For us it is the week after Easter. For many who are in our scriptures over the next several weeks, it is still that day .  What we are looking at over the next few Sundays are those first moments of contact between our Savior and those who were closest to Him. He has risen. Many are bewildered. Confused. Not sure what to believe. Questioning. Everything they are feeling is natural. Jesus wants his followers to stand strong. He wants them to believe and trust. He also knows it is a process. A process that can either be fed with more doubt and fear, or be encouraged and strengthened with these blast filled moments that come inside powerful moments like the ones following His resurrection. Several of them happen the same day he rose from the grave. And, then the next few days and the next month. We have a limited amount of Sundays. If we stay the course and hope to be ready for Pentecost, then we need to accept that we only get a glimpse at what our Lord and Master was doing through ...

  I have asked myself questions like this for many years. We would be kidding ourselves if we just piously sat here and stated for the world around that we have never doubted or struggled with the events that have unfolded in our bibles over the last few weeks. I have heard many a well meaning church goer say that "You're not supposed to question..." Like, somehow, that makes us more righteous because we just accept it all don't have anything we want to know more about or cannot understand so we feel the need to reach out and seek more depth and breadth to what this whole matter was about.  Jesus. The Son of God. God's only on. The Begotten. The Son of Man. A servant. A messenger. A prophet. A King. A rabbi. The One on who all the prophecy of the Old Testament finds it's fulfillment. The Messiah. The one who will save His people from their sins. The Great Physician. The one where we find all the we need and all we will ever want. He is our All in All. And, yet...

 Preparing for Easter  Isn't it funny how we have differing accounts of the same events in our scriptures? I've heard the arguments about the validity of scripture and whether or not to beleve what we have writen here because the accounts don't line up. Or, do they? Or, is it simply that we have someone else's viewpoint? It is simply what they remember about the events. It could happen at your Easter meal with family all gathered around in the next week or so. What if Uncle or Aunt so and so blab off about this or that? What if an argument breaks out over some simple statement that gets made? Maybe, more importantly, what did everyone around the table or the event area remember about what happened? That is truly what is at the center of something as large as Jesus entering the Holy City on a day like what we have recorded here.  We are looking at scripture from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John this morning. And, yes all three have different items they will call out...

Preparing for Easter Its our fourth week together at Pleasant View. We are looking at the thought of Jesus being a friend.  Can Jesus be a friend to us? Do you think of our Lord, Savior, King, Master - as a friend? For some, that is exacly how they were introduced to Jesus.  Jesus is a friend indeed. Our hymns suggest that closeness.  For others, that kingly, old man with the long white beard sitting in a large throne chair image is what shapes their thoughts about God.  What is the proper picture to have in our minds when it concerns the subject of Jesus being in our lives? This week we move on to John 15 as we think about our subject matter. Jesus has used lots of interesting language between chapters 13 and 16 to convey what he needs his followers to understand before heading to the Cross. Lets take a look what he says here. Friendship is something that can take time to develop. Maybe you find that person who just clicks with you right from the start. Your friends...