Bananas

Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. ESV I love bananas. Bananas are delicious when they are ripe and have a unique taste that I love. Also, bananas have certain benefits to my health. For instance, unripe […]

Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. ESV

I love bananas. Bananas are delicious when they are ripe and have a unique taste that I love. Also, bananas have certain benefits to my health. For instance, unripe bananas have a lower sugar content and a higher starch content, which makes us feel full. Another benefit is that they also are rich in probiotics, which help with colon health and our ability to absorb nutrients faster. Now, a ripe banana with brown spots has a high content of Tumor Necrosis Factor that helps fight abnormal cells in the body. Essentially, it means that a ripe banana can help fight cancer. One more benefit of ripe bananas is that they have high levels of antioxidants, which boost the immune system, digestion, anti-aging effects and anti-inflammatory effects. Bananas provide benefits to many parts of the body.
The same is true with you, in relation to our church body. Like bananas, we also go through different stages in life, and we forget that we can be of great benefit to so many people. Don’t think that because you are too young (unripe), you can’t be of benefit. And don’t think that because you are too old, you can’t help anyone. God can use us in any stage of our lives to help those around us.

Community Connections

A couple of weeks ago, I shared two opportunities that we had to connect with people in our surrounding communities. We had booths representing the church at “Hay Hoover” and Pelham’s “Fall Fun Day.” By taking advantage of these opportunities, we were able to connect...

Permission to Wonder

In the 6th grade classroom there is a large metal envelope hanging on a bulletin board, and the students know that during bible class, anytime they have a Bible / religious question pop in their mind (whether related to the topic of class, or not), they can go and...

Kidmin 101

This past Sunday night, I shared five core values that our Children’s Ministry is founded on. These values are what helps keep each event, activity, and class in line with our overall mission. The core values are: 1. Know: Our children will learn to know God and the...

Faith On a Shelf

I have this hat that my dad brought back to me from a business trip to Atlanta when I was 9 or 10 years old. You can see that I’ve worn it a lot. In fact, I wore it to just about everywhere I went during the summer when I was a kid. Church camps, grandparents’ house,...

“Jesus Loves Me”

After being led in this song by two of our young men Sunday night, I was reminded of a quotation from Karl Barth. On April 23, 1962, Karl Barth (the renown 20th Century Swiss-German, neo-orthodox theologian) spoke at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University...

That’s Not a Candle

Several years ago, there was story shared about a woman from Connecticut whose power had gone out during a storm. She left her house to go to a local hardware store to purchase some flashlights, but the store was closed. She returned home and found what she thought...

The Post-Christian Problem

I attended the New Day Conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at the end of last week with a small group from Riverchase. It was a good conference and I left encouraged about the opportunities we have to fulfill the call of Christ to make disciples. On Friday evening,...

Josiah’s Reform

In the thirty-one years of his rule, King Josiah proved to be a faithful man of God and a great king of Judah. He served God from the beginning as a young king and grew into a greater understanding of God’s will and a determination to follow that will. He made a...

You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat You’ve heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Simply defined, it means that you should eat healthy if you want to be healthy. This phrase can trace its roots back to the early 1800’s. It came from the 1826 work The Physiology of Taste, in which...

It Is Well

Above the piano in our house is a large wood sign with the phrase, “it is well with my soul” on it. Kimberly and I purchased it during a season of our life together where we were not completely sure what the future had in store for our little family. Since then, the...