Posts with the tag “pastor-wil-staley”

1954 William Golding wrote a book about some well-educated English schoolboys who crashed into the paradise of a deserted island with no adult survivors. Many of you know this literary timeless classi...  Read More

One of the most entertaining parts of sports is the dramatic stories. Wimbledon 2001 was one of the most dramatic scenes in tennis history for a man named Goran Ivanisevic. The former 1992 Australian ...  Read More

The start of a new school year brings back personal memories of my own starts to a new semester. I remember being excited when I finally received my class schedule for a new school year. If you were a...  Read More

For a youth guy, this time of year is always associated with back to school. August-September time frame has all the implications of a new school year, which means new classes, new friends, new teache...  Read More

If you had to guess what the slang phrase "brown study" means, what would you say? Let me pause and tell you that you can't cheat and ask someone from Gen Z. Well you can, but they'd likely have no id...  Read More

As a kid, out of all things, I really enjoyed coloring. It was something that I often did with my cousins. We'd spend hours coloring and you could find coloring books and crayons pretty much all over ...  Read More

Where do you get your inspiration from? Do me a favor; I want you to take a deep 15-second diaphragm breath. You're going to inhale for six seconds, hold for two seconds, and exhale for seven seconds....  Read More

What's the best meal you've ever had and what made it so great? I think about the first time I had king crab legs and ate until I felt like I was going to explode. I am a huge seafood guy in general, ...  Read More

Do you have any embarrassing nicknames? The reason I specify "embarrassing" is because sometimes the more embarrassing the nickname is, the greater the story behind it. Between sports as a kid and the...  Read More

Do you have any physical scars? I mean like, significant scars that have somewhat become a part of who you are?  As a child, I was very injury-prone. I got hurt often and have many memories of trips t...  Read More

In life, we can all tend to not listen to warnings that are given to us by others. Especially when we want to do things our own way, because let’s be honest, we prefer to do things our way. There’s ju...  Read More

In 1981, a millionaire named Eugene Michael Lang visited a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these student...  Read More

I've never taken a ceramics class but I've heard they can be really fun. Many people have said that taking the "nothing" clay and molding into "something" is an enjoyable and relaxing experience. Funn...  Read More

Do you remember BASIC cable? Most of my students have no idea what that is but it's the TV programming package that you paid for to get a limited number of local channels. As a kid growing up, I didn'...  Read More

Each day this week we are releasing a video devotional from one of our pastors related to the Passion Experience - an online, interactive experience designed to help you meditate on the events of Jesu...  Read More

Jesus said some things that were pretty hard to comprehend. For example, at one point He said if you have faith you can tell a mountain to go jump in the ocean and it will do it. (Mark 11:23). I imagi...  Read More

There have been few things in my life that I have been devoted to. One of those things without question is the United States Marine Corps. During boot camp, every waking moment was spent dreaming of g...  Read More

I consider myself a pretty loving person. But honestly what Christian wouldn’t? If you don’t consider yourself a loving person you may need to go check the greatest commandment Jesus gave in Matthew 2...  Read More

What’s the last thing you argued or disagreed about with someone at home? Just between us, let’s admit something...families can be challenging. Actually, since I’m telling it like it is...people can b...  Read More

Am I the only one who thought Smarties candy would actually make you smart? I remember being 6 years old thinking I'd only need to take a Smartie a day ("Rockets" for Pastor Jim) and I'll be smart in ...  Read More

I have little doubt that if you've been following Christ for a significant amount of time that you've seen this verse before. It appears on cards, Bible journals, jewelry, and you may even have it han...  Read More

Forever is an interesting word. In fact, I'd say it's one of the most used, least understood words in our language. It's telling when we use phrases like, "best friend forever" or "I haven't seen you ...  Read More

We're all interested in the news nowadays, praying we hear something good. Most of the time we're proud to share the good news we have. Whether it's our children receiving an achievement, a new birth ...  Read More

Have you ever watched Grey's Anatomy? My wife Alexis loves that show and every time I watch it with her, one of the doctor's are always performing surgery on somebody. I've come to understand, a surge...  Read More

Shortly after I was medically discharged from the United States Marine Corps, a friend of mine, who I played volleyball with in high school, called me and asked me if I wanted to help him coach girls ...  Read More

Do you ever think about the word “Christ”? It's not Jesus’ last name. Jesus’ beloved disciple, John, compels us here to believe in Jesus as the “Messiah,” synonymous with “Christ.” What does that mean...  Read More

Do you still find yourself marveling at the work of God? Do you find yourself in awe of who he is? The Bible says in verse 12 that Peter was “marveling” at what he saw that Easter Sunday. What are thr...  Read More

Seek to Live in His LoveGod's love is a little different. It covers a multitude of sins...yours, mine, and others'. So we should aim to put on His love like a cloak that covers us from head to toe. If...  Read More

He is All Around UsGod is like a cocoon of light. His presence is with us regardless of if we notice or not. Many things distract us from noticing but one of the biggest distractions is our own worry....  Read More

Only one of Jesus’ disciples was with Him at the cross: John, along with several women who followed Him and His mother. The Roman centurion was the one to verbalize what they must have been feeling: J...  Read More

Jesus knew He was about to be ambushed. When we read about how He prayed all night that this “cup” would pass from Him, He was talking about the suffering He was about to experience of being separated...  Read More

In this passage, we see the beginning of the end. Jesus and His disciples had already eaten the last supper, and He was about to be arrested. Jesus obviously felt a lot of anxiety because He was about...  Read More

For the Christian, there are certain actions that are displayed as a result of God’s Spirit living inside you. One of those actions is kindness. In a time when the world needs it most, setting the cou...  Read More