2010.10.11 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

I think today's Monday Morning Message will interest and amaze you!  Were it not for an article on PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK - my favorite source of "religious news" - I would not know about this remarkable celebration.

Yesterday, 10/10/10, the city of Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world, celebrated its 10,000th birthday!  Yes, you read that right:  The city of Jericho is at least 10,000 years old.  Happy Birthday Jericho!

Jericho does have the distinction of being 850 feet below sea level, the lowest altitude of any city in the world.  Now it adds to that distinction a new milestone - a lifetime of 10,000 years.

I looked up several best known Bible stories which are connected with Jericho.  You may want to read Joshua, chapter 2, Joshua 6:1-25, and Luke 19:1-10.

Fond regards...and thanks PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK!

Richard

PS: Link to Presbyterian Outlook:  http://www.pres-outlook.com/

Just click on this link to go to the Web Site of the Presbyterian Outlook!

-Brian

2010.10.04 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
Some of you reading this Monday Morning Message know little or nothing about our Church. Did a mutual friend invite you to visit our blog? A big thanks to whoever that might be! I hope you'll return next week and that you'll invite someone else to be a part of our off-site/on-line outreach.

Our 128 year-old Church is a welcoming, healthy congregation. We know that no one lives by bread alone. From as long as we can go in history, human beings have exhibited a need for religion. Cave drawings indicate that ancients worshiped one kind of deity or another.

For Christians, the development of religion reached its climax in Jesus of Nazareth. Revolting against hardened ritual and pious self-righteousness, Jesus showed us how to live in relation to God and toward one another. (Try reading John, chapter 15). Love is complex. For me, at least, its opposite is not hate but indifference. It's a lifetime task to ward off indifference!

Courage for today in your determination to overcome indifference!


Richard

PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, A Pastoral Letter

The following, while not a Monday Morning Message, was so good, I felt it had to be shared.  I hope that this does not cause you a problem, Richard, but your message here is a wonderful one, and one that should be shared with all our readers ...

Love and Peace,

Brian

PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

Voice of the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church

Vinita, Oklahoma

October, 2010

A Pastoral Letter

Dear friends,

There are times when we get so consumed by work – yes, even church work – that we become obsessed by it.  When that happens we are apt to get overly tired and cranky.

There is a legend about John the Apostle that one day someone found him playing with a tame partridge and criticized him for not doing his work.  His answer was,

“The bow that is always at full stretch will soon cease to shoot straight.”

All of us need some form of relaxation, and the more our work demands of us the more relaxation is needed.  This is as true for a Mother raising small children as it is for a surgeon, a lawyer, a teacher, a street sweeper or a trash collector.  Everyone does a better job when leisure time and recreation become integral parts of daily living.

It’s only once ‘round this track, ENJOY!

With best wishes and in friendship,

Richard

2010.09.27 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. Today, my Monday Morning message begins with a question: Are your beliefs reflected in your behavior?

About 90% of Americans say they believe in God, according to a recent survey. In the same survey, the majority said that their religious beliefs had little or 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 and values which operate in our life, we are on a slippery slope.

Peace, and may the wind always be at your back!


Richard

2010.09.20 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma. Since Brian Dishman, a son of Pilgrim Church, set up our blog, I've received numerous messages, a few from strangers, more from "old time friends".  It is always good (and encouraging) to get responses (favorable or unfavorable) to our MONDAY MORNING messages.

I had a good laugh reading the following, and I hope it will put a smile on your face too.

A teenage boy had just gotten his driver's license and asked his Dad if they could discuss the use of the family car.  His Dad said he'd make a deal.

"You bring your grades from 'C' to 'B' average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut, and then we'll talk about the car."

The young man thought for a moment before deciding to go for the offer.

After a couple of months, the Dad said, "Son, you've brought up your grades and I've been watching you studying your Bible, but I'm a little disappointed that you haven't had your hair cut yet."

The son looked at his Dad and said, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. I've noticed in my Bible studies that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, and I've seen picture of Jesus with long hair."

To which the Father replied, "And did you also notice that everywhere they went they walked!"

Humor is an important part of a full life!


Richard

2010.09.13 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma. It will be a good day if you put a smile on your face. Smiles rejuvenate tired spirits and lost happiness.

A happy life is God's will for you! William Barclay, a beloved New Testament professor at Trinity College, Glasgow, Scotland, wrote "For a happy life three things are necessary: Something to hope for. Something to do. Someone to love."

He then went on to write a timely message for today:

"Something to hope for: The beginning of the end of life is when we live in memory rather than in hope; when our memories are an escape from prison rather than a stimulus for further living.

"Something to do: Anyone who can look to days of unemployment or a time of enforced inactivity, when the hours seem slow and empty, knows that work is not a curse but a blessing.

"Someone to love: When love enters life there comes a new thrill, a new awareness of possibilities undreamed of. When love is born, life and the world are renewed."

Give thanks for the influence of those who have blessed your life, and then live usefully, with hope and love.


Richard

2010.09.06 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma. Thanks for visiting our blog! We at Pilgrim Church hope that this "off-site/online" outreach is helpful to you. If it is, please pass our messages to others, and let us know if you enjoy them.

I may be naive, but I still believe that the overwhelming majority of Americans want to do what is right and decent. I know there are countless numbers of men and women who are breaking away from moral and ethical standards of the past with good reason. It is not easy to find answers to a question as to what is right.

Can we always be certain of what is right? Probably not, yet here is a suggestion which may help you to walk the right path:

Are you willing to make known your conduct to others?

A desire to keep ones actions secret, whether personal or public, is to be avoided. If one is doing what one instinctively wants to hide, it is probably wrong. On the other hand, if one can tell loved ones what one is doing, it is probably right.

Doing the wrong thing is usually hidden in the dark, while doing the right thing is usually seen in the light.  That's a test as you seek answers to any question as to what is right.

Who said life is easy?


Peace,
Richard