Sugar Run Church of the Brethren

Sugar Run Church of the Brethren This is the official page of Sugar Run Church of the Brethren, located near Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania

09/11/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 9/11/26
“Pass the Salt”
Colossians 4:6 (NKJV) - Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Paul, the writer of this letter to the Colossians, was closing out his letter when he said this to them. He was telling them how to treat outsiders (those who didn’t believe in Jesus) and to make the most of every opportunity to tell them about Jesus. He was telling the Christians to make sure they always display grace in the way they talk as if their speech was seasoned with salt.
If you think about what salt does to food, it makes sense why Paul would use this analogy. Salt’s purpose is to bring out the optimal flavor of the food that it’s added to. Salt helps the food reach its full potential. Too little salt, and the food doesn’t have much flavor. Too much salt, and all you can taste is the salt and not the flavor of the food. But just the right amount of salt, and we’re able to enjoy the full flavor of whatever food it’s been added to.
The same is true in how Christians should talk to non-believers. If you think of the salt representing the truth of God’s Word in describing who Jesus Christ is, then I’m sure you can understand what Paul meant. If we Christians are talking to someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior and Lord, we need to always speak with grace. And we need to sprinkle in salt (God’s Word and who Jesus is) in just the right amount. Too little of God’s Word, and the conversation has no purpose (too little flavor), and we have a good chance of that person not realizing who Jesus is. Too much of God’s Word, and the conversation becomes way too strong (too much flavor), and we have a good chance of pushing the person away.
In the same way that each food is different and requires different amounts of salt, each conversation we have is different and requires different amounts of God’s Word. It’s up to the cook to put the right amount of salt in the food. It’s up to the Christian to put the right amount of Jesus into a conversation. Be careful, you know that too much salt can ruin the dish! Now, if you don’t mind, would you please pass the salt?

08/28/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 8/28/26
“Change of Plans”
James 4:13-15 (NLT) - Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
As summer winds down here in central Pa, it becomes more common to have foggy mornings. Fog is a fascinating thing. It’s here for a little while, but then it’s gone; and soon we forget that it was even foggy this morning. It’s here one minute, and gone the next.
As much as some of us don’t want to hear it, our life is like the morning fog. We’re here one minute, and gone the next. It may not be easy to think about, but that’s why it is so important to make decisions that will affect what happens to us when our life on this earth is over. That’s why it is so important to make the decision to believe in Jesus Christ, and receive Him as our Lord and Savior.
James, the author of the passage above, isn’t saying it’s a bad thing to make plans for tomorrow or the future. What he is saying is that we should involve God in our plans. In the last verse, where he says, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that,’” what he means is that everything we do and everything we plan on doing should be done according to God’s will for our life.
How do we know what God’s will for our life is? We find it in His Word, the Bible. Anything that agrees with the Bible is God’s will for us. Anything that goes against what is in the Bible is not God’s will. Making plans for tomorrow and the future is actually a good thing. However, when we’re making plans, we should make sure we include God in all of our plans. So, if you have plans made and God can’t be found anywhere in them, it’s time for a change of plans.

08/21/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 8/21/26
“God’s Blueprint”
Psalm 119:105 (ESV) – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
When someone is going to build a house or building, most of the time they’re going to have a blueprint for that building before the project ever begins. The blueprint shows them all of the details of how it needs to be built. The blueprint is the pattern or design that shows the builder the end result on paper. That house or building has already been built on paper (ok, more like a computer) so the builder has something to go by. During the construction process, if there’s a mistake made and something is done a different way than the blueprint, it could mess the whole building up. Everything could be thrown off. That’s why it’s vital to check the blueprint whenever a question arises about how something should be done. The blueprint shines a light on the building process to help the builder get the job done properly.
That’s exactly what God has done for us when He gave us His Word, the Bible. The Bible is God’s blueprint for our lives. He shows us every detail of how we should live. There’s not an area of our life that God hasn’t addressed in the Bible. So, when we’re making our way through life and we feel like we don’t know what the next step should be. Or, we feel lost and not sure how to get back on the right path. The verse above tells us that God will shine a light at our feet so we can see the path that we’re supposed to be walking on. He does that by speaking to us through His Word. Just like a builder should regularly check and study the blueprint to make sure they’re doing it right, we should regularly check and study God’s blueprint for our life (the Bible) to make sure we’re doing life right. Have you ever felt like your life is kind of messed up? Yep, I can relate. Maybe it’s time we check God’s blueprint for how we’re supposed to be living.

