Top of the morning and best wishes from sunny and bright Vinita, Oklahoma, where Pilgrim Presbyterian Church still sends out Christ's good news from the corner of Illinois and Thompson!
John Grisham, a noted author, speaking recently to a gathering of 15,000 Baptists in Atlanta, said: "For so long, so many Baptists have worked so hard to exclude so many!"
It was Luke 4:18-19 that challenged Grisham, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and others to advocate respect in diversity at this Atlanta gathering.
Presbyterians might do well to take a page out of this Baptist initiative. We need to find a way out of our bitter infighting, which is divisive and unfaithful to our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
I hope the Presbyterian General Assembly, which will meet in San Jose, California on June 20-28, will listen carefully to this passage, Luke 4:18-19. How honest are we when we sing: "We are one in the Spirit, one in the Lord, and they'll know we are Christians by our love"?
Pray for peace and unity, real peace and unity among us.
Richard
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
2008.05.27 Monday Morning!
Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.
Occasionally a small, innovative act can grip the imagination and become something far greater than anything originally planned. Memorial Day is an example of that.
After the Civil War, women in a Sunday School Class in a southern town adopted a spring project. They decided to decorate the graves of their sons, husbands and sweethearts who had died in battle and who were buried in the local cemetery.!
Upon arriving at the cemetery, they expanded their plans and decorated the graves of soldiers from the north, as well.
It was a step toward reconciliation.
When the project was reported in newspapers, the Class began getting letters from people in the north, thanking them for decorating the graves of their loved ones.
Soon the practice spread. The name has changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, but it is still an important time when we stop to honor all who have died in war.
When the women looked into the darkness, into the pain, of their souls they overcame reasons which might have made them bitter. Instead they found forgiveness which made them strong.
Have all your experiences been in vain?
And make us instruments of peace!
Richard
Occasionally a small, innovative act can grip the imagination and become something far greater than anything originally planned. Memorial Day is an example of that.
After the Civil War, women in a Sunday School Class in a southern town adopted a spring project. They decided to decorate the graves of their sons, husbands and sweethearts who had died in battle and who were buried in the local cemetery.!
Upon arriving at the cemetery, they expanded their plans and decorated the graves of soldiers from the north, as well.
It was a step toward reconciliation.
When the project was reported in newspapers, the Class began getting letters from people in the north, thanking them for decorating the graves of their loved ones.
Soon the practice spread. The name has changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, but it is still an important time when we stop to honor all who have died in war.
When the women looked into the darkness, into the pain, of their souls they overcame reasons which might have made them bitter. Instead they found forgiveness which made them strong.
Have all your experiences been in vain?
"Where there is hatred, let us sow love, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light."
And make us instruments of peace!
Richard
Monday, May 12, 2008
2008.05.12 Monday Morning!
Top of the morning from Vinita, Oklahoma, where the 125 year old Pilgrim Presbyterian Church still stands on the corner of Thompson and Illinois Streets. If you are in the area, and have no church home, come visit us at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. And, if you live too far away to join us for worship, please remember us in your prayers.
If you read your Bible - and I hope you do - you'll know it isn't always a peaceful book filled with serenity, green pastures and love. It also reflects human pain and conflict, disappointments and passions.
One conflict in life is envy, and no one is completely free of it. A good antidote to envy is to ask how happy is the person who possesses the object of your envy.
Then, draw up a list of your blessings and imagine one of them being threatened. I expect you'll realize then how rich you truly are.
Focus your attention on what is yours, and live! Live to the hilt, in peace.
Richard
If you read your Bible - and I hope you do - you'll know it isn't always a peaceful book filled with serenity, green pastures and love. It also reflects human pain and conflict, disappointments and passions.
One conflict in life is envy, and no one is completely free of it. A good antidote to envy is to ask how happy is the person who possesses the object of your envy.
Then, draw up a list of your blessings and imagine one of them being threatened. I expect you'll realize then how rich you truly are.
Focus your attention on what is yours, and live! Live to the hilt, in peace.
Richard
Monday, May 5, 2008
2008.05.05 Monday Morning!
Greetings from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.
