Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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About 2,000 years ago, Jesus was crucified on a cross on a hill called Golgotha. Scripture records in John 19:30 that after about six hours of intense pain, humiliation and suffering, Jesus cried out, “‘It is finished’ and gave up his spirit.” Our understanding of what Jesus meant by “it is finished” hinges upon our understanding of who Jesus really was and is. Did Jesus mean to say that his run of popularity was over and all he had been trying to do was over? Most certainly not, for three days later he proved this theory false when he onc...
The experience of God’s grace has been one of these controversial topics that has been debated, argued, abused, misunderstood, and caused many a rift between believers of all kinds. Throughout centuries past, and even in today’s theological discussions, there seems to be a tremendous tension within the Christian Church about God’s gospel gift of grace as it relates to law and love, faith and works, spirit and truth, grace and obedience. I ask the thought question: Why is there so much confusion concerning God’s Salvation through a relatio...
Easter is rapidly approaching. Many people think of Christmas as such, but Easter truly is the High Holy Day of Christianity. Many other religions have a leader who was born on a certain date, but we are the only ones who have a Savior who arose from the grave! In Him, we too should “R.I.S.E.” Jesus is our Righteousness. I Corinthians 1:30 (KJV) “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. …” Man can never achieve a level of righteousness on his own that is accepta...
If you travel to Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem, you’ll discover that it is now surrounded by an Orthodox cathedral. The spot on which he was laid is way down in the bowels of the building. To get to it, you must descend a narrow, steep, cramped and dark stairwell made out of stone into a tight, silent, and dark room about the size of a small living room. This small sanctuary is usually ablaze with candlelight from numerous votives. His tomb isn’t much different. To get into it, first you have to descend a slippery, dark and wet slope down into...
Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Palm Sunday where, traditionally, the church has fasted, done heart examination and repented of sin. Lent mean’s “slow down.” Slow down? I’m not sure that is in our vocabulary. Sometimes, I have to schedule a “slow down” on my calendar. We all should. Lent is like a regular “heart checkup.” People with weak hearts need a regular checkup at the Doctors as we need to check our hearts during Lent. Are we following the right plan or the “right” plan, God’s plan for us? Lent is like a “Spiritual New Year...
The documentary film, titled “When God Left the Building,” will be screened on Sunday, March 1st at 2 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2305 San Marino Road, Sidney. Following the film, Holy Trinity, will host a 20-minute live discussion. The film reveals the decline of the American church and focuses on the current spiritual climate. “The American church as we know it is dying,” said producer Thom Schultz. “What was once the heart and soul of the community is going away. We wondered why, and we wondered what’s next.” According to... Full story
Most of us as parents have taken family car trips with our children and heard these impatient words: “Are we almost there yet? When will we get there? How much longer will it be?” Often those agonizing questions are asked when there is still a long way to go. Parents then try to assure their kids that even though it might seem long, it won’t be too long. Life for us as God’s children can be like that, too. As we deal with real life circumstances in our journey of faith, from time to time we will ask the Lord, “How long, how long will it be?” I...
Valentine’s Day is about over and hopefully we didn’t neglect to show the people we love and those around us how special they are to us and to God. It was easy for me to assure my family of my love for them. Each year they look forward to my heart-shaped Swedish sugar cookies with the pink butter cream frosting and each special loved one’s name written on top. They know those cookies are a labor of love. Their appreciation, love and hugs bring me great joy. More importantly, God assures us of his love everyday. 1 John 4:16 reminds us, “We h...
It doesn’t seem possible that one month of 2015 is already behind us. The beginning of a new year always seems to begin with a note of excitement as we ponder what the year before us might have in store. However, the excitement always becomes tempered as we arrive at Jan. 22. This is the date in 1973 when abortion became legalized in this country with the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade. This decision legalized abortion in this country. The Christian tradition teaches us that all of human life is sacred and deserves protection. Human l...
Today, I’d like to bring to your attention an article that appeared in the Jan.-Feb. edition of Touchstone magazine. The article was written by Dr. Randall B. Smith, a professor who holds the Scanlan Foundation Chair in Theology at St. Thomas University in Houston. Professor Smith’s article is called “The Coming Perfect Storm.” In it, he discusses five points that I quote here: •The cheapening of the notion of religious conscience into a type of feeling •The loss of a proper sense of moral good such that the burden of proof has shifted fro...
Imagine this if you will! Before the Grand Canyon was formed. Before the sun rose in the East and sets in the West. Before the mountains were formed. Before creation began – even before running water – if you can even imagine. We were on God’s mind. In fact, we were in his heart. God the divine architect created each of us in the total design of his plan of creation and salvation. We are so special to Him, we were made in his very own image. That means when you get to heaven, you will not be surprised when you see God. He looks like us! Or ra...
Compiled By The Sidney Sun-Telegraph Staff These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons. 50 years ago Jan. 22, 1965 'Pair put on probation for check thefts' Two Sidney youths have been placed on probation after admitting the theft of a check, forging an endorsement on it and cashing it. Cheyenne County Judge Sydney Finch ordered Edward Ribera and Gary Goen to be placed on probation...
“... Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” Mark 1:14b-15 Peter Mayer, Lutheran song writer and “Parrothead” who plays with Jimmy Buffet’s band, sings a song called, “God Is Loose in the World.” It reminds those of us within the church, we who often times spend too much time inside the building, that God is indeed loose in the world. If you want to see what God is up to, then you have to look at more than the inside o...
