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sarafinger

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So far sarafinger has created 484 blog entries.

A prayer for our work…

My position with the Foundation and Development Fund for the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference gives me a seat at the table of our Committee on Finance and Administration. At our most recent gathering, we faced the task of finalizing the 2026 budget that will be presented for review and approval at Annual Conference in June. John [...]

By |2025-04-24T19:18:40+00:00April 24th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

The In-Between

The four Gospels give us an extensive summary of what Jesus and his disciples did from their entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through that Thursday evening. We also have a painfully detailed account of the abuse, ridicule, and pain Jesus suffered through his crucifixion and death on what we now call Good Friday. However, the Gospels are [...]

By |2025-04-16T15:34:36+00:00April 16th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

Making the most of The Master’s week…

My family moved into our current home in 2009. The house was built in the late 1980’s and many of the plants in the yard were well established. One of our favorite features is a cluster of azaleas that sits between two large oaks in our back yard. The two weeks when they display brilliant [...]

By |2025-04-14T20:37:49+00:00April 14th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

The Almighty and the Ego…

“So, you’re a President and a CEO?” This slightly overstated question was posed to me with a touch of friendly, sarcastic inflection by a former associate in the world of broadcast media. For my first job out of college in 1990, I toiled in the sports department at a small market television station. I enjoyed [...]

By |2025-04-04T14:03:15+00:00April 4th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

When the Cross Shows up in the Crowded Ways of Life…

              How often do we wear the cross? Not a cross, but the cross. A cross might be a piece of jewelry, such as a necklace, symbolizing our faith as a Christian. Nothing wrong with doing that! However, it’s just decoration unless the words or actions of the one [...]

By |2025-03-21T14:11:47+00:00March 21st, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

Lent

The season of Lent is meant to be a time of self-examination, intentional spiritual discipline, and deepening of the holy habits that inform Christian living. The tradition of fasting, whether it be of food, some daily activity, or even restraint of unhealthy practices, is intended to remind us of our dependence upon God and our need to grow [...]

By |2025-03-10T21:09:44+00:00March 10th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

Generosity Hangs in the Balance…

When I was a teenager, I discovered a weekly column called “Thanks a Million” written by wealthy businessman and philanthropist Percy Ross. People who needed help would write to Mr. Ross explaining their situation and asking for financial assistance. Portions of the requests were included along with Percy’s rationale for his decision, which usually contained [...]

By |2025-03-07T14:29:27+00:00March 7th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

Let us not give up on each other…

I recently came across a 2022 story from the long-running CBS current events program 60 Minutes. The segment was about the betrayal of Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust. In 1944, Nazi officials were alerted to the specific location where young Anne and her Jewish family were hiding in Amsterdam. They were indeed [...]

By |2025-02-28T14:41:03+00:00February 28th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments

He’s After Your Heart

This Sunday many preachers who follow the Revised Standard Lectionary will use Luke 6:27-38 as their main text.  The words Jesus utters in those verses should convince anyone that being a Jesus follower is not just a matter of “believing” or having the “right” theology.  It involves living toward others, without exclusion, a life of [...]

By |2025-02-19T21:16:30+00:00February 19th, 2025|Blog|0 Comments