Back to School Playlist
It’s labeled “Back-To-School” but really it’s just 18 songs loaded with gospel truth to get you going and ready to tackle what lies ahead in your day, no matter your stage of life....
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Reminder for members: Congregational Meeting tomorrow after worship
Because of our belief in the dignity of every believer being claimed directly by God as His child and indwelt by His own Spirit in Christ, a congregational vote is a time of real significance. What you believe matters....
Invitation to Congregational Meeting to call Brown Peterson as an Associate Pastor
“What can Brown do for you?” is an ironic tagline from a recent UPS ad campaign. As I consider what Brown Peterson can do for our church and our entire movement of the Gospel in Lakeland, I am excited and grateful....
How do you think about church leaders?
If you are still mulling it over, I want to encourage you that time is running out. You have until Sunday to submit your nominations. You can place your completed form in one of the offering boxes as you enter or exit the sanctuary....
All You Need Is Love
It was a sensation as a media first when they played their song live on TV in 1967. Their broadcast set records because of its first use of television satellites, garnering over 400 million viewers across five continents....
What are you doing Saturday morning, March 29th?
I know it can be more of a thing in climates where things are more closed up for colder winters. But I was surprised to learn that the history of the habit traces back to possibly two ancient origins....
Please pray for us
The Apostle Paul concluded his first letter to the Thessalonians with a hope and a request: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us.” (5:23-25)...
One voice out of millions
I’ve spoken to this before that if 100 years ago, the typical American could literally hear maybe a few hundred voices in their lifetime. The largest expansion of their circle came with the advent of radio! With that technological breakthrough, you could listen nightly to stories, the news, and maybe an occasional sports broadcast. Still, the voices that would shape your life, beliefs, dreams and possibly your nightmares were limited to the humans with whom you could physically interact. Plus, the voices on the radio....
Housekeeping at Trinity - and a Happy New Year
The origin of the term dates back to the 1500s, and it acknowledged that the work of living has an additional layer of work that is internal. There are the things that we think of as “going to work,” where we leave our homes, the places where we typically love to be. But the work we need to do in that space, housekeeping, is cleaning, de-cluttering, decorating even — work that typically helps us to enjoy it even more. ...
Presented without comment
"You can say that in all societies there has always been a mid-winter festival and that many of the trappings of our Christmas are almost violently pagan. But you come back to the central fact of the day in the quietness of Christmas morning – the birth of God on earth."...
A mysterious, hopeful communion
There is a compelling mystery in how people experience communion through pain. Shared sorrow and anguish can transcend class, race, and even politics to bind together people in profound ways — and in the Gospel, we even believe this applies to us and our God!...
Watching Our Children Succeed
As school is about to start back up, for some (like the office supply ad sings) “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” For most, it just gets busier. And for some, it is a life-changing moment. Some students head to school just down the street but for most headed to college, they are leaving home. THAT is a profound season of change....
Keep ReadingWhy Do We Do What We Do: Ordination
Many of Trinity’s members and regular attenders come from backgrounds other than Presbyterianism. Questions often come up about why we do what we do. One of the most common is related to church officers. Why do we have officers? How are they chosen? What do they do? Here’s a few thoughts on the ordination and installation of officers....
Keep Reading"You Can Trust Me"
An ever-present experience in summer is the parent in the pool coaxing their child to jump to them… I love the water, and I cannot count how many hours I spent in the pool urging one of my kids to jump to me. First, they would jump straight into my arms. Then they would jump to a landing that was half me, half water. Then they would jump into the water just shy of whe...
Keep ReadingThe Edge of Vastness
I was privileged to take a trip to the Grand Canyon last week. I drove out and back with my two youngest children, Abby and Campbell. It really was the trip of a lifetime, and what we saw was hard to express precisely because it was SO amazing. Many times we were simply dumbstruck ...
Keep ReadingShould We Partner With A Campus Ministry to Reach Our Area Campuses?
Dear Members Attenders, I want to ask you to please pray for us as our leaders assess a significant decision! I have asked our officers to assess if we are ready to partner with a campus ministry started within our denomination called Campus Outreach (C.O.). Specifically, a seminary-trained ministry leader David Springer would consider moving here to lead a number of m...
Keep ReadingTrinity's Roof Replacement Starts!
The weather has cooperated and our roof replacement began this morning, Thursday, June 22. The interior use of our building should continue uninterrupted. However, please use caution when parking in our lot by parking away from the building and closer to Tennessee Avenue....
Keep ReadingChildren's Ministry Announcement & Survey
Dear Trinity Members and Regular Attenders, I am excited to announce that we will begin a Kids' Worship program (or "Children's Church") for first through fifthgraders this fall. Over the past several months, I have been working to develop this plan through feedback from the parents at Trinity and by researching and visiting similar churches in our area. Once I secured ...
Keep ReadingIt's Hard to Keep A Good Man Down
This past Sunday I mentioned Stan McMahan's transistion and wanted to give you a few more details. Stan is a product of our ministry where, after graduating college, he started attending. Then as he grew in his involvement, he grew from being a member to training for pastoral ministry to being a staff intern to Associate Pastor to leading a church plant. And time flies w...
Keep ReadingEncouragement & Criticism
When was the last time someone criticized your work? And what is that like? Surely we learn from feedback; it helps to know how we can improve, even as it can sting. To learn how to work better is a good thing. So why can criticism be so hard?...
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