Joseph’s Dream

Ready or not here comes Christmas, just four days away. We’re not surprised by the timing of Christmas – it tends to arrive about the same time each year. Since we know when Christmas is coming at some point we begin cleaning, sending cards, making or buying gifts, baking cookies and confessing our sins (because…

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Mary’s Dream

The context for today’s scripture is a meeting between two expectant mothers. Elizabeth is getting on in years and has never been able to have a child. Mary is young and not yet married. Both pregnancies are unexpected and unplanned by the people involved. It’s amazing how news of the same event – being pregnant…

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John The Baptist’s Dream

Unlike the other three gospels, in Matthew, John the Baptist bursts upon the scene without any preparation or warning. Whenever there’s a significant difference in how the gospels present a person, event, or story that gives us insight into that writer’s particular perspective or view. Matthew believes the action of God in history is often…

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Isaiah’s Dream

Today we begin the season of Advent, a season of marking the days as we remember the birth of Jesus and await the second coming of Christ. One of the words we associate most with Advent and Christmas is “peace.” “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” the angels say in the old King James…

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How to Be Thankful When You’re Not

With Thanksgiving coming this week, I’ve imagined myself being “one” with pastors all over the country who were doing the same thing I’ve been doing all week—praying that we can encourage our congregations and ourselves to grow bigger hearts of thankfulness beginning this Sunday. Probably every church in America is exploring some of the Scriptures…

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Running the Race

Do you have any traditions in your family that you enjoy? Do you know their origin – how, why, or when they started? In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, one of the best known songs is Tradition. The lead character, Tevye says, “Some people may ask, how the tradition get started? I’ll tell you…I…

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When Life Gets Messy

Good morning to you.  As many of you are aware, I am the new Executive Pastor at BBC.  I started in late August and things are going well.  I am enjoying the opportunity to be serving you and be on staff with such a great team.  I really enjoyed getting to know many of you…

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Surprised By God

If you had to choose, would you say you’re a person who likes and enjoys surprises, or do you prefer to know what’s coming? Some people enjoy surprises and others don’t; sometimes it depends on the nature of the surprise whether it is positive and nice or upsetting and even a little unnerving. One of…

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