Every Day is a Green Day - Guest Post by Landon Ressor

Back a few years ago when one of our older kids was in kindergarten, the teacher had a system that monitored and tracked the students' behavior. When they were being good, their little sticker stayed on green. When they got a warning, the teacher moved their name to yellow. And if they broke the rules repeatedly, she moved them to red. Nobody wanted to be on red. But inevitably it would happen. 

Yet here was the beautiful thing ... no matter how bad a kid acted one day, no matter how many times they were warned or how many times their teacher had to move them to yellow or red and back again, each morning when they walked into class, their name was always back on green. What happened the previously day didn't matter, and it had no bearing on how they would be treated the next day. They would always get to start over each morning. This system reminded them that every day was a fresh beginning and represented a new opportunity to make good choices.

When I think about that story, I reminded of Lamentations 3.23, "Great is his faithfulness; HIS MERCIES BEGIN AFRESH EACH MORNING."

Think about that ... His mercies begin afresh each morning!

As I consider the grace and compassion of a God that, through Christ, continually offers me new mercy each morning regardless of my failures, sin, or rebellion the previous day, I am deeply moved. The passage promises me that each a.m. represents my opportunity to repent, submit, and surrender my will to His own and see Him work in a powerful and transformational way in/thru me!

So here's my encouragement, as a new year begins, as we seek new opportunities and fresh beginnings, embrace the grace and mercy of God offered to you uniquely through faith in Christ that moves you to green and provides the promise of a continual new start in Him.

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Landon Ressor serves as pastor of Christ Community Church, Darien, CT. He is a happy husband and proud father. He has a passion for reaching the world for Christ, starting in the New York metro area.

The Bible: Life's Instruction Book

Psalm 111:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever.

Once I helped a friend assemble a movie display at a theatre. This was not a simple display where he and I could just open the box and put the display on the wall. It was a complicated display that was nearly as tall as I am and twice as long. It had very complicated instructions.

We spent three hours inserting tab A into slot B while attaching strap C to holder D. It was obvious that whoever designed the display was a brilliant engineer with a flair for thinking of ways to make cardboard look like a whole city block. But they clearly did not know how to write instructions in plain English that non-engineers could understand. It took quite a while to figure out the difference between tab A and tab J and holder D and holder Z. But piece by piece we assembled the display. Following the directions exactly, one step at a time, we finally got the project done. It looked amazing when it was finished.

Life is a lot like building a complicated display. We do not just take life out of box and instantly have good marriages, healthy families, meaningful careers or vibrant spirituality. In order to make life work, there are a lot of things that have to be done in the correct order and at the right time. We need a set of directions for how to get through life. If we skip a step in those instructions, or try to take a short cut, life ends up lopsided.

Fortunately, there is a set of instructions for life. It is called the Bible. Many people think the Bible is out of date and no longer relevant to our post-modern culture. They clearly have not read the Bible carefully. The stories in the Bible reveal people dealing with many of the very same problems that we hear about in our modern era. In the Bible we can find stories of people facing financial issues, family problems, war, crime, and corrupt governments. We can find stories of believers making right choices, as well as believers making terrible choices. The Bible is full of stories about how people dealt with real life issues. It also contains a lot of helpful advice about how we can deal with our own issues in life. Though life is complicated, if we follow the instructions God gave us, like the movie display my friend and I assembled, life can end up looking pretty good when we get to the end.

Lord, help us to study the Bible more and follow Your directions life. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Black Friday Commitment - Guest Post by Phil Wilkes

Here is something I want Christians to think about. Last weekend millions of people collected all the sales flyers and mapped out the stores they wanted to go to on Black Friday. They thought strategically about what order they would go to those stores. They may have clipped some coupons and then downloaded other coupons on their phones. They stood in line for hours, showing up before the store even opened.  Once the doors opened they pushed and shoved their way through to get what they wanted. Many charged what they purchased on credit cards and will be paying for it well into 2017 or beyond. All this preparing for the sales, standing outside in cold weather for hours, buying things most could not afford was all for the sole purpose of accumulating material possessions that for the most part will be broken, forgotten or replaced in a matter of weeks or months. None it it will last a lifetime and none of it will impact eternity.   

