As a young adult, one of my favorite bands was the Grateful Dead. The band had a hippie reputation that some folks saw as deviant and rebellious. However, the lyrics to many of the songs referenced a spirit of shared sufferings and shared life experiences. There was a message of hope that ran through the lyrics. Recently, I discovered a book entitled…

This week I read an interesting article offering a positive, hope-filled vision of the Christian faith despite so much negative news. The author states, “What if we saw Christianity not as a fragile artifact to be clung to and defended but as something waiting to be made?” In other words, Jesus is alive and guiding us into a future that we, as…

Hurricane season is upon us, and I am grateful that Florida did not see the level of destruction that some folks feared that Idalia would bring. Reflecting on the process of preparing for a storm, I see several encouraging faith lessons. First, changing events can and do require that we adjust our plans. Secondly, the ability to pivot and adjust with minimal…

I have been pleased to see a number of new faces at worship the past couple of weeks. I am offering a new member class starting Sunday, September 10, 2023. That is the Sunday when we will have “pizza with the pastors” after the 11amservice. The September 10 time together will be very informal, with the goal of getting to know each other better. Anyone interested in membership…

Last Sunday we had 112 people at the 9:00am service and 96 people at the 11:00am service! This is something to celebrate! I was pleased to see many of our preschool teachers and our families with children in worship and during our back to school bash. With school back in session in Brevard County, I pray that our worship attendance at both services continues to grow. We…

I have a dream. What if this coming Sunday, August 13, 2023, we have the highest in-person worship attendance that we have had so far this year at Grace? We start the 2023-2024 school year this week in Brevard County, so this Sunday is the best time to worship and pray for teachers, students, parents, and all school personnel. My family calendar has revolved around…

Every week at Grace, near the end of our worship services, we celebrate holy communion. Recently, I read an article about how we approach holy communion in light of Paul’s admonition from 1 Corinthians to “let a person examine himself.” The meaning of this line, in context, is not to examine whether we are morally worthy to receive the gift of holy…

Recently, I read an article about waiting. We all get plenty of practice waiting, whether in traffic, at the doctor’s office, in the grocery or gas line, or in a variety of other situations. Yet most of us hate waiting. While waiting, we may get anxious and try to make things happen in our time rather than in God’s time. We tend…

Recently, I have been reflecting upon how distracting it is to focus on events of the past and plans for the future. Personally, regrets from the past and ambitions for the future both make it difficult to focus upon my present life circumstances. Yet when I fully embrace life moment by moment, I am able to trust that the Holy Spirit is…

This Gracevine will cover the next two weeks because several of our staff members are taking well-deserved vacation days. As we approach the July 4 holiday, it is a good time to think about the meaning and purpose of freedom. We celebrate our nation’s founding and history on July 4th, and usually we express gratitude for our freedom. Why is our freedom so valuable? What…