Dear Restoration,One of the more challenging sections of the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 10.23-33, which was our reading for today in the Resto Daily Prayer Guide.Here’s why it’s hard:Paul starts by quoting a cultural slogan, ‘All things are lawful’. A slogan- meaning, ‘This is what everyone is saying. This is the air we breathe. All things are lawful.’Ok, […]
Dear Restoration,”My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” James 2:1Every year, during the 3rd week of January, we set our gaze on the horizon of God’s righteousness and the work of His Kingdom as we honor the labors of Rev. Dr. […]
Dear Restoration,”Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)Happy 12th day of Christmas! As we transition from the season […]
Hi Restoration,The words of our Collect for Advent 1 have been guiding my morning prayers and ringing through my days: “…give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light…” Yes, Lord. May your light break into the dark places of our heart, our households, and this world. Yes. Amen.One of the […]
Dear Restoration,My dog ran away. Can you believe the irony of it? After preaching in my sermon on Sunday that we have a fenced yard because if he ever got out, he would be gone forever… and then the very next day. He ran. Fast. I saw him go and within seconds, he had turned a corner and was […]
Dear Restoration,The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)These words have been running around in my brain and in my heart since Sunday morning. Our fall retreat speaker, David Taylor, suggested that these 9 words, this single verse, represents the whole gospel in the book of Psalms and even the whole Gospel […]
Hi Restoration,We had a great parish meeting on Sunday. You can hear the audio and watch the slides on our YouTube Channel. Thanks to everyone who attended and thanks be to God for His faithful provision and guidance. Truly, there are many good things that are growing here.During the parish meeting, our senior warden, Brad Jones, […]
Good morning Restoration,As September draws to a close, my heart is full of thanksgiving for all that the Lord has done in our community this month. For example- the return of Kids’ Small Groups; the explosion of Apex attendance and excitement; the start of Alpha; the start of the Restoration Clergy Development Program and our […]
Dear Restoration, Be WillingI continue to pray for our willingness– both as individuals who are following Jesus and as a church that is wanting to be salt and light in the community around us. Our willingness precedes our discernment. May God give us willing hearts that bear the fruit that comes from faithful courage. Praying for the hard placesOur staff […]
Dear Restoration,I have been thinking so much this week about that question from my sermon last Sunday: ‘What would it be like to live as a led person?’ In our readings this week for the Daily Office, we read Psalm 37. There were 4 verbs that jumped off the page to me as I imagined living as a led person: delight, […]