Pastor Tom's Community

  God has this great "thing" for the poor and oppressed. Don't take my word for it. He upholds the causeof the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,  the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.…

" And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.'” (Matthew 12:7-8 ESV) Shadows are shallow shades of  deflected light imitating substance. They are a sub-reality reflecting a more tangible reality which may,…

He won no popularity contest that day, but He did define His mission without ambiguity and with utmost clarity: * to proclaim good news to the poor.* to proclaim liberty to the captives* and recovering of sight to the blind,* to set at liberty those who are oppressed,*to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”…

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11, ESV We don't like discipline much and that is fine. It is painful. We like pleasant things. When we allow our preferences for that which…

Romans 12:12 – Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Part 1– The Forward View Discouragement has met its match. Romans 12:12 has a devastating affect on discouragement by wielding a weapon I call "The Triple Threat." It is a formula and I am generally suspicious of formulas. However, this one is…

If we don't want change, all change is intimidating. George Carlin said he put some money into one of those change machines and nothing happened. Sometimes, I'd be happy to find a change machine that actually produced transformation in any number of areas of my life and community. That is one of the appeals of…

We are poor and needy. We can never justify despising the broken heart. We are known, helped, and delivered. We are far more beloved than we know.

Focus is what we so often miss. as our eyes dart in multiple directions. We cannot seem to stay on theme, on message, or on task. We create alternate realities with alternate facts and individualized interpretations of the indisputable realities all to maintain some comfort with our paradoxically static stasis. We want direction, strategy, a vision,…

  We are all from somewhere and …Somewhere along the line our people have been invaded, oppressed, enslaved, and, victimized or …Been invaders, oppressors, slave "owners," and those who victimize … or/andBOTH! AND/OR/AND … looking for a place of opportunity and willing to contribute to the community where we have settled down. God, forgive us…

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;but let them not turn back to folly.Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,that glory may dwell in our land. - Psalm 85:8-9 ESV I can pray to hear and I do.I can embrace the…