“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” Matthew 11:25 Our Savior gave us those words for a reason. Perhaps the greatest sign that a sermon is pleasing to Jesus is when a child happily remembers it. Walk with Jesus down the Gospel streets and notice how…Keep Reading

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 Two soldiers talked early in the morning. It would be over soon, and victory was certain. It was like a pit bull coming up against a chihuahua; there was no way they could lose this fight. The younger one asked, “Do you really think that it will be that easy?” The…Keep Reading

WHEN WE GET IT WRONG A friend asked me, “Can you write a message about messing up the truth. Some of us (most of us) at times have messed up the truth . . . Even for ourselves, for the situations, circumstances and experiences. Most of the time, we see through foggy glasses. Can God blame us if we don’t get it the truth right sometimes?” Hear a message from…Keep Reading

“The memory of the righteous is blessed…” Proverbs 10:7 I had just left the graveside of an old friend when I came upon a truck hauling three old cars. I imagined that they were talking, and I listened in: They were three old cars that were being hauled away. They had rolled their last mile, and now, they were about to take their final parking place. At first they just…Keep Reading

Polishing the Truth “Polishing the truth” does not refer to removing the buildup of residue, making the truth shine in all its brilliance. When we polish the truth, we “cherry-pick” the words so that we do not tell a bald-faced lie but seek to deceive our listeners through the careful choice of words. Satan told a bald-faced lie when he told Eve she would not die, but he polished the…Keep Reading

On a crispy cold day I am going to talk about the anger seen on social media, and throughout our world at large. Remember when Moses got angry and God dealt with him. Moses had a right to be angry; but it didn’t justify his actions, words and thoughts . . . Why? Because it’s about the bigger picture of what Moses set out to accomplish. God’s mission and purpose…Keep Reading

Pastor Will Shewey, Shades of Grace United Methodist Church Link to YouTube Video – Luke 4:14-21 From Pastor Will Shewey Our most blessed time of worship has ended for this Saturday. We had a great crowd with a number of first-time visitors. The music was heartwarming today. Tonya sang for the first time in her life. I told her we should all get out of our comfort zone and do…Keep Reading

“…walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 “…I would rather walk in the dark with God, than walk alone in the light. I would rather walk with Him by faith, than walk alone by sight.” Three men stood before their king. “Bow before me or face the furnace,” was his command. “We will trust God,” was their answer. Three men were cast into the fire. “They should have obeyed me,”…Keep Reading

Talking More, Communicating Less From the White House to the ghetto, people are using social media to communicate—well, at least to talk; but talking at one another is not communicating, and it seems that social media promotes our talking at, over, and around one another. Social media allows us to depersonalize, dehumanize, and disconnect from one another on any meaningful level. In other words, we are talking more but communicating…Keep Reading

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel” Psalm 22:3 Satan said to God that the only reason Job praised him was because God kept him from having troubles. “Stop blessing him with the good life and he will curse you,” was the devil’s challenge. Jesus once said that each day has enough trouble of its own. Daily life will prove the stuff that our faith…Keep Reading

The Superlative Power of Christ “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:20-21, NKJV). Jesus has the power to do more than we ask or even think. Jesus has the power to do much…Keep Reading

Fan or Fanatic A fan is defined by Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary as “An enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport) usually a spectator. (Probably short for fanatic).” A fanatic is defined as one who is “marked by excessive enthusiasm and intense critical devotion.” “Excessive devotion” is not determined, it seems, by how much one is enthused but by that to which one is devoted. For example, thousands of fans…Keep Reading