Breaking News

Religion

Facing our fear and our anxiety

As children we often have certain things that may bring us fear. Mine was fear of the water. My dad tried and tried to get me to swim in an old swimming hole near the little town I grew up in. But I never learned because I was too fearful. Some of us are afraid of the dark. As we get older, we still have fears, but they may now be rejection, isolation, health issues or fear of people. The last few years of the pandemic have been very fearful times as we experienced isolation, death and suffering. Illness, relationships, job pressures all bring their own fears and concerns. Now, many ...

Not all scripture applies when talking about church growth

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God – II Timothy 3:16 In our brief study of church growth, we have now laid the foundation. The inerrant, infallible Word of God, which was first given to the prophets, apostles, and men of God, is to be our guide. Christ, the very Son of God is to be the head of the church. There is no higher law than that which came directly from the mouth of God through His Son. When we study a topic or subject like church growth, we approach the translations we have as if they are accurate. But when we run into poor translations or the misuse of words, ...

Tree of life signifies more than immortality

By Samuel L. Boyd University of Colorado Boulder THE CONVERSATION After weeks of wrenching testimony, jurors delivered a guilty verdict June 16, 2023, for the gunman who killed 11 worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 – the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The next phase of the trial will focus on sentencing, and whether Robert Bowers should face the death penalty. The name of the synagogue, Tree of Life, has almost become shorthand for the tragedy. Yet it highlights a symbol from the Bible that has transformed over time, coming to represent how the human ...

Religion Briefs

Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Tom Laub at (717) 248-6741 or by email at living@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth St., Lewistown, PA 17044. Items must be received by Tuesday for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ••• First Bakers UMC to host Bible study LEWISTOWN — First Bakers United Methodist Church will host a Bible study every Wednesday ...

And then Jesus came

Matt 9:9-13 The money was good, but was the job worth it? Matthew had a loathsome job--working for Rome, taxing his fellow Jews. Tax collectors were social outcasts. Devout Jews avoided them because they were usually dishonest. The job carried no salary. They were expected to make their profits by cheating the people from whom they collected taxes. Patriotic and nationalistic Jews hated them because they were agents of the Roman government and hated them with a double hatred if (like Matthew) they were Jews, because they had gone over to the enemy. They were betraying their own ...

Anxiety-free living

In Luke 12:22-25 you will read some very familiar phrases. Phrases like ‘do not be anxious for your life’, ‘consider the ravens’, ‘consider the lilies’, ‘seek the kingdom and these things shall be added unto you’, where your treasure is there your heart will be’. This text is an almost direct parallel to another passage starting in Matt.6:19 to the end of the chapter. What makes this text so fascinating to me is a statement repeated by Jesus three times: v.22 “Do not be anxious’, v.29 ‘Do not keep worrying’, and v.32 ‘Do not be afraid.” So we could title ...