Cold, hard cash is hard to find at my house these days. That’s not because of any economic downturn, but because my wife and I simply don’t use cash anymore. The checkbook is likewise getting dusty in a kitchen drawer. All our spending is by credit card.

So do my wife and I use our credit card to give our church offerings?

You may be scared to come to church next week. You may be angry that this could happen. You may be sad for the families and friends in that community. You may be worried about safety. I understand.

In this world, it may seem better to close our eyes and ears to the evil!  Horrendous evil struck Las Vegas and it fills the news and radio today.  Where is God?  Why?  What are we to learn? 

Here are some things to think about.

Many Christians have never been taught how to meditate on the text of the Bible. We have all heard many encouragements to read the Bible every day, but sometimes that feels like a chore rather than a joy.

During Bible study last Tuesday morning we talked a little bit about how to pray. There are many models and rubrics for prayer. The most important is the seven-part model given us by our Lord himself. It's not necessary to repeat the Lord's Prayer word for word, but you may expand each of the petitions to include more personal detail and context on any given day.

Here is another model—one of my personal favorites.