Pastor’s Pen

As a Christian, saved and destined to be a child of God for eternity, would the surrender of your earthly life be worth it to

In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus made a bold claim that has echoed through the centuries; an invitation to every

“May you live in interesting times” is a well-known curse. Our times certainly qualify as such, marked by constant political unrest, moral shifts, and societal

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of

May our God bless you richly in this season of giving!   In this season we remember the greatest gift ever given to man. In

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark

As I write this Pastor’s Pen I am also preparing for our annual Ash Wednesday service, which will mark the beginning of the Season of

In today’s culture, we think of this word in its negative definition. We think that to be condescending means to talk down to someone as

What does it mean to be poor? As a teenager living in Hong Kong, the shortest route home from school was through a crowded “cardboard

Luke begins his gospel with the account of a priest named Zechariah, and his wife, Elizabeth; and he begins by telling us two things about

What a joy it is for my family to celebrate another advent season with you, our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the 15

The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-23,  “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no

In Sunday School we have been talking about evangelism and how to share the good news of Christ with the world. One of the most

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life. James 1:12 (ESV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to

The Word brings with it all sorts of ideas and opinions and convictions. For decades the church haslistened to various teachers, musicians and leaders expound

This year, because of the ice storm, we were unable to gather for our annual Ash Wednesday service to receive the sign of the cross

Acts 11:26 “…..And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” What an interesting phrase from Acts 11! Barnabas and Saul stay an entire year teaching

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 What is the will

When we host a meal at our home, it is usually a joint effort between Sharon and me. Since I am the resident “aficionado of

Merry Christmas Beloved TCC Family! Christmas has always been a cherished time in the Torres household. Every year, as we celebrate and give thanks for

“Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” These words written

Before I address the title question, I would like to ask another question which has been asked by many self-centered individuals and that is “What’s

Jesus’ parable in Matthew 7:24-27 is about two men, one who built his house on the rock and the other on the sand. The “house”

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” What does this statement from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4 mean? Those who rightly handle

Being the season of the birthday of our nation, I thought I would address our nation. My title being “God Bless America.” I believe that

The summer before Sharon and I were married she was living with her parents in Auburn Hills and I was living with mine in Romeo.

The age we live in is an age of inconsistencies. We live with far more means to communicate than ever before and yet we seem

Allow me to back up a few years into modern history to what we have experienced and are still experiencing yet today. Throughout most of

We will celebrate Easter on April 17, and ponder again the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I am often struck by

Greeting Troy Christian Chapel! I’ve been thinking about lordship often lately. Looking back over my life, even in the 33 years of following Jesus—I can

Repentance is absolutely necessary, and is indispensable to salvation. Whenever this subject it taught or preached, it brings forth fruit. Faith in Christ is the

The turn of the year is a time for making plans. We take stock of the year that has passed, and we make commitments and

Greetings on behalf of the Enright family! As each year passes and Christmas increasingly becomes a celebration of lights and warm feelings, we are reminded

Merry Christmas beloved! Year after year when this season comes around again, I am reminded of how blessed my family is to call this body

You may ask the question, “What is the meaning of Christmas?” The late John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for

Galatians 5:13-26 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve

Have you ever thought about the nature of God or the attributes of Jesus Christ and tried to compare them with us? As ridiculous as

In Prince Caspian, the second of his classic “Chronicles of Narnia” books, C.S. Lewis describes a meeting between Lucy (the youngest of the children who

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

I’m special. In all the world there’s nobody like me. Since the beginning of time there has never been another person like me. Nobody has

We recently studied the account of Jesus cleansing the temple from John’s gospel (Jn. 2:13-22). John tells us that the temple was being used as

Matthew 20:25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great

The late President John F Kennedy, in one of his best-noted addresses to the people of the United States of America, said, “Ask not what

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight,

On December 7, the Enright family received a miraculous Christmas gift, by the name of Rowan Dailey Enright. He weighed 8lbs., 9oz., and in the

Another year has come and gone and many of the aspirations we had have fallen short. We just did not get the job done, so

In Psalm 8, David asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” His

Merry Christmas Beloved! What a year 2020 has been. I pray that all of us have seen God use this time to prepare us to

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone and so many things have transpired to us as a congregation that we feel

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the

In my mind, one of the most moving descriptions in Scripture of the character of God is provided by Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Sarah.

