Dr. Bascom Ratliff

(Photo by John Price / Upsplash) Matters of Faith By Dr. Bascom Ratliff, pastor Parker, Beagle, Fontana United Methodist Church Scripture (NRSV):  Galatians 3:28. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Romans 12:5, “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” I'm intrigued by the notion that the United States is a Christian nation. I find that there's a...

Matters of Faith By Dr. Bascom Ratliff, pastor Parker, Beagle, Fontana United Methodist Churches Scripture (NRSV): Romans 6: 23. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” During this season of gift-giving and gift-getting, I am reminded that the greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate on Dec. 25. The gift of Jesus comes with other gifts. For example, through him we receive access to the Holy Spirit. We have his...

Photo by Vitaly Gariev, Unsplash Matters of Faith By Dr. Bascom Ratliff, pastor Parker, Beagle, Fontana United Methodist Churches Scripture (NRSV): Matthew 22: 37-39. Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” There are hundreds of Bible verses which speak to the power...