From the Home Place

August 3, 2026

Good morning! As you probably know, it never did cool off last night after the severe heat of 105 yesterday. However, we have a west wind this morning and that usually brings cooler weather. As I looked at the forecast, I noticed today’s high will be around 86 with winds 20-47 mph and a low of 49 this evening. Tomorrow’s high is forecasted to be 75, but then back into the 80’s and 90’s the rest of the week. Hopefully you can enjoy the cool while it is here?

I hope your yesterday was as enjoyable as ours was. At 10 a.m. Miss Deb taught the Children’s Story at our home church, while I went to a neighboring church to preach. At 11 we both flew ten miles east of Lusk to participate in services at a great little church in the city of Node, Wyoming!

It was refreshing to see close to 20 people in a circle for the Sunday School hour, and then when we arrived, I was blessed to share a message with these great folks. You know, sometimes it is nice to step back to a simple and close-knit time of fellowship and worship. As the saying goes, it’s always good to go back home.

You see friends, that was the kind of church where Miss Deb and I committed our lives to Jesus. We would sit around in a circle, where everyone was involved in the learning process. But then as numbers increased and more teachers were trained, then we went to the lecture style where a teacher talks, and everyone listens. Sometimes bigger numbers are not a real blessing.

I often think back to what it must have been like when Jesus and those first disciples first started; before following Jesus became popular? I see those 12 guys and Jesus sitting around a campfire, talking, laughing and quite likely singing a new song that Jesus would teach them. Oh, the questions that must have been asked in those early days???

Today, during most adult Sunday School classes, for someone besides the teacher to ask a question is often considered inappropriate. And I have to ask “Why?” As teachers of the Bible, Miss Deb and I both know that it is risky to let anyone ask a question because that can lead to the person asking the question really wanting control of the class. We have both experienced such an event, regardless of if the question comes from a child or an adult. Yet there times that a well-formed question adds great value to the class.

Yet, I wonder, so how did Jesus keep His disciples on course? Or did He just let the questions and opinions run wild for a bit and then when He spoke, He spoke “as one having authority.” If the Holy Spirit doesn’t damper such conversations, it may just be time to close in prayer and enjoy some fellowship!

All I know is that it sure would have been fun to sit with Jesus and listen to His comments. Or perhaps we can still do that? When you read any of the Gospel accounts of the life of Christ, allow yourself to gather around the circle with Jesus and the other disciples. Listen, laugh and even cry with them as you hear the words of Jesus spoken directly to your group. May I suggest, don’t just read about biblical stories, insert yourself into the story.

Become an active participant, surround yourself with the circumstances and the people, and then allow the One who “speaks with authority” to lead the conversation as if you are the only person there with Jesus! Don’t be afraid to ask a question that pertains to the topic at hand and then listen as the Holy Spirit gives you an answer. Allowing the Bible to come alive is a great way to allow the Bible to live within you so that it can live through you!

Enjoying being in the circle with Jesus, with you, Neal