When I served as Assistant Pastor in Spencerport, New York, there was this one teenage boy who picked up an annoying little habit that he

When we think about love, it is good to consider what love is. As complex as we think it is, love is very simple. God

The book of Deuteronomy is a record of the final words of Moses to the people of Israel. For forty years he had led them,

In situations like we are facing in our world today, we usually are reminded of 2 Chronicles 7. We usually quote verse 14, but I

We are all creatures of our thoughts. Whether we like it or not. Our thoughts spill into our actions. Our thoughts, private though they are,

Certainty is in short supply these days. Over the past several weeks, most of our lives have been turned upside down in ways we could

About seventeen years ago, while I was driving down the highway, I was taken by surprise because of what was happening. As I approached an

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This season closes a year of rehabilitation of my injuries which I had incurred from my accident over a

Merry Christmas Troy Christian Chapel! What a privilege it is to write you these words once again. The Torres family has always loved the Christmas

In 1864, Emily Elliott penned the words to a hymn that has since become dear to many, especially at Christmas time: “Thou didst leave Thy

Luke tells us that one of the requests the disciples made of Jesus was that he would teach them to pray. In his response, Jesus

My article this month is a spin-off of Pastor Brian’s message a few weeks ago, Every Follower is a Fisher. I spent several years of

Jesus the troublemaker. Not usually the title we as Christians attribute to our Lord, is it? Today we are finding that when you interject the

There’s an awful lot of groaning going on in Romans 8:22-26! Paul says that all of creation has been groaning, as if in the pains

Those who know me would know at a glance that this is the title of one of my favorite hymns of the church. What also

2017 and 2018 have been very memorable years for the Torres family. Stress and struggle on so many different fronts have come our way. But

The present Chapel Chat is an unusual one for me. Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount is one of the most well-known parts of Scripture, and

Hope is one of three graces that Paul uses quite frequently in the books of Romans, Corinthians and Thessalonians. These three graces faith, hope and

We live in a time when self-expression is rampant! Online communication has given every individual the opportunity to share their opinion. Blogs, forums, message boards,

In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus made a bold claim that has echoed through the centuries; an invitation to every

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This season closes a year of the most significant developments within the history of my life, culminated with the

“He came to his own, yet his own received him not” (John 1:11). The Jews of the first century were a hardened people. Weary from

Merry Christmas TCC Family! What a year 2018 has been! This year has been a very difficult one for Dawn and Isaac and myself. So

When Luke described the ministry of John the Baptist, he characterized his ministry with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling

All of us have a basic human need to understand who we are. When we are young, many of us are inclined to identify ourselves

We all realize that the Psalms, generally in a poetical manner were Scripture, sometimes with harmony that encourages us to come into worship as we

“That was good sermon.” That is a loaded statement. It holds many more connotations and questions. How do I personally measure what makes a sermon

Over the past year or so, a feral cat has visited our back door on a regular basis. She is uncanny in her ability to

Is life a journey or a playground? A journey has a destination, and it has a road that leads to that destination. A playground doesn’t

“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and

After viewing the movie, The Passion of Christ, several years ago, I realized how little I really knew about what Jesus went through as he

If there is one word that could characterize our universe, it would have to be “mystery.” Advances in science have shed light on the fascinating

Recently, my wife asked me to do something and I didn’t do it. A little later, I asked my son to do something and he

Twenty years ago on March 19, 1998, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of Troy Christian Chapel, known then as Oak Park Christian

January is upon us once again. The first month of the new year. A time of promise, of new beginnings, of resolutions. There is something

Divine revelation has declared marriage to be honorable. It is an institution of God, ordained in the time of man’s innocence, before he had sinned

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves,

What are we to make of the presence of holy war in the Scripture? When the descendants of Jacob came out of Egypt, they were

Who is God? This question defines our very existence. With our culture’s popular opinion straying further and further from biblical values, this question is being