St. Luke's Blogs

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” – Proverbs 3:27

Dolly Parton is a living legend. Few people have achieved the level of success that Dolly Parton has attained. As a musician, Dolly is truly remarkable. She is a singer. She plays multiple instruments. When she is not entertaining massive audiences, Dolly shows off her musical skills by writing hit songs that cross over multiple music platforms. She has written a hit Broadway show and movie. She is one of a few people in history who have been nominated for an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony award. When she is not writing and performing amazing music, Dolly Parton is starring in movies, TV shows, and building theme parks. She is a bright example of stardom and success.

The success of Dolly Parton is the dream of any musician and entertainer. With a net worth of over $600 million, Dolly could have easily retired to enjoy a life of ease. However, the drive that made her a hall-of-fame entertainer and world-class businessperson, has kept Dolly Parton working long past her debut in 1967. Now, at the age of 76, she is not just entertaining, she is making a difference in the lives of so many people.

In 1995, Dolly Parton helped to launch the Imagination Library…

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. – Romans 12:13

Few mediums can tell a story like music theatre. It combines strong dialogue, great acting, and powerful music to help the audience experience the story. Many of the stories we experience at the theatre are fiction. Few of them are based in real life. When music theatre takes on history, it often conveys it in an exciting way.

The show Come from Away is a brilliant Broadway Musical that tells the story of what happens in the small community of Gander. Gander is in Newfoundland, Canada. It is the true story of 7,000 stranded passengers on 9/11. That day, in 2001, all air traffic in the United States was grounded. International flights had no choice but to find a place to land and many of them landed in Gander. Although Gander had an extremely large runway and airport, the community of 11,000 had not seen that many people since World War II. While the world watched the devastation of the terror attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, the people of Gander opened their businesses, schools, homes, and churches to host the 38 international flights that had come from away.

One of the more interesting characters on Broadway is Tracy Turnblad. Tracy is the main character in the hit Broadway show, Hairspray. Tracy is a high school aged girl in 1962 Baltimore. The show highlights the many differences that exist in the community in which Tracy lives. Like most communities, Baltimore is full of people of different religious beliefs, different skin color, different economic backgrounds, and so much more. In the midst of the tension and struggles between these groups, there is a bright light of hope beaming from young Tracy Turnblad.

Like most high school students, Tracy spends her time and energy thinking about her hobbies and the boy she likes. Her hobby is dance. The boy she is hyper-focused on is Link Larkin. Link is the coolest boy in town and the feature dancer on the Corny Collins show, a variety show for teens. Tracy’s dream is to dance on T.V. and hopefully dance with Link. Tracy is denied that opportunity to see her dream come true because she too is different. Tracy is a great dancer, but unlike the other girls on the Corny Collins show, Tracy is overweight.

Sometimes in life we are going one direction until God steps in and turns us around and points us a different way.  Often, we are initially disappointed our old plans didn’t work out until we discover God had something much better in mind.

The wonderful actress and singer, Julie Andrews, can attest to that.  As talented as she is, she hasn’t always gotten all the parts she wanted.  When she was just 20 years old, she accepted the role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady which debuted on Broadway in 1956.  The show was a smash hit.  It won Best Musical and Rex Harrison, who played Prof. Henry Higgins, won a Tony for best actor in a musical and Julie was nominated for best actress in a musical.  She had worked so hard to create this role of the cockney flower girl.  It’s said that director Moss Hart worked for two solid days with Julie…

Lori Anne Travers is a teacher in New Jersey.  For the past six years, Lori Anne has been teaching kindergarten. She loves it! It has always been her dream to teach. Lori Ann also had the dream to perform on stage…maybe even Broadway. That is why it was so special when the cast of Disney’s Aladdin surprised Lori Anne with a big gift of gratitude. They wanted to tell teachers “Thank You” and the chose Lori Anne as their representative.

Lori Anne was being interviewed on camera by Good Morning America when the Genie from the Broadway production of Aladdin, played by Michael James Scott, came crashing into the room. He announced that he had a bigsurprise for Mrs. Travers…

“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

“For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

“Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” – Acts 10:34-35

The people who follow Jesus, and the people who serve the world in the name of Jesus are a diverse people. Women, men, and children of every race and nationality represent Jesus around the world. When you look back in history you will see that the people who first helped the church come to life are a diverse people. In fact, two of the strongest leaders of the early church were quite different from one another…