Jesus’ hands are never tied
“I’m sorry, sir. There is nothing I can do. My hands are tied.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard that in my life. You’re on the phone...
Parent conversations: How can we instill gratitude in our children?
How many times have you reminded your children to say “Thank you” when they’ve received something? More than you can count, right? Why do you do it? Part ...
Bacon-wrapped lies
Bacon makes everything better. For some, that’s a self-evident truth. I am not much of a salad eater, but salad with bacon bits is palatable. Jalapeños give ...
Having all the facts
Well, it happened again. Almost immediately after 24-year-old gymnast Simone Biles walked away from the team competition at the Olympics in Tokyo, the talking h...
Mind your own business
People today say it in different ways. “Stay in your lane, bro.” “You do you and I’ll do me.” “MYOB.” Even if they don’t say it, some seem to w...
Perspective
At the turn of the last century, two competing shoe companies in the United States looked to expand their business. Both heard about a developing country in Afr...
Forgiveness isn’t fair
“But he doesn’t deserve to be forgiven,” she cried, as tears rolled down her face. She was right. He didn’t. He had cheated on her. He had ruined their ...
A Sabbath from social media
After a long week of work and worry, the weekend always feels good. From the time I was little, I loved Saturdays. You get to sleep in. You get to watch cartoon...
Bittersweet
We come back to worship, but it’s just not the same. I was giddy with anticipation. After two months of exile, we were finally going to gather again to worshi...
As we come and go
I am overflowing with excitement. As I write these words, we are making our final preparations to celebrate our first public worship services as a church in ove...
Holy Week is coming!
Andrew C. Schroer My favorite Christmas movie of all time is the movie Elf. In the movie, Will Ferrell plays a man who was raised as an elf at the North Pole. A...
A life like Mr. Panza’s
Mr. Panza is 97 years old. He lives in the nursing home down the road from my house. Over the last year, he and I have become good friends. A few weeks ago, he ...
Get busy living
Andrew Schroer In the 1997 movie The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins played Andy Dufresne, a quiet banker wrongfully accused and convicted of killing h...
Not just the capital of Rhode Island
Andrew C. Schroer In December of 1630, Roger Williams, a Puritan pastor from England, boarded a ship called the Lyon and sailed to the New World. He and his wif...
Judgement-free zone
Andrew C. Schroer On July 22, 2018, a 34-year-old man named Eric Stagno walked into a Planet Fitness gym in New Hampshire. He stopped at the front counter,...
Drowning in a sea of bad news
Andrew C. Schroer The news can be overwhelming. It doesn’t matter whether you watch CNN, Fox, or MSNBC. I don’t see a difference whether you catch the local...