Coming to the Still Waters

  The switch over has begun.  This Sunday marked our last passage in Matthew until the first of the year.  A few Sunday offs and then a couple Sundays covering advent and then a special sermon for the final Sunday of the year.  I am praying that I will be preaching on our new mission and identity statements.  It would be a great way to end 2025 and keep moving on this quest to have our church documents reflect who we are and where we are at as a local church family. Matthew 20:1-16 contains a parable that I just love.  It could be my favorite and I love how it dovetails with the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.  This is a Matthew only passage and that makes me wonder why.  Matthew being a tax collector and this parable dealing with wages might give us a clue but always leaving the final reason being the inspiration of the Holy Spirit given to him.  The parable is also a tremendous picture of the gospel.  I know that you can't attr...

  This is a blast from the past of myself and my sister Rhoda in the kitchen of our home on 2138 N. Lehman Road.  I see the snow through the window and it was probably a Sunday morning because of our clothes.  What a wonderful childhood we had with the parents who provided a loving environment for us to grow up in. No mule deer last week but some beautiful sunrises and sunsets I took in.  A little break and then I am out again on Wednesday for the 4th season on the hunt for some elk.  I am thankful that I can take my work up into the hills and study the Scriptures at 9000 ft. and above.  Long days and a lot of wind at times but thankful for the opportunity to do this. This is one of my hunting spots I found with great cover and also observation in all directions.  Enough of that, what did I study and serve up this Sunday from the pulpit? We finished up Matthew 19 this Sunday.  Onto Matthew 20 next Sunday and probably the last sermon from Matthew u...

  I came across this post on the Big Horn Flats on the Tonahutu Trail and it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere.  I was on a 26 mile hike to probably end my hikes with the boots on.  It gave me something to think about as I had about 14 miles to go.  What was the sign on this post?  So when I made it home I went digging on the internet to see if I could find a photo of this post with the sign on it.  I found this photo in 2016 that sported half of the sign. The caption of this picture said they thought it said "Wonderland Lake."  I did a Google Earth search and there was nothing called that in this area.  So I started digging deeper and came up with this picture from 2009. Now we have the whole sign but it was still hard to make out what it says.  I was thankful that they took another shot that was a close up of the sign. The mystery is solved and my curiosity has an answer.  Grand Lake 12 miles makes sense looking this way and it...

 This is a view of Andrews Peak on the North Inlet Trail.  Somehow I captured the morning sun ray.  It was a good place to stop and get my breathe from this 20 mile hike traveling up 2500 feet in elevation.  Maybe not the last hike of the season because we have a stretch of blue bird days this week and highs in the 50's.  I am thankful for the extended fall weather before the snow makes more of its presence. It was great to have a mini break from our study of the Gospel of Matthew to talk about covenants and also to read our new official covenant for SCC.  It is important for us to see that what we are committing to is not something man has made up but rather from the pages of the Bible.  It is also important to see that the words of the covenant are based off of the words of God.  These covenants made between God and man and man to man are very evident in the Bible.  There are also signs of these covenants like the rainbow in the clouds to r...