My MONDAY MORNING message begins with a question:
About 90% of the American people say they believe in God, according to a recent survey. In the same survey, the majority said that their religious beliefs had no impact on their daily conduct!
For too many, religion - while it remains respectable - has become almost totally irrelevant.
We are split personalities! We swear allegiance to one set of principles and live by another. When an abyss widens between values we praise the values which operate in our life, we're in a slippery slope.
Top of the morning, each day - and may the wind always be at your back.
Richard
Are your beliefs reflected in your behavior?
About 90% of the American people say they believe in God, according to a recent survey. In the same survey, the majority said that their religious beliefs had no impact on their daily conduct!
For too many, religion - while it remains respectable - has become almost totally irrelevant.
We are split personalities! We swear allegiance to one set of principles and live by another. When an abyss widens between values we praise the values which operate in our life, we're in a slippery slope.
Top of the morning, each day - and may the wind always be at your back.
Richard
Monday, April 28, 2008
2008.04.28 Monday Morning!
The woman in my message this MONDAY MORNING is fictional. You'll not find her in Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. Nevertheless, you may have met this woman at sometime, somewhere.
She is a vivacious, strong, pious woman. Faithful to worship services at her little church on the corner of Wisconsin and Ninth, she nods her head, and shouts "AMEN" whenever her minister condemns drinking, dancing, movies, gambling and Sunday football.
One Sunday her pastor preached against harm! caused by gossip, and as he droned on (some preachers never know the value of short sermons), she could keep silent no longer. In a loud whisper, heard throughout the congregation, she said:
"Now he's stopped preaching and started meddling!"
You don't know any self-righteous person like our fictional woman, or do you?
Minds - like parachutes - are valuable only when open!
Peace, and in friendship,
Richard
She is a vivacious, strong, pious woman. Faithful to worship services at her little church on the corner of Wisconsin and Ninth, she nods her head, and shouts "AMEN" whenever her minister condemns drinking, dancing, movies, gambling and Sunday football.
One Sunday her pastor preached against harm! caused by gossip, and as he droned on (some preachers never know the value of short sermons), she could keep silent no longer. In a loud whisper, heard throughout the congregation, she said:
"Now he's stopped preaching and started meddling!"
You don't know any self-righteous person like our fictional woman, or do you?
Minds - like parachutes - are valuable only when open!
Peace, and in friendship,
Richard
Monday, April 21, 2008
2008.04.21 Monday Morning!
Greetings from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. We are an inclusive congregation that welcomes everyone to share in our life and work. Our Sunday morning service begins at 10:00 a.m. I kid the Presbyterians because an early service gives them plenty of time to get to the restaurants before neighboring congregations.
On a more serious subject, I call your attention to the accelerated change which we experience in almost every aspect of our lives. It is exciting to be alive in a time of change, but it is also bewildering.
Our capacity to change and improve ourselves needs to be balanced by clinging to things that do not change! Here are a few things that don't change:
...the power or compassion
...the transforming power of love
...the supreme value of character
You may add to this list, but never forget the ultimate worth of human life!
Peace and in friendship,
Richard
On a more serious subject, I call your attention to the accelerated change which we experience in almost every aspect of our lives. It is exciting to be alive in a time of change, but it is also bewildering.
Our capacity to change and improve ourselves needs to be balanced by clinging to things that do not change! Here are a few things that don't change:
...the power or compassion
...the transforming power of love
...the supreme value of character
You may add to this list, but never forget the ultimate worth of human life!
Peace and in friendship,
Richard
Monday, April 14, 2008
2008.04.14 Monday Morning!
Today, with greetings from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma, comes a Monday Morning message from the late Professor Leo F. Buscaglia. Have you read any of his books? They are filled with love and hope, and I highly recommend them.
In Living, Loving and Learning (page 171), Dr. Buscaglia wrote, "we can turn despair into hope...there are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes...floods...illness and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do we respond to disasters?"
I suggest that an answer to that important question may be found in Matthew 7:24-27. Dust off your Bible and read this short passage. Does it speak of your need to build your life, day by day, on an enduring rock?
Peace and in friendship,
Richard
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