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Every time we turn the leaf to a new year, we are hopeful that things will be different. We make New Year's resolutions, we gather together with family members, and we give blessings to one another, and we do all these things with reserved anticipation that this new year will be better than the...

In 2005, the late David Foster Wallace shared this parable: There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and...

Okay, here's an embarrassing confession from me. I’m a little more high-strung than I used to be. I get more worried. I fret over little things. I imagine worst-case scenarios when they really aren’t very likely. In fact, my daughter recently told me (politely) to chill out. She was...

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." John 12:23   "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Luke 12:40 "Moreover no man knows when his hour will come." Ecclesiastes 9:12 Recently, as my wife...

Imagine with me: It is now December 31, 2020. (Yes, 2020. Not 2019.) You are hanging out with a group of friends. Since you guys have known one another for years and you trust one another, your sharing is usually deep and honest. Now, it is your turn for your annual “year-end game.&rdquo...

In the new decade ahead of us, we will no doubt continue to see amazing advances in technology. Online news, blog posts, Facebook updates, and tweets will most certainly expand their influence. The ability to pay digitally by simply swiping a cell phone will increase, leading to changing...

You are thinking to yourself... What should I wear to the company Christmas dinner? The high school reunion Christmas gathering? And what about the Island ECC Christmas Eve service? Hmm... Perhaps the latest designer label with a dash of red, something sparkly with a hint of gold? Hmmmmm&hellip...

Since we’re on a Charles Dickens theme at Island ECC, I couldn’t help but think of one of his most memorable lines and scenes. In the story “Oliver Twist,” Oliver and the other children at an orphanage are only fed three bowls of thin gruel (like a very watery oatmeal...

Every year, Christmas comes and goes. Chestnuts are roasting on the streets of Hong Kong. Starbucks changes their cups. Decorations are taken out of boxes and hung around homes across the city.  People scramble to get gifts for their friends and family; meals are prepared for fellowship...

  Amos was raised in a Christian family. When he was 7, he felt the peace of God through when suffering a severe eye injury. After that God was good to him, giving him many chances to learn about Him, experience Him and to grow in his relationship with God. When Amos was older, he...