Did you hear the story about the small boy swallowed who some coins and was taken to a hospital? When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.” Or did you hear about the two silk worms who had a race? They ended up in a tie. Over at the High School, one of the teachers confiscated a rubber band pistol from one of the students in an algebra class. It was a weapon of math disruption. Another joke for math students: The roundest knight at King Arthur’s roundtable was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too...
The school year was coming to an end and Margie and Tommy, best friends with Cindy and Denny, thought it would be a great idea to invite them to go with them to Grandpa and Grandma’s farm for the summer. After a long drive and a good night’s sleep, they all woke up to the farm sounds of the roosters crowing, cows mooing, and the great smell of breakfast. Everybody gathered around the table as Grandpa had a little devotional and prayer before breakfast. Following breakfast, Grandpa got everybody together for a little farm meeting, to go ove...
Christmas Day is past and we are now into the 12 days of Christmas, which leads us to the church season of Epiphany on Jan. 6. Epiphany is traditionally celebrated as the time the Magi arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus. A favorite Epiphany hymn is “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” The words of the chorus are: “O star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright; Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.” The Magi were compelled to follow the star to the King that had been foretold. You probabl...
I love Christmas music. I just listed to Alvin and the Chipmunks singing of “Christmas Cheer.” Then I found the dog’s version of Jingle Bells. Amazing! They bring back memories of good times past. Christmas is supposed to be a happy, joyous season. We read of the angel’s visit to the shepherds of long ago and the glorious song of peace. We dress up our children in old bathrobes and let them act out the Christmas Story. We turn on the TV and see Scrooge redeemed, and Jimmy Stewart discover again his “Wonderful Life.” It’s a happy joyous season...
How well do you know the true story of Christmas? Did Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem to pay taxes? Did Mary ride on a donkey because it was too difficult for her to walk? Did an inn keeper tell Joseph and Mary that there was no room for them in the inn? Did they spend Christmas night in a stable surrounded by animals? Did angels sing about the glory of God in the night time sky for a group of shepherds? Did noisy cattle wake up the sleeping baby Jesus who did not cry? Did three wise men come to the stable and see Christ lying in a manger? Did...
We don’t like to wait, do we? I mean, we Americans. And especially when it comes to Christmas. Wait till the night of Dec. 24 to start celebrating Christmas? No way! So the Christmas catalogues started coming – when, the day after Labor Day? Then came the Christmas movies, some came out Nov. 4. The Christmas radio stations: “Santa Baby” was “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” already a couple of weeks ago. And the TV specials are on: “Christmas in Rockefeller Center.” The list goes on. And then there’s the Christmas shopping. Oh, the shopping!...
The Thanksgiving holiday is now behind us. I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends. As a Christian people, we now look to the season of Advent, which begins this Sunday. The word “Advent,” of corse, means “coming.” During Advent, we look for the Lord’s coming among us from two perspectives. First, we look to the Lord’s coming among us as we prepare to celebrate his birth into this world more than 2,000 years ago. But just as significantly, we also look for his final coming in glory at the end of our lives and the end of...
It’s over. Halloween has come and gone. All the ghosts, goblins, zombies, witches and super-heroes are back snug in their dens and trunks for another year. The election is over too. Maybe no more political calls for at least another month. The stores are jammed full of as much as they can get on their shelves for Christmas. Thanksgiving Day is coming Thursday. As I sit here in my home office, writing this article for the Faith page of our local newspaper, I cant help but wonder about how quickly this year has seemed to have passed. I also have...
Greetings, I am Jim Gerhold, lead pastor at Christian Life Center. With Christmas just around the corner, let’s reflect on our greatest Christmas ever. Would it be a gift that was beyond our wildest dreams or a special visit from a relative or close friend that you didn’t expect? Maybe it was the trip of a lifetime to a favorite theme park or to a secluded place of interest or your last visit to Grandma’s place before she passed. All these are exciting and fun to explore and to remember the adventure of it all. It could be a combination of al...
“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.” Luke 17:15-16 The story from the Gospel according to Luke tells about ten lepers who asked (begged) Jesus for help. Jesus answered by sending them on their way to the priests who could declare them fit for integration back into society. On their way, the story says, they were healed. Now in those days, being a leper meant that you had to stay at a distance from the rest of society so that the d...
Charisma is a word we often use to describe a politician or a successful entrepreneur. Someone with charisma has that intangible quality that seems to draw people to them. We say that they are “charming” or have a certain “magnetism” (these are both synonyms according to my computer). Charisma can be sought but not bought, it can be copied or mimicked, but not very successfully. Either you have it or you don’t. Charisma comes from the greek root word Charis, which is translated “grace” throughout the new testament. To describe someone bibli...
How many are familiar with the book, “Pilgrim’s Progress?” Written in the latter part of the 1600s, Paul Bunyan portrays an allegorical account of “Christianity.” I’m reminded of one of the most exciting events in the book when Christian, and his friend Hopeful, are both captured by the cruel tyrant, Giant Despair, and taken to his Doubting Castle, where they are imprisoned, beaten and starved. As they endure the uncertain ordeal, Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open the doors of the castle and free them from all th...