08/07/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 8/7/26
“God is Always Working”
Romans 8:28 (NLT) - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God has a purpose for each one of us. He is constantly working in every situation and circumstance that we encounter to accomplish that purpose. God loves everyone, and for those who love God in return, He has called us to be a part of His greater plan. How can I be so sure that God loves everyone? Along with many other places in the Bible that tell us about God’s love for us, Jesus tells us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The “world” is referring to everyone who has ever, and will ever live on this earth. God loves everyone so much that He gave us His one and only Son (Jesus Christ), and whoever believes in Jesus is given the promise that we’ll live in His presence forever. To be “called” means that God, through His Holy Spirit, has drawn those of us who love Him into relationship with Him because of who Jesus Christ is, and what He has done for us in His death, burial, and resurrection.
So, for any of us who love God and are called by Him, we can have the confidence that whatever happens to us, God is always working everything together for our good. That doesn’t mean that everything that happens in our life is good, but God will work in everything to bring good out of it. God doesn’t force us to love Him, and He doesn’t tell us that He’s going to remove the tough stuff from our life. However, for those of us that choose to love God, we’re given the ability to face even the most difficult things in life knowing that God is always working everything together for our good. And what is our good? Our good is being able to live a life that brings honor and glory to God by living out His purpose with our lives.
I’ve seen many examples where God has worked in the midst of the most difficult circumstances in people’s lives to draw them, the people connected to them, or all of the above, into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes, they already believed in Jesus, but God used the tough stuff to strengthen their faith in Jesus and cause them to be more effective in the purpose God has for them. What a comforting thing to know that no matter what we’re facing, God is always working.

07/17/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 7/17/26
“The Light Overcomes the Darkness”
John 1:4-5 (ESV) – In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
As I’m writing this, the smoke from the wildfires in Canada and Minnesota has settled into central PA, making it look very overcast and dreary outside. It reminds me of this verse above where God’s Word tells us that Jesus is the giver of life, and His life is the light that’s available to all the people here on earth. The light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome the light. The darkness is all of the evil in the world.
As followers of Jesus Christ, it is really important that we remember that just because there is a lot of evil in the world today, Jesus has overcome the evil. No matter how hard the devil tries to s***f out the light of Jesus, he has already lost the war because Jesus rose from the grave and defeated death and Satan.
As we see the smoke from these wildfires, we know that there’s coming a day when the sun will shine again. And we’ll once again be able to see the clear, blue skies that we want to be able to see. The haze and dreariness are only temporary, and the sun will soon shine again.
Just because Satan seems to be ruling the world today doesn’t mean that’s always going to be so. The evil in this world is only temporary. There’s coming a day when the light will completely overcome the darkness. That’s why it is so important that we choose to be people of the light and not of the darkness; that we choose to follow Jesus. He is the one that gives life and His life is our light. Praise God that the light of Jesus overcomes the darkness of the world!

07/10/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 7/10/26
“Yep, Them Too”
Matthew 5:43-44 (NIV) - “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
These words that Jesus spoke when He was giving what we call, “The Sermon on the Mount,” would have been an extremely radical teaching at the time when He spoke them. I would say this lesson from Jesus is just as radical today as it was back then. This is a very difficult thing to live out. It’s one thing to show love to people that are lovable and to pray for them. But it’s an entirely different thing to love our enemies. You know, the people that oppose us or are simply unlovable. And then to think of praying for them as well? Did Jesus really mean we’re to treat our enemies with just as much love as our friends and family? You better believe He meant it. Jesus didn’t say anything that He didn’t mean or wasn’t the truth.
I was out driving today and was going through a nasty downpour. When the rain was falling, it didn’t care who or what it fell on. It’s rain, it falls where God wants it to fall. And it falls on everything and everyone that’s in the path of the storm. The rain doesn’t pick and choose who gets rained on and who doesn’t.
Jesus explains this difficult teaching of his in the next verse where He says, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Jesus tells His followers that we should pour out our love on others in the same way that God pours out His blessings of the sun and the rain on everyone, whether they’re a good person or an evil person. Ungodly people receive sun and rain the same as Godly people do. And that’s how it should be with our love for others and who we pray for.
So, the next time we’re dealing with a difficult person who seems to be opposed to us and we find ourselves asking the question, “Does God expect me to be loving to this person too? And should I really pray for them?” We can remind ourselves that Jesus is answering our question by saying, “Yep, them too!”

06/26/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 6/26/26
“We Could Use Some Rain”
Psalm 63:1 (NIV) - You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
David, the writer of this Psalm is literally out in the desert where it is dry and water is nonexistent. He is tired, hungry, lonely, and yes, thirsty. But even though he is literally thirsty, he has a deeper thirst; a thirst in his soul for God. It’s not that David didn’t know God. In fact, David declares God to be his God. You can sense the closeness of his relationship to God. But just because David has a relationship with God, he’s in a situation in his life where his soul thirsts for God to pour life into him. David’s soul is parched, and he thirsts for the Living Water that only God can provide.
I can’t help but notice how low the creeks and rivers are getting. Even though we’ve been getting a little rain here and there, we’ve been pretty dry around central PA and the water level testifies to that. I get a chuckle out of how often I hear someone say, “We could use some rain.” As if them declaring that fact is going to make it happen quicker. I thank God that He is still in control of the weather!
I don’t know about you, but I can relate to David. There are times in my life that I feel like the water level of my soul is a little lower than I’d like. I have a feeling you can relate, too. Sure, we have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, but we are kind of feeling a little spiritually parched. I think we could learn a valuable lesson from David when he simply cries out to God and lets Him know that he’s thirsting for some Living Water. It is a wonderful thing when we’re honest with God and say, “Boy, I sure could use some rain.” Of course, the rain we’re talking about is Holy Spirit filling us with the Living Water that is offered to us by Jesus Christ.
John 7:37-38 (NIV) - On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

