Snow Road Presbyterian Church

10/01/2026

September 29, 2026 Praising God by paying attention
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come. Psalm 65:1-2
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Psalm 148:1-4
You praise the heartbreaking beauty of Jessye Norman singing the Vier Letzte Lieder of Richard Strauss. You praise the new puppy for making its offering on the lawn for once instead of on the living-room rug. Maybe you yourself are praised for some generous thing you have done. In each case, the praise that is handed out is a measured response. It is a matter of saying something to one degree or another complimentary, with the implication that if Jessye Norman's voice had sprung a leak or the puppy hadn't made it outside in time or your generous deed turned out to be secretly self-serving, a different sort of response altogether would have been called for.
The way Psalm 148 describes it, praising God is another kettle of fish altogether. It is about as measured as a volcanic eruption, and there is no implication that under any conceivable circumstances it could be anything other than what it is. The whole of creation is in on the act—the sun and moon, the sea, fire and snow, Holstein cows and white-throated sparrows, old men in walkers and children who still haven't taken their first step. Their praise is not chiefly a matter of saying anything, because most of creation doesn't deal in words. Instead, the snow whirls, the fire roars, the Holstein bellows, the old man watches the moon rise. Their praise is not something that at their most complimentary they say, but something that at their truest they are.
We learn to praise God not by paying compliments, but by paying attention. Watch how the trees exult when the wind is in them. Mark the utter stillness of the great blue heron in the swamp. Listen to the sound of the rain. Learn how to say "Hallelujah" from the ones who say it right. (Buechner in Wishful Thinking and Beyond Words)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7EW8sIj3Ys
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mario daniel sassi

Available here: https://www.hopepublishing.com/W266526_ONE_SONG_IN_...

09/27/2026

Did anyone lose a wallet on Anniversary at Elphin? Call 613-812-3834 with description.

09/22/2026

September 22, 2026 For what it’s worth
All of us at one time or another have underlined, highlighted or committed to memory a line or a phrase that fastened and burrowed themselves deeper and deeper into our hearts. What follows are a few of these undeveloped, (as of yet), thoughts for me …
“And I once heard Ezra Pound quoted in a lecture: “One humane family can humanize a whole state into courtesy; one grasping and perverse man can drive a nation to chaos.” (Eugene Peterson in “Very Married” by Katherine Willis Hershey 2016)
Black theologian and liturgist Cole Arthur Riley: “If your spirituality does not demand beauty and liberation for every person and piece of the cosmos, it is not God you are seeking, but a shallow ritual of self-soothing.”
More and more I fear those who sound like they have God figured out. They know exactly who He is, and have discovered the secret access to how God thinks and why. Will I ever understand Isaiah 55:8-11? (Me)
“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not,” is widely attributed to André Gide and reflects his core philosophy. He believed that living truthfully, even at the cost of criticism or rejection, is far more valuable than gaining approval through false pretences. Gide’s own life mirrored this belief, as he often stood firm in his ideas despite facing opposition.
The story is told of G.K. Chesterton, a prolific and renowned English writer, standing on a London street corner when a reporter approached him. “Sir, I understand that you recently became a Christian, may I ask you one question?” “Certainly” replied Chesterton. So the newspaper reporter asked, “If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?” Chesterton looked the reporter squarely in the eye and said, “He is!”
“God speaks through the hieroglyphics of the things that happen to us, God also speaks through the fathomless quiet of the holy place within us all which is beyond the power of anything that happens to us to touch”. (Buechner)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXOwOlr9a-I

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mario daniel sassi

Available in print or digital delivery at https://www.beckenhorstpr...

09/16/2026

September 15, 2026 Keeping inching forward
At times, advice given for a specific situation, time and person is often enlarged to become a public maxim. In 1930, Albert Einstein sat down and wrote a letter to his son Eduard, who was struggling with severe mental health problems that would soon lead to institutionalization. “People are like bicycles,” he told him. “Only when they are moving can they comfortably keep their balance.” As many things do that are pulled out of context, it later hardened into the viral slogan “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” But the note wasn’t about ‘life’, it was about a specific life. These were particular words aimed at a distinct person facing a specific kind of immobility. They were not meant to become an off the cuff remark seemingly fitting many situations.
Depression and psychosis can stop a life cold. Einstein’s advice was not about productivity or ambition, it was about survival. The letter effectively says: do whatever small thing keeps you upright today. A bicycle at rest falls over. Physics explains why: a self-correcting mechanism called trail keeps a moving bike stable through continuous micro-adjustments. Stop pedaling and that mechanism vanishes. The rider puts a foot down or tips sideways. The parallel is exact. Small, deliberate motion maintains stability. Stillness invites collapse. “You have to keep moving,” sounds like an exhortation to hustle, but it is not. Keep moving does not mean go faster; a bike can crawl forward at a near standstill and stay upright. Speed is not required. Forward motion is.
This aligns closely with what mental health researchers call active coping: taking steps, however small, to meet challenges rather than withdrawing or ruminating. Active coping as a core component of resilience, along with social support and a sense of purpose is not about something one is born with or a fixed trait, it can be learned and built over time. The core advice was never about achievement. It was about balance, one step, one correction at a time, on a ride that never stops requiring effort. (Adapted from article, “Albert Einstein Speaking to his son in 1900: by Arezki Amiri in the Daily Galaxy May 18, 2026)
David, writing well before Christ, knew what it was to be paralyzed by fear, failure and rejection. In the Psalms and songs he wrote, it was as if he was experiencing the struggle to keep the bicycle inching forward. His writing consistently emphasized to “Keep trusting, Keep hoping, Continue on, Be still, Delight, Look to God … always inching forward. Psalm 37:1-11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6itwo51SCc

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mario daniel sassi

Written during the events of 2020, Dan's exquisite setting of Paul ...

