Words of Inspiration From Our Church and Ministers

Life or Death? Choose One!

By NSUMC | February 14, 2023 |

In one of the Scripture passages referred to in the Revised Common Lectionary for February 12, 2023, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, (please see here) God, through Moses, offers the Israelites (who were a foreshadow and precursor of the Church) two distinct things,…

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A Wisdom “secret and hidden” 

By NSUMC | February 11, 2023 |

In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2:6-8 , Paul shared with the Corinthians (and with us by extension) what he described as a wisdom from God – a wisdom “secret and hidden.”  It was a wisdom that Paul declared was “not a wisdom of…

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Maker Of All Things? Some Say No!

By NSUMC | February 1, 2023 |

Recently I have engaged in a couple of discussions/debates regards the origin of evil. Yes, evil, that spiritual state that “appears” to be in conflict with the plans and ways of God. The discussions centered primarily on the originator of…

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Jewish Wise Men?

By NSUMC | January 6, 2023 |

The three wise men from the East that we have all heard about all our lives are an interesting part of the story of the Christ child.  As with many of the stories and events depicted in the Scriptures, it…

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Common Shepherds?

By NSUMC | December 24, 2022 |

Have you ever wondered why when Jesus was born that angels appeared to shepherds out in the fields of Bethlehem and announced to them that the birth had taken place? Why didn’t the angels announce it to the thousands of…

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“Two Advents – Two Messiahs”

By The North Salem United Methodist Church | December 20, 2022 |

In Matthew’s gospel there is a very interesting statement that John the Baptist directs to some of his followers while he, John, is in prison and Jesus is engaged in his own ministry. From his prison cell John sends his…

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The Transfiguration

By The North Salem United Methodist Church | December 3, 2022 |

When considering any of Christ’s many miracles, one must first ask oneself this question: Why did Christ do such & such a miraculous work? Why did Christ engage in miracles at all? Could it have been, even partially, that he…

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“The Lynch Pin Commandment”

By The North Salem United Methodist Church | December 1, 2022 |

Of God’s Ten Commandments one stands out uniquely from the other nine – and that commandment is the Fourth Commandment.  As the Commandment is written: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do…

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“Cleansing The Temple”

By The North Salem United Methodist Church | December 1, 2022 |

A few weeks ago during worship service I read the first Scripture reading for that day, John 2:13-22. The passage was about Jesus cleansing the temple. And, as I said at that time, it was about Jesus cleansing the temple the…

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“It Was Not For Them To Know”

By The North Salem United Methodist Church | November 18, 2022 |

Commentary on Acts 1:1-11 Among the many noteworthy points of interest in Acts 1:1-11 there are two I would like to comment on. The first is about how the author of Acts, the one and only Luke of the gospel…

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