What would happen if Christians displayed that same fervency as we prepared for church each week?  What if we prayed for the service all week? We could use the weekly prayer guide or the previous week's bulletin to pray for people and their requests. What if we went to bed early so we could get a good nights sleep so we could get up early and spend time praying for the the service? What if we determined the weather would never be an obstacle to our attending worship? What if we joyfully brought our tithe to church to support God's work? Imagine what church would be like!

Imagine. Dream. Pray. Talk about it with others. Then determine to make it happen! We control our level of commitment to the Lord. Surely we can be as committed to Him and His church as we are to Black Friday shopping.

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Rev. Phil Wilkes is the pastor of New Colony Baptist Church, Billerica, MA, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Baptist Convention of New England.

A Parable About Faith

There was once a little boy name Josh. He was fascinated by science and wanted to know how everything in the universe worked. Even as a little boy Josh drove his parents and teachers crazy by asking complicated questions that had complicated answers. When Josh grew up, he got a job in a scientific laboratory working for the famous Dr. Reason. Dr. Reason was well known for doing excellent research and producing scholarly reports on that research. Josh enjoyed working for him and as the years passed he was able to be a part of exciting research that answered so many of his questions about how the universe worked. When Dr. Reason would finish a major project, he would always publish an article in a well respected scientific journal about his work. Josh loved reading those articles. They made sense to him. The research was meticulous and the conclusions were rational. Dr. Reason was so careful in his research that no one had ever proved any of the conclusions in his articles wrong.

Josh respected Dr. Reason for the research and conclusions that those articles represented, but the longer Josh worked for Dr. Reason, the more their relationship evolved. In time, they became great friends, perhaps even best friends. Dr. Reason would remember little details about Josh and use those details to make Josh’s life more joyful. For example, Dr. Reason remembered that Josh liked chocolate cake, and so he would bring chocolate cake in when it was Josh’s birthday. Though Josh did not have quite as good a memory as Dr. Reason, over time he realized that Dr. Reason like baked chicken. So Josh would often bring a whole baked chicken to the lab for lunch and share it with Dr. Reason. Dr. Reason was also willing to help Josh when Josh needed it. When Josh’s car broke down, Dr. Reason gave him a bonus so he could get the car fixed. When Josh’s grandmother passed away, Dr. Reason came to the funeral and sat next to Josh and they cried together and found comfort in each other’s friendship. Though the scientific articles that Dr. Reason wrote meant a lot to Josh, it was only a piece of their relationship. It was all the other things that really made them friends.

One day Dr. Reason published an article in a journal about a project that he had been working on in a different laboratory. Josh had known that Dr. Reason had a number of other labs where he was doing research. Josh was vaguely aware of what was going on in those labs but did not know all the details like he did in his own lab. When the new article came out, many people did not like Dr. Reason’s conclusions. People began to come to Josh and ask him how he could continue to work for Dr. Reason when his conclusions were so faulty. Josh did his best to defend Dr. Reason’s work, but since he did not know all the details of what was being done in those other labs, he was not able to give as good an answer as he might have liked. Josh did ask Dr. Reason about it, and though Dr. Reason explained it to him, the research and work was so complex that Josh really could not fully understand it. But Josh tried to explain it the best he could to those who asked him about it.

As the controversy intensified, many people said that Josh had “blind faith” in Dr. Reason because Josh kept defending something that he could not fully explain. Others said Josh had made a “leap of faith.” But Josh was not moved from his belief in Dr. Reason’s abilities or intelligence. Josh patiently explained to others that while he was indeed exercising faith in Dr. Reason in this work that he did not fully understand, it was not “blind” faith, nor was it a “leap” of faith. From Josh’s perspective, it was only a step of faith, not a leap of faith. From Josh’s perspective, it was not blind faith, but informed faith. Josh had this perspective because Josh knew Dr. Reason really well. Dr. Reason had proved himself to Josh, not just in the scholarly research and well written articles that had been published, but also in the friendship itself.

