Third Sunday of Pentecost June 7
04
Jun
Meeting your neighbors Years ago, stable neighborhoods were friendly places where neighbors knew each other and socialized frequently. These days, few people know their neighbors, even in stable neighborhoods. As residential areas have been separated from shopping and office areas, many neighborhoods have become bedroom communities where people come home to eat and sleep. They shop, work, and attend school elsewhere. Few people sit on the porch or walk the neighborhood anymore. Where neighborhoods used to be filled with kids and they used to roam the neighborhood freely, there are often few kids and few roam the neighborhood anymore. We have become a mobile society where people live in a bubble and have few meaningful contacts. Members should be encouraged to get to know their neighbors. While many members think their neighbors have their own churches, very few do. There are probably neighbors who could use encouragement and support. Neighborhood Vacation Bible Schools, Bible studies, and children’s Bible clubs can help bring neighbors together. Small groups can become a door to attract neighbors to church or provide Bible teaching to those who attend church but whose church does not provide it.
Politics-AB-AN
04
Jun
They say that socialism will solve all our problems and make everyone happy but can’t explain why everyone is moving out of States dominated by socialists like California, New York, and others. People are leaving in droves. Almost 2/3rds of those who are still in Oregon have voted to separate from their State and join Idaho and 2/3rds of those who are still in California have voted to break away from their State and form a new State. Many companies have closed or pulled out of New York, California, and similar States due to high taxes and regulations. Forty five out of fifty three refineries in California have closed and most of the stores and businesses that we hear about closing are in States and cities dominated by socialists. That doesn’t sound like they are happy people.
Politics-AB-AM
04
Jun
My mother used to tell me that the proof is in the pudding while Jesus tells us that you will know them by their fruits. Many things look good but produce bad results and many things don’t look as good but produce good results. God wants what is good for everyone but our personal desire is to benefit me. Socialism promises that everything will be shared equal and that sounds good. But if you have six people and only one pie, no one will get all of it without taking it from the others. It will lead to fighting among the people. However capitalism says that if everyone contributes a pie, we have to give up a little, but everyone gets what they want and there is no fighting. They say that socialism benefits everybody because they get everything free but forget to tell you that you end up paying far more for it in taxes than if you buy it yourself. You just don’t realize you are paying more because it is hidden in taxes and you don’t see the real cost. The joke about the $75 toilet seat is not a joke. The government pays far more for things then if you bought it yourself. When I worked for the Area Agency on Aging, our agency paid a company $56 to mow a lawn when I could have got a company to do it for $15 or $20, but the government wouldn’t pay them because those companies didn’t have a contract with the government. It was so difficult to complete the paperwork for a contract that only very large companies could afford to do it. That is just for the goods and services. That doesn’t include the administrative costs which amount to about $3 for every dollar spent for goods and services.
Politics-AB-AL
04
Jun
God said He placed before us life and death and urged us to choose life. God told Adam and Eve that they could anything in the garden except the fruit from one tree and they would have eternal life. If they ate of that tree, they would die. Satan told Eve she could have that beautiful fruit and it would make her wise and there would not be any bad consequences. We face the same choice today. God has laid before us a plan to give us the best of this world but the powers of this world tell us that we can have the forbidden fruit and be happy without having any bad consequences. Their promises are as much a lie as those Satan told Eve. God’s ways lead to happiness and prosperity while the world’s ways lead to poverty and death. The media tells us that 3% inflation under Trump is bad while 8% inflation under President Biden was good. They also tell us that the economy was good under President Obama and President Biden when companies were laying off workers and moving overseas due to higher taxes and increased regulations and the fact that they spent millions of dollars on social programs to buy votes and funnel millions of dollars to their friends and their campaign funds. On the other hand, they are telling us that the economy is bad under President Trump where tariffs are bringing back jobs, decreased taxes and regulations are allowing businesses to expand, and the war in Iran is to prevent them from detonating atomic bombs in the United States. Like in the Wizard of Oz, you need to look behind the curtain and follow the money.
Second Sunday of Pentecost-May 31-Trinity Sunday
27
May
Trinity Sunday A-The Second Sunday of Pentecost is Trinity Sunday when Christians celebrate the Trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Jews dealt with God the Father through the priests and prophets, and occasionally through Angels sent to deliver messages. Then Jesus came in bodily form to show us the nature of the Father in a way we could understand. Finally, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to guide us and give us power in restoring the Kingdom of God. The disciples were transformed when they received the Holy Spirit and received power to go out and proclaim the Gospel. Many churches ignore the celebration of Pentecost as they no longer emphasize the new birth in Christ and lives of members differ little from unbelievers around them. The church needs to get a new sense of the changing power of the Holy Spirit.
Senior Citizen issues-L
22
May
The media continues to push the idea that Social Security will go broke in 2030 resulting in a drastic cut in Social Security benefits if something isn’t done to instill fear in Senior Citizens. Democrats continue to push their old idea about taxing the rich to solve our money problems when every time they get a tax raise, they go on a spending spree and spent the money before they get it. Currently, there is a cap on taxing income for Social Security. Above the limit, income isn’t taxed. The Democrats propose raising that limit. That sounds reasonable until you do the math. First, the amount gained would be small since few earn over that limit. It would not provide the income needed to erase the deficit between benefits paid out and taxes taken in, let alone cover the raise in benefits that Democrats promise with the tax increase. Second, since benefits are based on a percentage of income, it would result in the rich receiving higher benefits which would result in a temporary surplus until those workers retired when their increased benefits would eat into that surplus. Some have proposed a limit on benefits but that would change Social Security from a savings plan to a welfare plan and that would not sit well with workers. Many workers already view Social Security as a welfare program and see retired people as excess baggage that drains government funds, even though the Seniors paid into the fund with the promise that the funds would be there with interest when they retired. They are not responsible for the fact that Congress betrayed their trust and spent the money on welfare programs so Social Security now has to rely heavily on the money workers pay in.