There are two major divisions of Protestant churches, the Mainline and Evangelical. The term Mainline
refer to a group of churches that were the dominant denominations in early America: Episcopal,
Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and a couple of others. Evangelical denominations are Baptist,
Pentecostal, and many of the non-denominational mega-churches.

When I graduated from High School I started working part time at Sears as I went to a community
college. I worked in the hardware department, home of the famed Craftsman tools. All Craftsman tools
had a lifetime warranty. My “sales pitch” to customers was that the tools were guaranteed even against
loss. I’d tell them that if they lost one, just bring it in and we’d replace it.

On Sunday, August 4th, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of moving to the facilities we now occupy
as Church on the Bluff. We won’t celebrate like out 125th anniversary, but we will make it a special
day…with a covered dish meal afterwards. Plan on coming and bringing friends and neighbors!

Dictionary.com defines common sense as: “sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized
knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence”. Common sense is extremely useful in daily
living. However, I heard some say that common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s
garden.

There is an old saying that goes like this: “Be careful that you don’t throw the
baby out with the bath water”.  Back in the days when not everyone had indoor
plumbing, the mother would fill a large tub with hot water.  The children then
bathed, one at a time, beginning with the oldest.

Is Jesus a Socialist? Believe it or not, there are preachers, theologians, and other religious leaders who
claim that He is. The overwhelming number of those folks are false teachers striving to equate Jesus to
the liberal, leftist views of “progressive Christianity”.

I was reading the ingredients on the side of a package at the grocery store. It read: “noodles made from
scratch”. Aren’t all noodles made from scratch? In fact, isn’t everything made from scratch? Suppose
you purchase a box of cake mix at the market. All the dry ingredients that go into a cake are mixed
together…from scratch…you add the eggs and milk to finish off the mix, and then bake it. The whole
thing was made from scratch. You just took over the process at some point. You could honesty tell
everyone that the cake was made from scratch.

I have voted in 14 presidential elections. I did not always vote wisely, but over the years I have tried to
focus on the platform of a candidate, that is, the candidate’s policies and programs. What will this
candidate bring to the table when it comes to things that matter to me: Religious freedom, the
economy, traditional marriage, abortion, illegal immigration, inflation, racial issues, taxes, and so on?

I have voted in 14 presidential elections. I did not always vote wisely, but over the years I have tried to
focus on the platform of a candidate, that is, the candidate’s policies and programs. What will this
candidate bring to the table when it comes to things that matter to me: Religious freedom, the
economy, traditional marriage, abortion, illegal immigration, inflation, racial issues, taxes, and so on?

Several years ago, I talked with a man who told me that God had audibly spoken to him. Does God
speak to us in that manner; can we literally hear the voice of God? Honestly, I can’t say that God will not
audibly speak to someone…He can do what He pleases to do. But it is certainly a rare thing, and we
have to be very careful and discerning when someone claims to hear God’s voice.