Josh was informed enough about Dr. Reason’s work and life and that he felt comfortable continuing working for Dr. Reason even though he did not fully understand this particular situation. Others kept using words like “blind” and “leap” and Josh kept explaining that it was an informed step of faith, not a blind leap, but many people just could not understand Josh’s perspective. At first Josh was frustrated with these people, even a little angry at some of them. He even said a few things he shouldn’t have in his frustration. But in time Josh realized that these people could not understand because they did not know Dr. Reason the way he did. Though Josh really did want to know all the details and all the answers about this project that Dr. Reason was doing, he knew Dr. Reason enough to realize that in time, all would be revealed. Josh was comfortable in his informed step of faith and remained Dr. Reason’s lab assistant. Many people did not understand Josh’s choice, but Josh knew it was the right one and so he was at peace with his choice even if others did not understand.

Moral of the parable:

Many people say that Christians blindly follow a God that is only revealed in the Bible. But for Christians who have built a relationship with God, He is not just revealed in the Bible, but also in their experiences with God. The Bible shows God’s work and parts of it are very easy to understand and explain to others. Other parts are more difficult to understand and explain to others. Those who are not Christians call it blind faith or a leap of faith. But for Christians who have a personal relationship with God, it is not a blind leap of faith at all. Yes, it is faith, but it is more of an informed step of faith than a blind leap. They understand parts of the Bible very well, and they know God well through their personal experiences with Him. Their friendship with God and the parts of the Bible they do understand give them the faith to believe the parts of the Bible that might not be as easy to explain. Faith is required, but from the Christian’s perspective, it is a faith that is well founded and makes perfect sense. Others may lack the ability to understand the informed step of faith that a reflective Christian might make, but to the Christian, it makes perfect sense.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

 http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Loving Money

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

Life is expensive. The growing economic inequality in our culture exasperates that every day. Many people are feeling significant economic pressure, including Christians. Christians have to pay the rent, the electric bill and buy groceries just like everyone else. But how Christians respond to economic pressure should be different than non-believers.

The focus of the Christian life should on serving the Lord, not in accumulating material possessions. That does not mean that believers must live in poverty, but that the pursuit of material possessions should not drive our lives. Our worth has already been declared by the Father when He gave His Son to die for us. No amount of earthly wealth can increase that declared worth, nor can any level of poverty lessen it.

Christians should remember this as they choose their careers and as they look for employment. Will our chosen career put more money in our bank account but leave us little time for serving the Lord? Christians should think carefully before they get into debt. Especially if that debt then requires them to work extra hours in order to service the debt and they no longer have time to serve the Lord.

When Christians don't get the balance of eternal perspective and earthly possessions right, they tend to drift from their faith. They fail to care about their families like they should. They fail to care about the poor like they should. They find themselves working when they should be worshipping with other believers. They find themselves cheating in their taxes or stealing from their employer. All of these things will lead to significant problems at some point. These things make our faith less powerful. They make us self-centered. They cause us to have relationship problems. They can cause us to have legal issues if our love of money outweighs our love of truth and integrity.

Making the love of money the focus of our lives will make us wander from the faith and fill our lives with many pains. We must guard our hearts and keep ourselves focused on Jesus. Only by keeping this focus will we find real contentment in our lives, contentment in our faith, and contentment with our possessions.

Lord, help us keep our focus on You and not on our possessions. Amen. 

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

 http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Good Friday Meditation for 2016

Good Friday. What a name for a day on which something so terrible as the death of Christ happened. To think that an innocent man was brutally murdered in front of an approving crowd is almost unimaginable, except that it wasn't just a myth or someone's vivid imagination, it actually happened.

Good Friday shows the depths of the depravity of man. It shows how low people will sink to protect their political aspirations, their theological assumptions, or their place in the world. It shows how even good people will deny the truth or hide in the shadows while great horror happens around them, which begs the question, are they actually good? The answer of course is that there is none good, no not even one (Romans 3:10).

Good Friday also shows the amazing love of God. That He would endure such agony for us is something hard to fathom. None of us deserve it. None of us can truly appreciate it. None of us would even understand it without the gift of grace. Yet, while we were yet sinners, God demonstrated His love for us by allowing Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8).

What makes this day good is not the agony of Jesus, but the love He had for those He was in agony for. Because of what happened on this day, every good and perfect gift can now come to us from the Lord who does not change like the ever shifting court of public opinion (James 1:17). He has declared that He loves us. And that declaration stands. No matter what. This is a hard truth to accept, and yet we must if we are to have any hope for a joyful life on earth and a more joyous one on the other side of death.

