Consider this

                  As recently as the 1950s, having a baby was a risky proposition.   One in thirty births ended badly until an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar developed a system to rate how newborns were doing.   She focused on five key areas (appearance, pulse, the reflex action or grimace, activity or muscle tone and respiration).   She encouraged doctors and nurses to rate each child on a scale of zero to three for each quality.   A score of 10 or more meant that the baby was healthy; 4 or lower indicated that the baby needed immediate intervention.                While numerous other medical advances have occurred over the years, all agree that Apgar’s rating system had a huge impact.   Her scoring system is still used today, and the mortality rate has improved to one in every 500 births.   Virgina Apgar did not introduce a

 The church could talk about a million different things. The Bible is full of all kinds of teaching. However, for thousands of years, there has been a consistent message that needs to be shared. This lesson is both a reminder and an invitation.  

 When we imagine what God is like, we usually make one of two mistakes.... we either see him as being too stern or too permissive. The truth is somewhere in-between. Fortunately, we do not have to wonder or guess. God himself tells us what he is like and that changes how we relate to him. A Father's Day lesson about our heavenly father.  

                 When the apostle Paul arrived in the city of Corinth, he felt defeated.   Despite his best efforts, nothing was working.   Instead of people responding to his preaching with faith, he had been ignored, mocked, thrown in jail, or run out of town everywhere he went.   His confidence was so low that he said he came to Corinth “in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). Then he received a word of encouragement that changed everything.                Jesus spoke to Paul in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10).   That one message changed Paul’s outlook and it has some good reminders for us as well.                The first thing to notice is that even when P

 Rarely is the path to happiness and success a straight line. Here are two important truths to keep in mind as we experience life's twists and turns.  

 God's standard is high and none of us can live up to it. Now what? Here is a hint.... Jesus keeps putting us back into the boat.