Fresh Start Posts

Be sure to check out our latest Fresh Start blog posts. They’re packed with insightful articles that will help you learn more about God and how you can grow in your faith.

  • 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your......

  • It’s amazing what you can learn about your relationship with Jesus from a Disney movie. The genie in the 1992 film “Aladdin” complains that the only time he’s let out of his lamp is when someone wants something. He explains that for about a thousand......

  • As a child of the 1960s, I was infatuated with the moonshot program. I got out of farm chores on July 20, 1969, so I could watch Neil Armstrong and Ed Aldrin walk on the moon. So, imagine my excitement when humans again traveled to......

  • I spent the past 26 Sundays with anywhere from 50 to 110 friends. This past Sunday, I said goodbye to them. As strange as this might sound, I pray that I will never see them again; at least not the way I’ve seen them for......

  • There is a passage in Mark 9 that may be one of the most perplexing in all the New Testament. The chapter opens with the Transfiguration. Jesus had taken three of his disciples to a mountain where they were exposed to the full glory of......

  • It’s been a week since Christ-followers around the world celebrated Jesus’ resurrection. So, let me ask you a serious question: One week later, is His tomb still empty in your life? Let me explain my purpose in asking that question. If we accepted Jesus Christ,......

  • If you ask me how I know, I know He’s real I could believe that He’s still with me In spite of how it feels If you ask me why I trust Him When it feels like everything has come undone All I can tell......

  • “Christians are boring.” “Christians never have fun.” “Christians are all about following rules and judging others.”  All three statements above are often voiced by some people who do not follow Jesus. Truth be told, many believers bear some responsibility for people of faith being painted......

  • As I write this post on Tuesday, Green Bay and much of the Midwest are digging out from two to three feet of snow (Green Bay received about 27 inches of snow). By last Wednesday, churches in the Green Bay area began canceling Sunday services.......

  • A few years ago, I was part of an informal gathering of men when a friend of mine shared that he was struggling with lustful thoughts. He was frustrated because, as he said, “I didn’t think I’d be dealing with that one at my age.......

  • “Return of Jafar,” the 1994 sequel to  “Aladdin,”  contains one of my all-time favorite movie lines. Jafar, now a genie, is pursuing the heroes when he is reminded that genies can’t kill anyone. He responds with: “You’d be surprised what you can live through.” I......

  • Some have called Bob Dylan a folk-rock prophet for his 1962 song “The Times They Are A-Changin.” The lyrics seem to forecast the turbulent years ahead in the then-young decade. While his 1979 hit “Gotta Serve Somebody” isn’t considered as culturally significant as “Times,” its......

  • The story I’m about to share is a prime example of how challenges we face in life can be perceived as problems that stymie us or opportunities to be blessed by God. The choice is ours! Samaritan’s Heart Mission Church opens its doors every Sunday......

  • I’d like to introduce you to about 100 friends of mine. They visit Samaritan’s Heart Mission Church each week. They are as diverse a group of friends as you would ever encounter. They are from varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, different geographic backgrounds and all......

  • I heard this poem recently in my Bible in a year program and I absolutely love it: “Two natures beat within my breastThe one is foul, the one is blessedThe one I love, the one I hate.The one I feed will dominate.” -Anonymous (Shared by......

  • In the past two years, the unhoused community has become a significant presence at Samaritan’s Heart Mission Church. We open our doors on Sunday afternoon to individuals who don’t have a warm place to go during the cold weather months. As I write this, we......

  • I was late out of the house for a breakfast meeting this week. It was just a few minutes, no big deal. Then it happened. I’m at a four-way stop. A young lady to my left goes straight. I made a left behind her and......

  • “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die,” The ghost of Babe Ruth in the 1993 movie “ The Sandlot.” It’s true that many sports heroes seem to live on forever: Ruth, Lombardi, DiMaggio, to name just a few.  It’s also true that a lot of......

  • I always get a kick out of those pictures that appear to be of different things, depending upon the angle at which you view them. It might be a young woman from one perspective, or a very old woman from another. Or maybe a horse......

  • I heard something recently on a Christian radio station that made me cringe…until I digested what the host had said. He mentioned that his pastor shared that Jesus isn’t really the reason for the season. You are. My initial thought was, oh boy, the last......