PEARL STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:12–13 (NIV) We’ve all felt the emotional swings that come with life — the moments when we want to celebrate loudly and the moments when we want to vent our frustrations. Social media only amplifies this, reflecting to us the highs and lows we all experience. But Pau

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." – James 3:13 (NIV) Today’s passage opens with a question — the kind meant to make us stop and think. Teachers in Jesus’ day used this all the time, and Jesus himself used it masterfully. It’s called formative questioning: asking something that turns the spotlight inward before the teaching moves forward. So we may ask ourselves the same questi

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) Recently, while taking the ferry from Newport, RI over to Block Island, we found ourselves watching the seagulls that hovered above the water. They weren’t in a hurry. They weren’t straining. They simply rode the warm currents rising off the ocean. Every so often one would dip toward the surfac

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” — Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) Have you ever said something unwise that comes back to you later? If you haven’t, you are a wise and blessed person indeed—one I’d like to learn from. But for most of us, an occasional comment slips out. Maybe it seemed harmless at the time, maybe even innocent. Yet later, as we replay the conversation in our minds, we wish that particular word had remained unspok