09/08/2026

September 8, 2026 Lord open my eyes
These first few weeks of September are new beginnings for students. Their school year has begun, and in some ways even though their friends, teachers, situations maybe similar to last year, things are different. One thing for sure, nothing remains the same day after day. For example, one woman put it this way, I’ve been married to five versions of the same man. Marriage is falling in love with different versions of the same person over and over again. It’s choosing each other in every season—when life changes you, when growth stretches you, and when time reveals new layers you’ve never seen before. We change.
The first few chapters of Ecclesiastes show the changes the writer is undergoing. Desiring everything he sees, acquiring what it is he wants, satisfying every craving his body has, fulfilling all that he could possibly imagine, (remember his resources were limitless), “Everything I wanted I took—I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task—my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!” There it is. Oh, did I say that this person considered himself extremely intelligent?
Then he wakes up. He discovers that it is all vapour. How often have I thought to myself that if only I could have a car, a chair, a house, a briefcase, coffee maker, etc. that everything would be just fine. I would be happy, or more productive, or more able to cope, or, or, or…
Most of us by now know that that is simply not true. This writer had it all, tried it all, and thought he was all, only to discover he was not.
Because we, as humans, are changing daily, (really we are), we go through seasons, “a time to weep, a time to laugh”, that’s what that passage is all about (Ecclesiastes 3:1-9), life changes. The older I get the more aware I am of the changing seasons, and how the seasons vary from year to year and how nature changes and varies from season to season, year to year. Things I was far too busy to notice even a few years ago, that now stand out.
Just as Elisha the prophet prayed for his servants eyes to be opened, so I pray that my eyes would be open each day to all the Lord has done and is doing. (2 Kings 6)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8KIArHGHJM
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mario daniel sassi

Recorded and filmed at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN....

09/01/2026

September 1, 2026 His way, anyway
I like Gideon. When an angel declared to him, “God is with you, O mighty warrior!” He answered much like you or I might … “Moi? You talking to me?” He follows that up by coming right out and asking, “If God is with us, why are we in this mess? Where are all the miracles and wonders our parents and grandparents told us about? You delivered them, but it seems like you have nothing to do with now.” It is a great story in Judges 6-8.
Ever feel like Gideon? When someone encourages you to walk in the strength of God, that all things are possible for those in Christ Jesus, we bite our tongue in order not to unload on them, “Oh yeah, if that is so why are we in this awful mess?” We’ve all been there. Not only does Gideon speak and question God unabashedly but continues to express his doubts freely. Even when he knows with certainty it is God, he continues to ask for proof that it is actually God sending him into the mission.
In reality, nothing about this story makes sense unless you have a death wish, going to war against an army many times your size, resembling a ‘swarm of locusts’, with only 300 men. And these 300 men are holding jars with torches in them in one hand and a shofar (trumpet), in the other. But that was the point. It wasn’t about manpower, equipment, arsenal, or anything else they could muster, it was about God. Without God, all that we have is nothing. With God the little we have is everything.
Three hundred men, a few fish and loaves of bread, a tin of oil, don’t amount to much, until they are placed in God’s hands.
Yes, we should always do our best, and yes we should count the cost before we build, but our best doesn’t always mean we can accomplish anything. Our best may be a ‘mustard seed’, a couple loaves of bread, some left over olive oil, but such as we have we offer that to God. God took Gideons preparations and rearranged it all. He took the ‘mustard seed’ and it became a tree.
Next time we are prompted to take on something well beyond our means, don’t be afraid to question God, to be certain. Don’t be afraid to offer all that you have to Him, as puny as it seems. And, don’t be surprised if He does it His way, anyway!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbB1HtJkwm4
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mario daniel sassi

Available here: https://www.hopepublishing.com/W6132-WHAT_GRACE_IS_...

08/23/2026

We need these in the church lol

08/18/2026

August 18, 2026 Christ in you
A repeated theme for Paul, is “Christ in you,” a concept, a mystery, that even if it could be understood, would take a lifetime. In his writings Paul refers to the indwelling Christ over 200 times. The Founder of our faith, lives within, he indwells his followers; a concept no other belief system or philosophy has. The prophet Muhammad does not indwell Muslims, nor do Buddhists ever talk about Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) dwelling in them, or the composite founders of Hinduism indwelling their followers. They may teach, lead, influence, but not indwell their followers. Whereas Paul and other Biblical writers can unequivocally state Christ indwells his followers. The other ‘holy’ men cannot …
Describe themselves as “the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27)
Could ever say as Paul did, “Christ for me.” (Philippians 1:21)
Could ever affirm, Christ with me, (Galatians 2:20)
Could see their founder lead the way, as Christ did, “Christ ahead of me.” (Philippians 3:13)
None are as assured as Christ followers, “Christ in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Fittingly, it is said that this was found on the breastplate of St. Patrick in the mid 5th century … and is part of a popular prayer, also known as The Cry of the Deer

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnCjDcDMKo

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mario daniel sassi

This is my paraphrased version of St. Patrick's "Breastplate Prayer...