Let us remember Good Friday on days in which we feel unloved, or unlovable. Let us remember that He has decided that He loves us and nothing can change that. Nothing. Period. We can resist that love (which does not change the fact that He still loves us), or we can embrace that love (which gives us great peace and comfort). I chose to embrace it, and that makes this day good.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is an author and Christian leader in New England. He is a happy husband, proud father, adoring grandfather and thankful cancer survivor. You can find his books at:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY/

A Simple Process for Experiencing Revival

Psalm 119:15-16 “I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”

When I was 13, my 8th grade Sunday School teacher taught our class how to have a daily quiet time with God. This included time for Bible reading, prayer and then reflection on what we read. She gave personal testimony of how her own daily quiet time gave her strength for the day and often helped her find answers for problems she was facing. She assured us that this was the normal way all Christians started their day.

It made sense to me so I decided to start having a daily quiet time as well. Like my 8th grade Sunday School teacher, I can testify that it has sustained me through many challenges in my life. I am thankful for a Sunday School teacher who taught me something so simple and yet so life changing.

The one thing that my Sunday School teacher taught us that turned out to be incorrect, was that this was the normal way all Christians started their day. I am sure she thought it was an accurate statement, but after nearly 25 years of ministry, it becomes clear to me that many Christians skip this important part of their day. This is reflected by the lack of biblical knowledge that even those who have been Christians for decades have. It is reflected by how we interact with each other as Christians in daily life. It is reflected in our conversations with each other, which are about so many things, but seldom about what the Lord is showing us in scripture. It is reflected in the lack of holy passion in our corporate worship, which can only come from a strong time of private worship.

If we want revival to come to America again, perhaps we might return to a simple lesson we learned in Sunday School so long ago, let us start each day with a daily quiet time. A few minutes of Bible reading, prayer and reflection can change our lives. If millions of lives are changed a little each day, that impacts the broader church, indeed, it impacts the broader culture.

Lord, call us back to simply spending time with You each day! Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Christian Stewardship

Introduction:

When we think of the word “stewardship,” what comes to mind?

How does adding the word “Christian” to the word “stewardship” impact our thoughts on the meaning of the word?

Christian Stewardship is the biblical handling

of our time, our talents and our treasure.

As Christians, our stewardship should be based on the teaching of the Bible, not our culture’s ever changing opinions or whatever the most popular management style is at the moment. How we manage our time, talents and treasure says a lot about what we think is important as followers of Christ.

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our time, we should make sure our regular schedule includes time to study the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15), pray (2 Thessalonians 5:17) and worship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our talents, we should use our abilities to do our best (Colossians 3:23), to bring honor to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:21), and to serve others (1 Peter 1:4)

When we fail to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasures, our individual faith suffers and so does the church as a whole.

Most of us tend to agree that we should use our time and talents well, but the area of Christian Stewardship we least like to talk about is how we handle our treasure, meaning our possessions and our money. Most of us do not like it when the church starts talking about money. We have visions of fancy buildings or television preachers who spend millions on elaborate life styles. But the vast majority of pastors live modestly and the typical church building is often quite simple. Though talking about money in church sometimes makes us feel uncomfortable, there are THREE important biblical principles we should know for how Christians should handle our treasure.

First Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Our giving should flow out of our love, devotion and gratitude to God, not our of guilt, shame or duty.

Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Jacob made a promise to follow God with his every area of his life, including his money because of his great appreciation for how God was watching over him. He knew God had done a lot for him and his promise to give back to God flowed out of that relationship. Jacob’s vow to give was not motivated by guilt or shame but by thankfulness to God. The same should be true of in our own attitude toward giving.

Second Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Trust the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe and receive God’s blessing as a result.

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

God promised that if we gave Him the whole tithe, He would bless us abundantly. This makes no sense to the world, but many Christians can give testimony to the truth of it. We can never out give God.

But what is the whole tithe? The whole tithe is a tenth of what God gives us.

Leviticus 27:30
A tithe (tenth) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Back in the day when most people were farmers, God asked them to give one tenth of all they grew back to the Lord. This was how the priests who provided spiritual leadership and comfort to the people lived.

