Category Archives: In A Nutshell

Faith Over Foolish Superstitions Are you superstitious? Some people are over the top in that regard. Others pay little or no attention, but because today is Friday the 13th, perhaps we could take a look at what it is that causes us to avoid broken mirrors, cracks in the sidewalk, and walking under ladders. WhenContinue reading “In A Nutshell | May 13, 2022”

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes Empathy is a powerful human emotion, but none of us really knows what it is like to “walk in another person’s shoes.” It becomes even more difficult when we try to imagine what it’s like to travel about with no shoes at all. Most of us have at leastContinue reading “In A Nutshell | May 6, 2022”

Surrendering to the One True Superhero I was never really a big fan of the Marvel Superhero Comic Book series, although several of the guys in my neighborhood were voracious readers of the franchise. In fact, one of them was a talented artist and even created his own storylines. As for me, I preferred toContinue reading “In A Nutshell | April 29, 2022”

Worth a Visit Life in ministry brings all sorts of responsibilities — one of the most important of which is visitation. Whether someone is housebound, hospitalized, in an assisted-living facility, grieving, or imprisoned, pastors are expected to visit, encourage, provide companionship, and lift up others through scripture and prayer. These types of visitation are oftenContinue reading “In A Nutshell | April 22, 2022”

Strangers in the Night One never knows who or what might be encountered in a church parking lot, especially after dark. Here at Oak Chapel United Methodist, which sits at the confluence of two busy roadways, we’ve had crows, cats, and all kinds of other critters, but we’ve also had visits from a wide rangeContinue reading “In A Nutshell | April15, 2022”

What Happens When Something Spills? We’ve all heard the old saying, “Don’t cry over spilled milk.” What it means essentially, is that there’s no reason to be upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed. Ha! Easier said than done. There are countless examples in life when we spill something — literallyContinue reading “In A Nutshell | April 8, 2022”

Fool for Christ “Everybody plays the fool sometimes; there’s no exception to the rule.” So goes a line from a one-hit wonder from The Main Ingredient in 1972. Indeed, we’ve all found ourselves looking or sounding foolish at one time or another. No one wants to be in that situation, but it’s part of life.Continue reading “In A Nutshell | April 1, 2022”

Adjusting to our Blind Spots With the many enormous advances in automobile technology, why do we still have blind spots when we try to change lanes? Surely, our brilliant automotive engineers could have come up with something to overcome that. Some say that if the sideview mirrors are properly adjusted, there are no blind spots;Continue reading “In A Nutshell | March 25, 2022”

Faith Often Calls for Clear Thinking, Quick Action It was a rainy, foggy morning in March of 1974, just three months before our high school graduation. My friends and I were on our way to the bus stop, chatting about who knows what, when we came upon a frightening sight. One of our classmates laidContinue reading “In A Nutshell | March 18, 2022”

Opportunities to Re-Engage with the Word of God  Now that we are becoming a little more comfortable gathering together in small groups, I would like to make a pitch for Christian Education at Oak Chapel. We currently have two Sunday School classes and one Bible study, but we hope to expand our offerings in theContinue reading “In A Nutshell | March 11, 2022”