Category: The Pastor’s Column

BY MICHAEL NEUSt. John’s Lutheran Church We must share Christ’s Passion if we are to be true followers of Jesus Christ. His death is our death. His Passion is our passion. His suffering is our suffering. If we truly say we are...

Father John Schmoll St. Joseph’s Catholic Church This past Sunday (Passion “Palm” Sunday), in the Roman Catholic tradition, we listened to the Passion of the Lord from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. I invite...

By Rev. Stephen HammondBETHEL COMMUNITY CHURCH “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one...

REV. BOB GILBERGOlive Branch Community Church of Firebaugh I grew up on the south side of the San Francisco Bay Area. I was raised in a small town on a cul-de-sac with many neighbors and children. When I was ten years old, my...

PASTOR SUSAN YOUNGOur Father’s House “On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the...

By Pastor Mike NeuSt John’s Lutheran Church Lent is upon us, a season of fasting. Giving up certain things during this season is supposed to honor the forty days Jesus fasted in the desert. Moses fasted forty days as well....

BY FATHER JOHN SCHMOLLSt. Joseph’s Church, Los Banos Last Wednesday, as you may know, was Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of the season of Lent. It specifically commemorates the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert. While...

BY REV. BOB GILBERGThe Olive Branch Community Church of Firebaugh I have said it before and I will say it again, getting old is not for sissies. A few years ago, my father was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. Because of...

FR. JOHN SCHMOLL, St. Joseph’s Catholic ChurchContributing Writer The presidential inauguration just occurred a few days ago. Whether you voted for the winner or loser isn’t important. What’s important is that we come together...

BY REV. STEPHEN HAMMONDSenior Pastor of Bethel Community Church “God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us...

Rev. Bob Gilberg, Olive Branch Community Church of FirebaughContributing Writer I hope your Christmas and New Year holidays were meaningful and blessed. For some, your gatherings may have been small and intimate. For others,...

By Pastor Susan Young, Our Father’s HouseContributing Writer Happy New Year! Last week, a dear friend and co-laborer in the Kingdom, Bishop Murray  Galloway, texted a quick nugget, “We can’t conquer what we don’t confront...