Dear Saints,Last Sunday in Richmond as I was nearing the time to preach I had thought to do something "cute" by greeting the saints in the variety of native languages of those present.  I was familiar with several of those languages, but as I thought about it the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said "stick to your knitting".   This metaphor of course reminded me to do what I was called and charg...  Read More

Good morning,Greetings from Richmond, CA where Sis. Lori and I have been the last couple of days for the funeral of the beloved wife of the pastor here, Sis. Brenda Bishop.  Her service yesterday was a fitting tribute to a wonderful Christian woman who served the Lord faithfully through the years.   From a sometimes challenging childhood she gave her heart to the Lord and God did wonderful things ...  Read More

Good morning,Fall (or Autumn if you prefer) is now officially upon us.  The autumnal equinox was last this past week.  Equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night.  On the two equinoxes (spring and fall) we experience virtually the same amount of day and night. This reminded me of the ways in which we use the word equal.  Obviously we use it in mathematics to indicate that the numbe...  Read More

Happy Saturday to the beloved of the Lord, I love this time of the year with the hints of fall like leaves beginning to change color and cool crisp evenings.   I also love the fact that there is a merging of various fall sports including football, volleyball, and the end of baseball season.  (Go Mariners...this is Seattle after all).  But most of all I love that none of these things even move the ...  Read More

It's a Sunny Seattle Saturday...And we are thankful for such blessings after a week with what seemed to be an extra dose of bad news in our world.  2 Timothy 3:13 reminds us that "...Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."  and of that we are quite aware but it is interesting to me that the verses on each side of this one point out a couple of other issues ...  Read More

Dear Saints,I've been contemplating the topic of God's kingdom.  I heard someone once say that a kingdom is wherever the effective rule of the king is extended.  I suppose in one sense we all try to carve out a little kingdom.  Growing up, my father's workshop was his "kingdom"...with specific instructions on who could enter, how tools were to be used and put away properly,  I can remember his unh...  Read More