Sermons
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May Newsletter 2021
Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ~Joshua 1:6 (NLT) Several years ago, late in the wee hours of the morning, I was sitting in my bed reading a book entitled If Life Is A Gamehese Are the Rules written by, Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott. As I sat there, listening to the silence that hovered over the two-bedroom apartment in Illinois that Michelle and I shared; I read these words: Courage is finding the inner strength and bravery required when confronting danger, difficulty, and opposition. Courage is the energy current behind all great actions and the spark that ignites the initial baby step of growth. It resides deep within each of us, ready to be accessed in those moments when you need to forge ahead or break through seemingly insurmountable barriers. It is the intangible force that propels you forward on your journey (104). Courage! Most of you have lived long enough by now to know that courage is the one thing that you need to survive in this life. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, peaks and valleys, highs and lows; and, life in the 21st century seems to be full of mass shootings, protests, national confrontations, global pandemics, swiftly produced vaccines, social isolation, and uncertainty about the future. And the things mentioned in the preceding sentence are just the things seen on the surface. Beneath the surface there is so much more—family disputes, angry, bitterness, depression, spiritual doubt, loss or change of employment (because of the pandemic), mistrust among our elected officials, and so much more. Let us pause and be honest for a moment; Besides God, there is only one other thing to help us deal with the things that we are facing as a nation and as a church. That one thing is courage. It takes courage to continue to get up every morning, not being able to see the end from the beginning or middle—concerning this pandemic. It takes courage, to take your mask off when you see a friend out in public who hasn’t seen your face in the past thirteen months. It takes courage to walk into the grocery store (even with a mask on), when you don’t even know if the person standing next to you has COVID or if they have been vaccinated. It takes courage to believe in a good God when there seems to be no good in sight. It takes courage to stand true to your convictions when you are surrounded by people who don’t agree with you. It takes courage to confront and attempt to conquer your own inner demons that you have been battled with for years. Nevertheless, in the midst of it all, God calls us and urges us to be courageous. What barrier are you facing in your life right now that calls for you to put on the shield of courage and face it head on? Whatever it is; be strong and courageous knowing that your courage is that intrinsic energy current propelling your forward. Sometimes, you can even hear that still small voice of courage telling you to “Keep going!”, or “Try again!”, or “Don’t give up!” When you hear that still small voice, just listen to it and at least attempt to be courageous. After all, what do you have to lose? And you may just be surprised by the end result. Pastor Michael L. Sloan Life is too short to be anything but happy. |
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
February Newsletter 2021
Let’s face it—the things that we have experienced in the last nine months (in the United States of America and beyond) can only be compared to something that you would either read in a novel or see in a Thriller/Suspense film in the theater. At the beginning of last year (2020), an invisible wind (the Coronavirus) swept through our nation and it has left all of us trembling like leaves on a tree. In addition, we witnessed protests and riots that left us feeling fearful, afraid, and unsettle. We also experienced a lot of transitions in our government—that left some happy and some angry.
Nevertheless, we still find ourselves sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what’s going to happen next. Like myself, most of you are probably glued to the television (watching various news channels) in an attempt to discern and interpret the signs of the time. When COVID-19 first swept through our nation last year, we thought (or, at least some of us thought) it would be over by the end of the summer. But now we see that it’s not. And we still find ourselves waiting. Waiting to see if the vaccine is going to be effective. Waiting to see how our nation will respond to the new variants of COVID-19. Waiting (and, hoping) to see things—restaurants, movie theaters, activities, etc.—open up again. Waiting to see if the newly-elected politicians will be able to hold true to the promises that they made during their campaigning. And even just waiting to breathe a sigh of relief. I totally understand these emotions and feelings because I am experiencing them all as well.
Therefore, I have decided that there are some things that I am going to do while I am sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens next. I have decided that I am still going to do everything that I can to be happy in this very moment—because this very moment is all I have. And it is all you have. Tomorrow is not promised; today is all we have. With that being said, try your best to choose happiness over sadness; to choose happiness over madness; and, try your best to choose happiness over discontentedness. So, pause and think about if for a moment (even ask yourself): What makes me happy? If reading makes you happy, spend as much time as you can reading your favorite books. If watching television makes you happy, spend as much time as you can watching television. If gardening makes your happy (since the season is going to be changing in a couple of months), plan to spend as much time as you can gardening. Plant all the fruits and vegetables you want. Just make sure that it makes you happy. If talking to your grandchildren over the phone makes you happy, call them and video chat with them as much as you can. And if baking makes you happy, spend as much time as you can baking all the stuff you have a taste for.
Why am I telling you these things? Because life is too short to be anything but happy—especially when you take into consideration all the things that we have dealt with as a nation over the past nine months. Whatever you do, make sure you choose “you” and choose to be, happy.
Choose Happiness!
Pastor Michael L. Sloan
February Newsletter 2021
Let’s face it—the things that we have experienced in the last nine months (in the United States of America and beyond) can only be compared to something that you would either read in a novel or see in a Thriller/Suspense film in the theater. At the beginning of last year (2020), an invisible wind (the Coronavirus) swept through our nation and it has left all of us trembling like leaves on a tree. In addition, we witnessed protests and riots that left us feeling fearful, afraid, and unsettle. We also experienced a lot of transitions in our government—that left some happy and some angry.
Nevertheless, we still find ourselves sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what’s going to happen next. Like myself, most of you are probably glued to the television (watching various news channels) in an attempt to discern and interpret the signs of the time. When COVID-19 first swept through our nation last year, we thought (or, at least some of us thought) it would be over by the end of the summer. But now we see that it’s not. And we still find ourselves waiting. Waiting to see if the vaccine is going to be effective. Waiting to see how our nation will respond to the new variants of COVID-19. Waiting (and, hoping) to see things—restaurants, movie theaters, activities, etc.—open up again. Waiting to see if the newly-elected politicians will be able to hold true to the promises that they made during their campaigning. And even just waiting to breathe a sigh of relief. I totally understand these emotions and feelings because I am experiencing them all as well.
Therefore, I have decided that there are some things that I am going to do while I am sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens next. I have decided that I am still going to do everything that I can to be happy in this very moment—because this very moment is all I have. And it is all you have. Tomorrow is not promised; today is all we have. With that being said, try your best to choose happiness over sadness; to choose happiness over madness; and, try your best to choose happiness over discontentedness. So, pause and think about if for a moment (even ask yourself): What makes me happy? If reading makes you happy, spend as much time as you can reading your favorite books. If watching television makes you happy, spend as much time as you can watching television. If gardening makes your happy (since the season is going to be changing in a couple of months), plan to spend as much time as you can gardening. Plant all the fruits and vegetables you want. Just make sure that it makes you happy. If talking to your grandchildren over the phone makes you happy, call them and video chat with them as much as you can. And if baking makes you happy, spend as much time as you can baking all the stuff you have a taste for.
Why am I telling you these things? Because life is too short to be anything but happy—especially when you take into consideration all the things that we have dealt with as a nation over the past nine months. Whatever you do, make sure you choose “you” and choose to be, happy.
Choose Happiness!
Pastor Michael L. Sloan
