Having Hope While Living in a Broken World

Having Hope While Living in a Broken WorldRomans 8:18-25April 23, 2023 We live in a broken world and we have seen it too closely this week: Two teenaged students in Granbury died suddenly and tragically this week. Ruby Sargent’s last sibling passed away last week. One of our members experienced an accident at work that […]

The answer for our need

In his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle wrote, What humanity needs…is a transformation of consciousness. This consciousness “can flow into what you do and spread into this world” through “three modalities in which you can align your life with the creative power of the universe”—acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. [quoted […]

Transformed by the Resurrection

Transformed by the ResurrectionJohn 21:15-25April 9, 2023 “If you ask where God’s glory is most seen, I will not point to creation, nor to providence, but to the raising of Jesus from the dead.” [Spurgeon] We make much of the resurrection. For good reason. It is one of two fundamental pillars of salvation: We are […]

Lavish Love

It was a take-your-breath-away kind of thing to do. It was crazy — though it had been planned, it appeared irrational. It was a waste, or so it seemed. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that no one tried to stop her. But given a few moments of reflection and instigated by one comment of […]

Preparation for Resurrection day

Preparation for Resurrection DayJohn 12:1-11April 2, 2023 Some of the great adventures in the history of the world are the trips men have taken to the moon. While we look back at the ventures with a sense of awe because of the technology that was used to get astronauts there — the quests were filled […]

What’s Coming?

My daughter texted me this morning. “GUESS WHAT?” “I don’t know. What?” HAPPY OPENING DAY!!! ⚾️ That sentiment made me wonder (as a life-long-suffering Texas Ranger fan), “will this year be better…?” After more than 50 years of watching the Rangers the skeptic (realist?) in me says, “probably not.” […]

From Fasting to Feasting

From Fasting to FeastingZechariah 8:18-23March 26, 2023 Raye Jeanne and I enjoy watching home restoration shows. We like seeing something dilapidated and unusable made beautiful and functional. It’s inspiring how skilled and creative some restorers are. But not all restorers are equally effective. Consider the experience of the Church of St. Michael in Estella, Spain. […]

God’s Grace for troubled People, Pt. 2

God’s Grace for Troubled People, Pt. 2Zechariah 8:9-17March 19, 2023 I suppose everyone likes a surprise (happy) ending to a story. The Bible is filled with stories of unexpected endings — tragedies and loss that are unexpectedly transformed (what one writer calls “redemptive reversals”). These stories begin appearing in the Bible almost on the first […]

God’s Grace for troubled People, Pt. 1

God’s Grace for Troubled People, Pt. 1Zechariah 8:1-8March 5, 2023 Thaddeus Williams writes about the fastest-growing religion in the world, self-worship: …84 percent of Americans believe that “enjoying yourself is the highest goal of life.” Further, 86 percent believe that to enjoy yourself you must “pursue the things you desire most.” And 91 percent affirm […]

Fasting and the Bible

Spiritual disciplines. The phrase provokes thoughts of Bible reading — and Bible study, meditation, and memorization — and prayer. And some might think of corporate worship and biblical fellowship. And evangelism. But that is the extent of what most of us think about when the practices that lead us to fellowship and joy with Christ […]

Sermon: Fasting, God’s Word, and Righteousness

Fasting, God’s Word, and RighteousnessZechariah 7:8-14February 12, 2023 A few years ago, Richard Patterson was told by a Muslim friend that in Islam there is a tradition of writing out the Koran by hand among more devoted followers. Richard thought it was a good idea, and because he wasn’t Muslim, he found some appropriate pens […]

Sermon: A Question for the Lord

A Question for the LordZechariah 7:1-7February 5, 2023 For many years now, at the beginning of every year, I have preached a series of two sermons on essential spiritual disciplines: Bible and prayer. Then a few years ago I started also preaching a sermon on evangelism and the gospel. We need these yearly reminders of […]

Jesus is the answer

In Colossians 2:8 Paul warns about the dangers of the base and elementary philosophy of the world. What are those principles? He is non-specific, but the most basic philosophy of the world is this — anything must be made supreme so that God and Christ will be minimized. The base philosophy of the world it […]

Sermon: Why the Gospel?

Why Evangelism?Colossians 2January 29, 2023 All Steve wanted to do was clean his fish tank. He had no idea of the problems that would create for him. Here’s a report of the incident: [He] was trying to get rid of a colony of zoanthids — a relative of corals and sea anemones — that was […]

The blessing of repentance

Sin is not the final word. Sin is not (necessarily) the end of the story. Charles Spurgeon rightly notes the power and blessing of repentance: Reader, has sin pulled you down? Have you become like a ruin? Has the hand of the Lord gone out against you, so that in estate you are impoverished, and […]