New Rockford Transcript - Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Peace and Grace to you, brothers and sisters in Christ. For those people who work a Monday to Friday job, Wednesday is often called “hump day.” The meaning being that once we get past Wednesday, we’re over the hump and the weekend is almost...

Peace. We use that word quite often. My first encounter with that word came about as I was growing up. This was in the 1960s. We were indeed in turbulent times. The conflict in Vietnam was going strong with no signs of letting up and the number of...

Greetings dear friends in Christ. This story is well known. Joseph is his father's favorite. He is spoiled and rubs it in to his older brothers. They are working with the family flocks while Joseph wears fancy clothes and jewelry, gifts from his...

Kentucky is having amazingly warm weather for February and actually broke records the other day. My grass is turning green and soon everything will be budding and we will be out mowing. Kentucky has also been in the news about having a spiritual...

Matthew 3:13 – “The sower went out to sow.” When we run across a familiar parable, a story we’ve heard many times over our lives, it’s fun to switch it up a bit. We always think of God as the sower. And this most definitely is true; God...

At the very end of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he wraps up with a familiar image: two houses, two very different foundations. One is built on sand, the other built on rock. Matthew 7:24-27: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and...

a prayer by George Washington, the first U.S. President ALMIGHTY GOD: We make our earnest prayer that thou wilt keep the United States in thy holy protection; and cultivate a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens...

Just after the Beatitudes, where Jesus turns the normal, run-of-the-mill, follow-all-these-rules-and-you’ll-be-saved idea on its head, he shocks the listeners with this metaphor: “You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13. Salt was vital...

Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of television, games, movies, and social media? Many will say it was created to entertain and inform us, but what we may not have noticed, is that when we are constantly focused on these things, we are...

Humans have a tendency to follow, whether we like to admit it or not: “Follow me,” says every anti-aging ad campaign. “Follow me,” says the intentionally-curated algorithms of your social media accounts. “Follow me,” says the diet and...

“Hold my mule” is a figurative expression from the American South that means when a person is leading a mule and they need to go somewhere, or do something very important they will ask someone to hold their mule. Sometimes it meant they were...

In Romans 12:1-2, the Apostle Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, 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...

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go int...

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go...

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go...

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do...

We are at the end of another year and it always brings thoughts of starting fresh and having hope for the future. Most of us have watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve which officially declares, “out with the old and in with the new.” At...

 This Christmas, “Where are you?” Recall that after the fall of Man, when both Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, this was the same question God posed to them. It is a reminder that God continues to pursue us even if we reject...

What does Christmas mean to you?  I’ve read articles over the years about how Christmas is a combination of Christian and pagan symbolism along with some folklore traditions and for the most part, this is true. I also realize that most people do...

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail  Most people have read or at least heard of a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). He was a literary giant in his lifetime and is still known today in many circles as “The Children’s Poet...

 During Advent, as we await the coming of the Messiah anew, it is a worthwhile exercise to reflect on the contrast between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Saint Augustine in one of his sermons does a remarkable job of developing the difference...

Since before the world was made God has known you and loved you. He has never taken His eyes away or ignored you. If you were to write down all the blessings and victories He has given to you, they would prove He has called you, has been guiding...

What event occurred in the Americas that was a key reason for the conversion to Christianity of over 8 million native people in just seven years? What piece of art that shows no signs of human origin is still on display today almost 500 years after i...

Where are you in your life as we begin this Advent liturgical season? Does your life resemble more the Three Wise Men seeking the Lord because they recognize that they are lacking something in their lives that only Jesus can fulfill? Or maybe King He...

Thanksgiving Proclamation New York, 3 October 1789 by the President of the United States of America Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to...