A Book Report, or Things I Read in 2021
Maybe you will be inspired to read something totally new and different this year!...
Stocking Stuffers for the Children in Your Life
Gift suggestions for kids on your list...
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Join Me for 100 Days of Dante!
Dante's Divine Comedy, beginning with Dante's Inferno, is one of those huge classics of Christian literature that many have heard of, but few have tackled, given its unwieldly nature. ...
BKC for the Glory of God
Ways God blessed our ministry to Power Source kids in Hamilton....
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Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy
The Christian East is in mourning right now, and we should join them...
Pastor Briefing: The Problem of Burnout
In an interview titled, How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, dated December 3, 2020 at vox.com, author Anne Helen Petersen talks about the pervasive problem of burnout among the millennial generation....
Journey to Easter Devotion day 7
supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter video...
Journey to Easter Day 6 devotion
supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Journey to Easter Day 5 devotion
Supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Journey to Easter Day 4 devotion
Supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Journey to Easter Day 3 devotion
Supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Journey to Easter Day 2 devotion
Supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Journey to Easter Day 1 Devotion
Supplementary material to help families engage with the Journey to Easter...
Upon Saying Goodbye: a Look Back
As she says goodbye to her ministry at ECC, Sarah Evans reflects on what ECC has meant to her...
When a Leader Falls
How do we respond to the grievous report about Ravi Zacharias? Michael shares here a few ways we should think about this...
Family Fun
Family Ministry has been active this winter creating opportunities for those looking for a safe place to be to have fun and create memories outside of their house. ...
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Lessons the Holy Spirit Taught Me through Kirk Smith
How a loaf of blueberry bread led to eternal lessons...
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That You May Bear More Fruit
2020 was a year of pruning, but the promise of fruitfulness follows....
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Giving Thanks, But Once a Year?
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17...
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The Long Way to Arrive Here.
Let me introduce myself by telling you how God brought me to Cincinnati. ...
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Daniel's Beasts: Politics & the Church
The issues surrounding this year's election remind me of Daniel 7, that most strange chapter in the Bible with beasts....
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Praying for My Neighbors, the sequel
Several of you let me know how you were encouraged by the blog post about praying for my neighbors. Here is an update. ...
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How to get the most out of reading your Bible.
Pastor Rich provides practical suggestions on how to get the most out of reading your Bible....
Upcoming Discipleship Opportunities
COVID-19 may be turning our normal patterns of life upside-down; but it won't stop us from growing in following Jesus. In fact, it just may help us do so more!...
Pastor Briefing: Covid-19 Weariness
After five months, the coronavirus is getting old and people are wearied by all the limitations associated with it. As a result, there are a number of people who are short on patience with one another. How should we think about these things?...
Lament, Pray, & Care
Following up on Sunday's sermon, I mentioned a number of books that you may find helpful for the Care piece of application. Here are some to take a look at....
Summer Reading Challenge: Les Miserables
So your summer plans have been canceled or severely limited. Now what? Let me challenge you to read....
News to lift your mind and heart
Want a source of news that will truly encourage you? Try this.........
Thoughts on Reopening Church Tomorrow
Are you ready for the reopening of Church tomorrow? ...
A Testimony of Family Discipleship (part 2)
Tina Miller's father shares his testimony of family discipleship....
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A Testimony of Family Discipleship
in an interview Tina Miller's father, Gene Burke, shares his testimony of family discipleship...
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COVID Playlist
Sarah offers a suggested playlist for life at home during the coronavirus pandemic....
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How Should Christians at ECC Respond to Corona?
If you even glimpse the news right now, the world seems to be falling apart....
Reflections on the life of Helen Roseveare
Reflections on the life of Helen Roseveare I thought it would be helpful (to me at least) to record some thoughts after spending so much time exploring the life of Helen Roseveare in order to share with the Adult Sunday School this past Sunday. I first encountered Helen at Urbana 81, a missions conference that was held at the University of Illinois in the deep cold o...
Keep ReadingSummer Reading for Women (or anyone!)
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It's summer and the time to pull out some books! I'm going to share what it on my Summer Reading list in hopes of inspiring some of you to join me and push me to read them all. Ten Words to Live By by Jen Wilkin I'm reading this in preparation for our Tuesday Bible study on Exodus that begins in September, but I think I would read it even if that was not the case. After ...
Keep ReadingWhat I learned while knitting socks
I love knitting socks. Most all of the socks I wear now have come from a yarn store, not a clothing store. Small, relatively fast, and very satisfying to knit this tube that turns 90 degrees at the heel. That step is always magic to me I do it over and over on every sock but I still don't fully understand why it works. And don't get me started on the joy of shaping the to...
Keep ReadingRenewed by the Word
Today I finished doing my homework in the Sermon on the Mount for the women's Bible study. I probably say this every year at the end of our study, no matter what part of Scripture we have studied, but this has been a life-changing study. Or maybe a heart-changing study is a better way to put it. This week has been hard. I have been deeply sad and unable to pull myself out...
Keep ReadingStuff to read and listen to
I have read and listened to some really good stuff lately and I do not want to keep it to myself! So here are some recommendations for things to keep you engaged during these lovely winter months. (I really do like winter maybe I keep better in the cold.) Books Aging with Grace by Susan Hunt and Sharon Betters I look around at ECC and I see women who are so strong in t...
Keep ReadingEnd of the year reflections
All around us people are saying "good riddance" to 2020. I have found myself joining in with this sentiment all too quickly. Good riddance to lockdowns, toilet paper shortages, people living in fear and isolation, and the ever-present CoVid reports, feeding our anxiety. But what if we could look back at this year, and forward to 2021 with a rather more biblical outlook? I ...