06/12/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 6/12/26
“No Other Gods”
Exodus 20:3 (NIV) – “You shall have no other gods before me.”
This is the very first commandment that God spoke to Moses when He gave Moses what we know as the ten commandments. It is pretty easy to read or hear this commandment and think to ourselves, “Well, I have this one covered. I don’t have any other gods before the one and only true God; the God of the Bible. I mean, I don’t worship any of the false gods that are in the world. I only worship God.”
I think it’s important to ask ourselves, “Is this really true? Do I only worship the one true God and no other false gods?” When we think of other gods, maybe we think of the Greek gods, or maybe Buddha, or gods like that. But false gods can come in many forms and fashions. To worship means to lift up to the highest regard, or to elevate to a supreme place in our life. So, whoever, or whatever we worship in our hearts becomes a god in our lives. For instance, if we elevate our career to a place in our life that nothing and no one else (including God) takes priority over our career, then we have made our career a god in our life. Other examples are our money, our possessions, our family, our friends, our social status, our looks, our political views, or maybe just ourselves in general. I think you get the idea.
Anything or anyone that we elevate to top priority in our life becomes a false god to us. We have to be very careful to make sure that the one and only true God has top priority in our life and all these other things will take a much healthier place in our lives. We should worship God and God alone. Everything and everyone else needs to fall into place after Him. I don’t know about you, but I definitely have to check myself often to make sure I don’t have any other gods before God Almighty.

06/05/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 6/5/26
“I’m Sorry, What Was the Question?”
John 9:1-3 (NIV) – As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
As Jesus was walking along, He came across a man that had been born without sight. Jesus’ followers asked Him, what has caused this man to be blind, his sins, or the sins of his parents? And Jesus lets His followers know that this man wasn’t born blind because of his sins OR the sins of his parents, but he couldn’t see from birth so God’s works can be put on display, which in turn would bring glory to God.
I find great comfort in this teaching of Jesus. Mainly because Jesus makes me realize that before this man that was born blind was ever knit together in his mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), God knew that his blindness was a part of God’s plan for this man’s life, and that God knew the miracle that Jesus was about to carry out would be used to bring God glory. A piece of how it was used to bring God glory is because that since this event occurred, just think of how many people have read of this miracle and has made the decision to believe in, receive, trust in, and follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and as their Savior. Do you think there was a purpose to this man being born blind? I would say so!
So, when we or someone we love is suffering from a disability, an illness, a disease, a loss of a loved one, a tragedy, or anything that causes pain, hardship, or suffering, it is easy to ask questions like, “Why is this happening to me (or my loved one)?” Or, “What did I (or my loved one) do to deserve this?” It makes sense to ask questions like these. After all, Jesus didn’t condemn His disciples for asking the question about whose sin caused this man to be born blind. However, Jesus made them realize they were asking the wrong question. The question His followers should have been asking was, “How can this situation be used to bring God glory?”
So, the next time you or someone you love is going through some tough stuff, and you find yourself asking questions like, “Why is this happening?” Or, “What did I do to deserve this?” I can almost hear God saying, “I’m sorry, what was the question again?” I really believe that no matter what we’re going through, God wants us to ask the question, “How can this situation be used to display all of wonderful things that God wants to put on display about Himself?” The question should be, “How can I glorify you through this situation, God?”

05/29/2026

The Word from the Woodpile 5/29/26
“Seek God”
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Something weighing on your mind? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. All of what things? The things that most people worry about. In fact, in this teaching from Jesus, He lets us know that all of the things that most people worry about will be taken care of by God, if we would just concern ourselves with what He wants for our life.
Do you find yourself worrying about how you are going to pay your bills? Seek God. Is your job in jeopardy and you need to decide whether to stay or go? Seek God. Are you facing the intense worry of an adult child who has made some bad decisions? Seek God. I think you get the point. Anything we’re facing in life should cause us to look for God’s way of handling it and force us to seek out God’s will for this situation or decision. So, the question you may have is, “Well, how do I know what God’s will is?”
God reveals His will to us in different ways. His will for our lives is found in the pages of the Bible, in the words of wise Christians, through the divine coming together of circumstances, through the inward peace caused by Holy Spirit, or through a combination of any or all of these.
Something weighing on your mind? How about looking for God’s will in the situation? After all, don’t you think the Creator of the Universe can handle whatever it is that you’re dealing with right now?

Address

17193 Hill Valley Road
Shirleysburg, PA
17260

Telephone

(814) 542-9621

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