From the Pastor Mark Edmonson, a professor of English at the University of Virginia, writes, "My students are possibility junkies... they always strive to keep their options open, never to shut any possibilities down, which means they cannot commit to one thing.... Ask any American college student what he's doing on Friday night.Ask him at 5:30 Friday afternoon.'I don't k...

From the Pastor The Harvard Grant Study was done with the Harvard classes of 1938-40. The study followed 268 male Harvard undergraduates, those still living well into their 90's, and collecting data on various aspects of their lives at regular intervals, all to determine what makes for a happy and meaningful life.Boiling it all down, the message would be, "Love is all t...

From the Pastor Dr. William Dementis an American sleepresearcher and founder of the Sleep Research Centerat Stanford University.He is a leading authority on sleep, sleepdeprivation, and the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorderssuch as sleep apneaand narcolepsy.For this pioneering work in a previously uncharted field in the United States, he is sometimes referred to a...

From the Pastor "The Joy of Honesty" The pastor-author, Gordon MacDonald, likens preaching on Sunday mornings to walking down a long hotel corridor. He compares what we see of each other on Sundays to those doors down that long corridor. Behind the doors you pass, private real life things are happening that you can't see. Sometimes walking down the carpet you hear sounds...

"Freedom in Christ" The Fourth of July is all about freedom: fireworks, flags, parades, food, and John Philip Sousa songs. It's a wonderful blend of history and liberty, patriotism and pride. We remember and celebrate the birth of our democracy 242 years ago. The dream of what we could be as a country of free people became our new identity in this land of opportunity. Je...

From the Pastor "The Stories and Songs of Vacation Bible School" Beginning Sunday, and throughout next week, I get the feeling that Chestnut Level is going to be a surging river of children.The current will be moving constantly, guided by vigilant adult leaders determined that not one of their flock will be lost.And we will take very seriously Jesus's words that when one...

"Time With Dad" A few weeks ago after church on Sunday, I traveled over to New Jersey to spend the weekend with my father.During my time there, Dadand I went out to lunch at a popularhot-dogjoint called"TheGoffle Grill" in Hawthorne.You may not find that remarkable or even very interesting.After all, I've had plenty of lunches with my father, meals at the house, at otherr...

From the Pastor Last Saturday I was in Greensboro, North Carolina to preach the message at the funeral of my pastor-friend, Richard Cram.It was a wonderful service of music and memories, as we thanked God for Richard's life, and his life of faith in Jesus Christ. Here are excerpts of some of my remarks. Richard came to work for me at Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Gr...

From the Pastor Once upon a time there was a devout Christian who had a cat.Every morning he would get up and spend time in devotion.He read the Bible, meditated, and then prayed.This daily ritual meant a lot to him, and as time went by, his prayer sessions grew longer and more intense.The man's cat also enjoyed these prayer times.Purring as loudly as a tractor up at Buck...

From the Pastor It is always interesting to hear some of the final words of people down through history.In May 1864 in the heat of the Civil War, Union General John Sedgwick unknowingly uttered his last words, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist"He never got out the last syllable.He fell over, killed instantly by the bullet of a Confederate sharpshooter.Promoter P...