Pastoring the flock with words. I love that. We always have a prayer time in the middle of our service. We take about eight or ten minutes before I preach, after we've sung, and invite people to come forward for prayer. That's a tender moment to me. I don't preach much in that, but I like to speak to the people.

God is recruiting for himself a people who will populate heaven.

We're all travelers, all sojourners.

You wonder if God has a place for a person like you. Find your answer in the Bethlehem stable.

Rather than seeking total control, relinquish it. You can't run the world, but you can entrust it to God. This is the message behind Paul's admonition to "rejoice in the Lord." Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord. Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord's sovereignty, as Paul did. Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

For those who never pray, maybe now you will. For those of us who attempt to pray, maybe we can pray more.

Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.