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Book Report
Book Report I confess I have not been doing as much reading as I thought I would during this extended pandemic. But I have read some things that have encouraged and educated me. I am hoping some of you might also find these books to be helpful. I am in the process of reading None Like Him by Jen Wilkin. This book presents the incommunicable attributes of God and how th...
Keep ReadingCalm....IN the storms
The hurricane which is roaring through Louisiana and other states as I write this seems like an appropriate metaphor for our current times. There are so many storms in our world right now CoVid restrictions, rioting, racial issues, political turmoil, conflict with friends, feeling isolated and alone I could go on, but let's get to the more encouraging part. I am drawn t...
Keep ReadingFinding hope in sadness
To my brothers and sisters at ECC, First of all, I miss you all. I miss worshiping with you, singing with you, hugging you, visiting with you in the foyer, sharing meals with you under the picnic shelter. And I am going to have to continue to miss you for a while yet. For I am a person who is in the CoVid19 high risk category. I am not afraid of the virus. I am simply fo...
Keep ReadingA minute (or more) for Missions
Gary Loomans interview
https://www.youtube.com/user/
Lessons from a pandemic
Vlog 4.2.2020 In the video today, I reflect on lessons I am learning through these days of social distancing. As I mention in the video, The Gospel Coalition is calling Christians to a day of fasting and praying on Saturday, April 4. Below are links to resources to help us pray throughout the day. in the evening, there will be a one hour online prayer service. Her...
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Yes, I am a conference junkie
There are so many Christian conferences available to us. Why should you take the trouble to travel somewhere else to hear people you have never heard of? ...
Keep ReadingUnexpected blessings
After a six month sabbatical, I expected that life would be very different when we returned home. That turned out to be true, but not in the way I thought........
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Haunted
Middle Eastern women interviewed on a recent podcast have left me humbled and inspired by their devotion and confidence in God's Word....
Keep ReadingSummer reading from Sunday School
We have enjoyed some great teaching for the past 6 weeks on some significant men of faith. Here are the resources our teachers used to prepare for their classes! They would make great summer reading!...
Keep ReadingHospitality is not optional
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Hospitality is a subject we talk a lot about. God seems to be pushing me to actually DO something about it..........
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Thoughts during Lent
Lent is often considered a time of quiet reflection. But it might also be a time God uses to challenge us to consider how we live out the Gospel all year long....
Keep ReadingSabbatical Reading
Sabbatical has allowed me to be more intentional about reading. I hope these reviews will help spur you on to make time to read as well....
Keep ReadingWelcoming 'interruptions'
Interruptions or blessings? What is God doing with us when we expect life to go one way and it goes some completely different way?...
Keep ReadingBusy for the wrong reasons
What controls your life? The demands of others? Seeking self-fulfillment? I am re-thinking how I structure my life and what controls my activities....
Keep ReadingWhy go to Worship every week?
We need to worship even when we do not feel like it. God feeds us there, and our fellow worshipers have the opportunity to minister to us, as we do for them....
Keep ReadingResolved: Not to make resolutions
Resolutions are easily forgotten in the shuffle of the new year. Instead of a list of resolutions, perhaps one word to guide my thoughts and intentions will keep me focused on how God wants to grow me this year....
Keep ReadingLessons from my appendix
Surgery is never fun but God used my recent experience to teach me about His Body....
Keep ReadingHope in Christ
How does hope in Christ help in everyday life? Is it just something that we can tuck away for future reference? I am learning that hope is an everyday thing, helping me live life in a way that can honor Christ....
Keep ReadingA gentle and quiet spirit? Who, me?
Peter exhorts us to have a gentle and quiet spirit. That is not my natural inclination, but by God's grace I am learning to fight for it....
Keep ReadingWhy should I come to a Women's Bible study?
We need to be in God's Word together, to encourage and exhort one another and to deepen friendships. This year there are 4 opportunities to learn and grow together. Come and join us for a great year in God's Word!...
Keep ReadingSummer Sunday Mornings, revisited
A few ideas for ways to use your Sunday mornings to feed on God's Word this summer, even without Sunday School!...
Keep ReadingHelp Wanted
We live in a time and a culture in which asking for help is perceived as weakness. And our busy-ness often causes us to offer our help in very non-specific ways. How can we become a Body who finds joy in serving one another in caring, creative ways?...
Keep ReadingTea and a good book
This is really a book report on two books: Awe, by Paul David Tripp and The Afternoon of Life, by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Winter is a great time to read more. These two books just might change your perspective on life....
Keep ReadingGive a book this Christmas!
Looking for books to give at Christmas? Here are some suggestions for children as well as grown-ups. Merry shopping!...
Keep ReadingLessons from a broken pancreas
There are blessings and struggles in living with a chronic disease. Yet God has not left us alone to deal with it. He is very much with us and when we allow Him, He will teach us through the hard times as well as in the good times....
Keep ReadingTurn the spigot on!
God's grace is freely available to us, and we need it to live and grow as Christians. How do we KEEP it freely flowing?...
Keep ReadingWhy are all those kids in the worship service?
We have chosen to include our children in our regular worship services at ECC rather than having a separate children's church. Why is that? And how can we, as grown-up members of the congregation, support our families as they seek to train their children in worship?...
Keep ReadingTales from Rehab
I have experienced the community of believers here at ECC in a very real way recently. You all have taught me what it means to care for each other. ...
Keep ReadingFinding and keeping community
Community is not just a buzzword. It is important to all of us. We need to value the work of building community. We need others, and others need us....
Keep ReadingWhy memorize Scripture?
Memorizing Scripture ministers to our own hearts and can help us minister to others. It is not just for the super spiritual. Rather, it is for those of us who need help the most!...
Keep ReadingI Surrender
What do Genesis 17 and 1 Peter have in common? They both point to heart problems....
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