Category: The Pastor’s Column

BY SUSAN YOUNGOur Father’s House My husband recently had surgery on his hand. He has taken up bow hunting over the past several years, and in an attempt to save a five-dollar arrow after it got stuck in a target at practice, he...

BY PASTOR MIKE NEUSt John’s Lutheran Church Reading Eric Metaxas’ biography of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer recently, I was struck by his description of the National Socialist (Nazi) movement in the 1930’s to create...

By Rev. Stephen Hammond, Senior PastorBethel Community Church Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you,” Mark 10:49. The context of this portion of scripture...

BY REV. BOB GILBERGThe Olive Branch Community Church of Firebaugh G. Michael Hopf, author of the post-apocalyptic novel, “Those Who Remain,” wrote: “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create...

BY PASTOR SUSAN YOUNGOur Father’s House Put your foot down…but not with me. Make a decision already…but learn to go with the flow. Take some time for yourself…but be there for me. These statements came up for consideration after...

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...