RG AUDIO 071621   Matthew 6:24-34 I’ve often considered Matthew 6:33 the pinnacle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the culminating point of His “inaugural address” describing the kingdom of God. Now my friend Lowell’s weekly encounter assures me of it. With memory waning, he approaches me each Sunday before worship and asks if I […]

RG AUDIO 071521   Ecclesiastes 5:9-20 From baseball cards to Beanie Babies, collectible items have found a place of welcome in many homes. Some are inexpensive and fun, others interesting and informing, still others historic and rare. The value of a collectible item may only be in the eye of the beholder, but, if enough […]

RG AUDIO 071421   Ecclesiastes 3:12-22 Growing up in southeastern United States, songs about heaven were abundant both in and out of church. I couldn’t understand how people could be a hurry for heaven, when I was having so much fun on earth! True, my friends and I had interests, dreams, and goals beckoning us […]

RG AUDIO 071321   Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 “The early bird gets the worm; the second mouse gets the cheese.” No one is sure where this witty saying originated. The two words for time in ancient Greek, chronos and kairos, described two realities: minutes, occurring in linear fashion, and opportune moments measured by timeliness. The bird mastered […]

RG AUDIO 071221   Genesis 3:17-24 Being raised in a large family meant everyone had assigned jobs needed for our household to function. There were certain chores that filled even the most diligent with dread, the less dutiful with delay, and any prone to disobedience to desert altogether. Yet it always seemed when Mom, Dad, […]

RG AUDIO 071121   Proverbs 19:13-23 Cara grew up on the mission field in Moscow, Russia. There were times as missionary kids she and her sister would get together with other missionary kids for retreats. When she was fourteen years old, Cara went on one such trip with her missionary kid friends to the Jordanian […]

RG AUDIO 071021   Proverbs 19:13-23 My four-year-old has learned that sometimes she can get away with an innocent white lie. I can see the wheels turning in her head when she is about to tell something other than the truth.  To help her make good choices and understand the weight of lying, I created […]

RG AUDIO 070921   1 Peter 5:1-11 In the garden of Eden God gives Adam and Eve a choice to be in relationship with God or not. This is intentional because love cannot be true if it is not freely chosen. The same goes for the recipients of the words in 1 Peter 5,  “not […]

RG AUDIO 070821   Colossians 3:9-17 Colossians 3 reveals that things have changed from before the time of Christ to the time after Christ. Christ came to this earth, lived, died, and rose again. In doing so, He defined new terms in this world. He ushered in the kingdom of God and this is good […]

RG AUDIO 070721   Hebrews 11:32—12:3 Two runners line up at the starting line of a marathon. They have the same shoes, shorts, shirts, and even water bottles.  The starting gun goes off and the race is on! Though the two runners appear the same, there is something vastly different between the two of them. […]