Posts by Andy Bratton
Here We Go Again
It’s that time of year when I get all kinds of text messages, and I see all kinds of commercials telling me who I should vote for. Lately, I’ve noticed that the candidates run their ads back to back on television. And, more often than not, they are telling me what’s bad about the other candidate as opposed to telling me what’s good about their candidacy. I recently was in a discussion with another pastor about baptism. We emphasize baptism here at KCC How COVID has affected us
Hey, Baldy!
One story from Elisha’s life I didn’t include in my sermon Sunday, but made mention of, was what took place right after Elisha saw Elijah taken up in a whirlwind. The first thing that happened was that some prophets came to Elisha and said, “And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up How COVID has affected us
Slamming Your Arrows
Today, in my daily Bible reading plan, I read in 2 Kings chapter 13 about King Jehoash, King of Israel, who went down to see the prophet Elisha before Elisha died. Israel was under attack by the nation of Aram. The king was pleading with Elisha for help. Elisha had the king grab a bow, and they opened the window. With Elisha’s hands on the king’s hands, they shot the arrow, and Elisha said it was the arrow of victory How COVID has affected us
The Kingdom Enemy
I was reading in my daily Bible reading today a story that took place between the time Saul was King of Israel and when David became King over all of Israel. Saul’s captain of his army was a guy named Abner, and David’s captain was Joab. In 2 Samuel chapter 2, it tells us of this moment when both men met at the pool of Gibeon. The pool of Gibeon is a remarkable structure. It was discovered in 12 B.C. The name or How COVID has affected us
There’s A Ghost Out There!
I heard a new term this week. It’s called “ghostworking.” Now, when I describe it for you, you are probably going to have someone come to mind from your past who definitely was ghostworking. It is described as someone who walks around the office carrying a notebook, looking busy, while being very unproductive, if productive at all. You know that person, don’t you? The one you end up doing his or her work for them because they don’t get it How COVID has affected us
Circum…what?
Our Anchored Bible studies this “semester” are focused on the book of Ephesians. And the church in Ephesus was dealing with this whole issue of Gentiles being a part of the body of Christ, the church. Jewish people at that time were not as excited that Gentiles were allowed to be a part of the family of God without following their traditions. Namely circumcision. Ephesians 2:11 says, “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the How COVID has affected us
Reels
I get sucked into watching these short “Reels” on Facebook when I am doing some mindless scrolling. Some of them are pretty funny. Some are a bit disturbing. Imagine the “Reels” that would have been made back in Biblical times. Adam and Eve working the garden. Noah doing a daily clip of building the ark for 100 years. Moses recording a daily clip of leading the Israelites across the wilderness to the promised land. Or how about Jonah in the belly of the fish? Daniel in the How COVID has affected us
Going All Out at Christmas
It’s that time of year! The stores are packed, the trees are tied down on top of the cars, Jamie has his lights illuminating half of Kalkaska, and Santa is coming to town. At church, we pull out the stops with music and decorations and kids’ programs. Personally, I turn into a different person. I want to shop and buy gifts. I start to get giddy with excitement as though I were in elementary school again. The question, of course, is why don’t we How COVID has affected us
The weather Outside is…
After the winter we had last year, I have been dreading winter this year. The snow started at Thanksgiving and just never stopped until Spring. It didn’t seem like we had any breaks at all. However, after contemplating it, I can’t do anything about it, so why worry about what will come? I have had seasons in life where I dreaded each day or the next project because I wasn’t sure what I would face. In fact, I would start How COVID has affected us
Insert Law & Order Song Here
My wife and I are in the habit of ending our days watching an episode or two of Law and Order. The first half of the show is about a couple of detectives trying to solve a murder and find a suspect. My favorite is Lenny. The second half of the show is about the prosecutor building the legal case and presenting the evidence to a jury in hopes of getting a conviction. As I sit here watching an episode, How COVID has affected us