~ by Dave KinseyAs someone involved in children’s ministry for all of my adult life, I have often referred to—or listened to someone refer to—one or two key passages in the New Testament where Jesus talked about children and used children as an example. In Luke 18:15-17 we read:Now they were bringing even infants to…

~by Dave Kinsey He couldn’t have been more blunt. I didn’t know quite how to reply to this twenty- or thirty-something year-old man. It was a bit of an awkward situation. We were in the men’s room at one of the churches in town. I’m not sure if he thought he was affirming me because…

~by Dave Kinsey While theologians could—and have—written volumes arguing whether or not Jesus is God, the testimony of Thomas the disciple seems to provide a simple and sure answer. Perhaps you will remember that Thomas was not with the other disciples the first time the resurrected Jesus appeared to them. That fact is recorded for…

-by Dave Kinsey I was out in my garage recently looking to use my band saw to make a little prop to tell the Christmas story at club. It wouldn’t work. I turned the switch off and then back on again. Nothing! Then, I noticed that the lights in the garage had gone out, too….

by Dave Kinsey “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 ESV In Papua New Guinea the tribal people have three gardens. One which has just been planted, one which is producing, and one which has already been harvested…

by Dave Kinsey You may know the hymn “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” (#355 in the green Celebration Hymnal). Most hymnals, including our hymnal at Bethel, have four verses, but there are at least two or three more. I discovered this one in my reading recently: But we make His love too narrow By…

“Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, should I not seek rest for you that it may be well with you?’”Ruth 3:1 After returning to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi, Ruth had worked in the fields of Boaz, “gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.” She had worked tirelessly to…

When Joyce and I were newly married, we had a friend who was the IVCF (Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship) staff in Western New York. One time he invited us to help with a weekend retreat for college and university students. Our job was to facilitate small group discussions throughout the weekend. Listening to them intently and…

Perhaps his misquote of John 3:16 showed more insight than was apparent at first. A Sparky recently gave this rendition: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should NOT PANIC but have everlasting life.”i Francois Lalonde, husband of our French Awana missionary, is now…

Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” A local potter invited us to bring our grandkids Emma and Kennedy to her studio to try their hands at making pottery. So, last week we went and while we were there I “heard” a word from the…