Consider this

                January can be tough.   It is cold and dark.   Christmas is over and, for some, the credit card bills are arriving.   We stay home more and socialize less.   It is easy to think, “I need a break!”                 In addition to that, regardless of the time of year, some people are just overloaded.    Unable or unwilling to say “no”, they end up taking on too many responsibilities and do not have enough time to themselves.   On the other hand, some are bored to death!   There is so little going on in their lives that they become detached and depressed.   Most of us find ourselves somewhere between those two extremes.                   All of this leaves us chasing after answers which we hope will make our lives better and happier. That is good!   I am all for evaluating and making necessary changes.  

                All four gospel writers record what he did.                 “As evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body… Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb” (Mark 15:42b-46).                 What we are not told is why he did it.                   Why come forward after Jesus was dead?   Everyone else had either run away in fear or left in despair, so why bother?   He had hidden until now.   Why not keep hiding?                 Maybe he felt guilty.   He did not stand up enough for Jesus when he was alive, so he figured he would do something now that he was gone.         

                When the Second World War broke out, leaders quickly realized that it was going to be fought in the air as much as on the ground, so pilot training became a huge priority.   Unfortunately, the United Kingdom was not a suitable training ground because it was too close to the front lines and its weather was too unpredictable.   Thus, in 1939, the “British Commonwealth Air Training Plan” was born.   Under this plan, pilots would be trained in safe countries and then be moved to the front lines.                 Across the Canadian prairies, huge airports were constructed.   You may remember seeing those.   However, did you know that every airport also had several relief fields?                 A relief field was another set of runways, usually built within a 15 mile radius, that could be used by the pilot if he had an issue and could return to his base.   Relief fields usually had a hanger, maybe a small barracks and a few mechanics.   Interestingly, if you look at a s

                For the last 30 years, my first sermon of the New Year has focused on ways to challenge and improve ourselves.   Those lessons have been good, but this year we took a different approach.                 Instead of thinking about ourselves, we focused on God.                 Too often, we concentrate on the physical, what we do and think we control, and undervalue the unseen aspects of our lives.   Yet, it is the unseen that should concern us most.                 It is with that understanding that the apostle prays this prayer: “For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and