2012.04.23 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

A young cynic was depressed by the evil and suffering in the world.  He complained, "Why did God make a world like this?  I could make a better world than this."

His wise teacher answered, "That's exactly the reason God put you into the world...to make a better world.  Now, go and do your part."

The Christian gospel is about changed lives, renewed faith.  Though dependent upon God, God gave us the gift of free will, and God depends on us to choose wisely.  God cannot make a peaceful nation and world unless we root out hatred from our hearts.  God cannot build healthy families unless we work with God to bring sharing love and mutual respect to our relationships.  God needs each one of us.

Now, go and do your part!

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

Our minister this Sunday, April 29 will be the Reverend Jo Wright from St. John's Episcopal, Vinita.

2012.02.20 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.


If you are in our area on a Sunday morning, come and worship with us.  If you are nowhere near Vinita, please say a prayer for us at 10:00 a.m., when our Sunday service begins.

One of Bernard Shaw's characters said, "It's easy to be respectable with nobody offering you a chance to be anything else."

Temptations visit all of us, and are the conflicting urges and drives that compel us to make choices between ideals and inclinations.  The Devil is a symbol of our human tendency toward evil, and while I do not believe in the existence of a personal devil, I do believe all of us live in a state of tension between impulses for good and impulses for evil.  God has endowed us with freedom of will.  Therefore, we must make choices!

I suspect our culture and environment have as much to do with the way we handle temptation as does our character and temperament.  For me, this means I must take care when I feel moved to be censorious about others.  Not having experienced their temptations, I need to be more understanding of them as they struggle with their moral and ethical temptations.

With blessings and friendship,

Richard

A PEARL OF VALUE

"THE SIN OF THE WORLD EXISTS NOT BECAUSE OF A FEW PEOPLE ARE SPECTACULARLY SINFUL, BUT BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE AS GOOD AS WE ARE AND NO BETTER."

　　WILLIAM TEMPLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

DR.  JEFF FRANCIS WILL FILL THE PULPIT SUNDAY, FEB. 28.  SARAH BRUCE IS WORSHIP ASST.  JOYCE DISHMAN, ORGANIST