ. Jesus says"But I say to you that listen,  Love your enemies,  do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you,  pray for those who abuse you... and from anyone who takes away your coat  do not withhold even your shirt.  Give to everyone who begs from you;  and if anyone takes away your goods,  do not ask for them again."

[theres a "too long; didn't read" at the end] Your picture/image of God is wildly important to how you live your life, the world, and the people around you. We're talking about this at The Table right now. But one thing we aren't going to cover on Sunday that I think is VITAL to our faith journey is this: how do we reconcile the Old Testament and the New Testament? The Old Testament (OT) is the first 2/3rds of the bible before Jesus. It has wonderful stories like Adam & Eve, Moses, Abraham, King David (and Goliath), the Psalms, the prophets, and many more. But it also has these stories about God that make God appear to be mean, distant, violent, excessively wrathful, and many more things. The New Testament, on the other hand, is the story of Jesus and the birth of the Church in the wake of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. The thing that makes Christians unique in the traditional faiths is that we believe Jesus is God. SO, how do we reconcile Jesus...

Dearly Loved Free Methodist Leaders, A little about myself to begin. I am a young elder in the church. I am seminary trained and have an M.Div from one of our finest institutions. I served at a church as associate, worship, and youth leader 5 years before attending seminary. I converted in from unbelief. The revelation that ultimately led me to Christ and kept me in the church was our emphasis on the poor. Growing up in an underprivileged community with parents struggling with addiction, seeing the way God in Christ identified with the last, lost, and least was the revelation that convinced me of the validity of the Gospel. I had originally thought that God probably loved and preferred the religious and robed. Seeing Jesus prefer the company of "unlettered" fisherman, those with disability and disease, the poor, the average ordinary folks found on the outskirts of the kingdoms - the marginalized - was the ordained epiphany that the God of the universe loved me and I was ...