Deuteronomy 14:24-25
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe…then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.

God also told them they could give money instead of “stuff” if it was too much stuff to carry. This is how most of us today will give our gifts to God since we most of us are not farmers. We will give money and that is how the pastors and the church will be provided for. It is still okay to give stuff instead of money, so long as it is not junk we are just trying to get rid of. Whatever we give must flow out of a heart of love toward God.

Some people believe that tithing is just an Old Testament thing and that we no longer have to practice it. But Jesus Himself says that tithing is still valid.

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

What Jesus was referring to in these verses was the practice of the Pharisees to grow small window boxes of exotic herbs. The Pharisees were faithful to tithe on these little boxes of herbs but they failed to show justice, mercy, faithfulness and love. On two different occasions Jesus said they needed both in order to be good Christian stewards! They needed to tithe and have a right attitude. Since Jesus Himself endorsed tithing, we know it is still valid in our spiritual walk. But Jesus also taught that the attitude of our hearts were just as important as our gifts to Him. If we give with a wrong attitude, we should next expect a blessing from God.

What attitudes did He want us to have when we give?

Cheerfulness

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Compassion

1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4:2, 16:2
Now it is required in stewards that man be found faithful . . . Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him.

Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Sacrificially

Mark 13:43-44
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Conclusion:

God expects us to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasure. That means following the teachings of the Bible instead of our culture. It also includes handling money in ways that non-Christians might not understand. That includes giving out of love, devotion and gratitude to the Lord. Trusting the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe, and receive God’s blessing as a result. Making sure when we give our hearts display attitudes of cheerfulness, compassion, faithfulness, generosity, and sacrifice.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of 8 books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Does Religious Faith Have a Positive or Negative Impact on Life?

Our culture’s views on religion are rapidly changing. There was a time when it was considered socially acceptable to be a person of deep religious faith. In fact, it was considered a bit odd if a person did not have some type of religion to help bring order to his or her life. But that is no longer the case. Now many sectors of our culture see religious faith as a negative thing. Is religion really a negative factor in life? Or is this just an attempt by some to skew public opinion?

Despite all of the rhetoric, science supports the concept that religion is a positive influence in a person’s life. A report on WebMD that said that “people who attend religious services, or who feel they are spiritual, experience lower levels of depression and anxiety; display signs of better health, such as lower blood pressure and fewer strokes; and say they generally feel healthier.”¹ That same website revealed that not only are religious people healthier, they also live longer. In a study of over 4000 people, Dr. Harold G. Koenig, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, reported that “people who attend religious services at least once a week are less likely to die in a given period of time than people who attend services less often.”² Numerous other studies make the same conclusion; people who are religious are generally healthier and live longer than those who are not.

In addition to living longer and being healthier, religious people are also happier. Andrew Clark, from the Paris School of Economics, and Dr. Orsolya Lelkes, from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, analyzed a variety of factors among Catholic and Protestant Christians and found that life satisfaction seems to be higher among the religious population. The authors concluded that religion in general, acts as a buffer that protects people from life's disappointments.³ The connection between happiness and faith is not just true for our European friends. The highly respected Pew Research Center discovered that “people who attend religious services weekly or more are happier than those who attend monthly or less; or seldom or never. This correlation between happiness and frequency of church attendance has been a consistent finding for years.”⁴

People who are deeply religious do not need a survey or study to tell them they are happier than their non-religious counterparts. They already know this because they experience that happiness on a regular basis. That does not mean that religious people do not have bad days or have periods of life in which they feel depressed, but it does mean that as a general rule, they do live happier lives than those who are not religious. This may not be politically correct in today’s pluralistic culture, but it is scientifically accurate. Though some people may not like the idea that religious faith is still a positive factor, there is simply no denying that faith improves a person’s quality of life. We may all be entitled to our own opinion on the subject, but we are not entitled to our own facts. Facts are facts regardless of what our opinion is. And the facts are clear, religious faith makes us healthier, happier and results in us living longer. Perhaps it’s time for more people to get back into church and discover what they are missing!

1 http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer

² http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer

³ http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/02/does-religion-m.html

⁴ http://pewresearch.org/pubs/301/are-we-happy-yet

 

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of numerous books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY