Welcome!
I welcome your comments regarding our shared ministry at St. Paul.
If you would rather comment privately please, email me at Prshepherd@westriv.com
"Two are better than one," says Ecclesiastes,
"because if one falls down, his friend can help him up."
I deeply desire to bring Christian comfort and the power of prayer to those who are challenged with sickness or circumstances in life. However, in this time of restricted visitation call me and I will attempt to contact them.
Please, assume that if you don’t tell us, we do not know.
Call me at 301-4956 if surgery or hospital stay is imminent or if a visit could be helpful.
Pastor Dennis
from my perspective…
Breaking News, or Headline News, is updated by the hour and minute. The programs are designed to get our attention and to sell advertising. (Big surprise!) On the other hand, the Good News of Jesus Christ was proclaimed and is proclaimed today for an entirely different purpose.
Mark begins his gospel with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mk 1:1, ESV) It sounds like Mark is reporting, “Breaking news! Pay attention! Something important has happened!”
Matthew begins his gospel, “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.” (Mt. 1:1) It sounds like Matthew is introducing a history lesson whereby we might learn something. Don’t get me wrong – I love history because I believe with George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” (Jn. 1:1) This is something totally different. John invites us to lay aside our daily concerns and ponder life’s Big Questions concerning God and “The Word of God.”
Each year, we might take a measure of our life on Tax Day, an anniversary, or any number of other milestones. Regardless of the circumstances, we go through a process of reflection, evaluation, and decision-making. We might reflect on the Big Questions of Life, like “Who are we? And “How do I fit in with family and society?” or “What positive difference am I making?”
I will grant that the most common daily question is, “Am I happy.” But I believe the Bible teaches us that happiness results from how we think of ourselves and our relationship with others. Therefore, John invites us to ponder anew our relationship with the One God of the Holy Scriptures, as opposed to mental or emotional gods of pleasure, wealth or self-importance.
In the church year, Lent is the season that encourages us to ponder our relationship with the one and only eternal God and one another or who we desire to become.
Join us as we explore Jesus’ great encounters with religious rulers, a disrespected woman from a disrespected people and His disciples. In John, Jesus, the Word of God, invites people to question who we are in God’s eyes and who He desires us to become to live a fulfilling life. (e.g. John 10:10)
As John informs us, Jesus, the true Word of God, comes into the world to save us from ourselves and the destructive temptations brought on by the evil lies of the great Satan. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV)
Please join us in our encounter with the Living Word of God, your pastor, Dennis.
What no eye has seen or ear heard...
by Pastor Dennis on 02/05/15
Imagine the scene of Jesus teaching
in a crowded room. (Mark 2:1-12 People packed every door and window to hear His words. The
Scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees (devout Rabbis) were in the crowd. Jesus sees all this
and much more.
Into this packed scene came four men
carrying a paralytic on a mat. They see the way through the door is not open to
them. So, they open the roof and lower the mat down before Jesus. Jesus sees
their faithful hearts. Hearts that believe Jesus has the power to release the
paralytic from his affliction and suffering. Jesus sees the burdens the paralytic
is carrying and releases him from his sins. The scribes hear the words that
only God can utter and ‘question in their hearts.” Jesus sees the spirit that
rules their hearts. A spirit focused on the written Law of God and not on the
Son of God.
Now, read Mark
2:8–12
8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus
questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you
question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to
the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and
walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on
earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you,
rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately
picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed
and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Forgiving sins
and miraculously healing are work of God. Neither the restoration of the heart
from sin or the restoration of nerves and muscles to health can be seen by
human eyes. So often, human demand proof and what the no eye has seen or ear
has heard “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor
the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—”
(1 Corinthians 2:9)
