Sermon: In Praise of God

In Praise of God Romans 11:33-36 July 26, 2020 John Wesley Powell was a government explorer who led a boat expedition through the Grand Canyon in 1869. He wrote a description of his impressions of that trip entitled, “The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth” in his book, Canyons of the Colorado (1895): The Grand Canyon […]

God’s merciful use of sin

You are aware of the saying, “You can be anything you want to be; you can do anything you want to do, if you just try hard enough.” I am intentionally working to burst bubbles and change thinking when I say, “Bologna.” That saying is just wrong. Completely wrong. And foolish. And deceiving. And hopeless […]

Sermon: God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2)

God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2) Romans 11:28-32 July 19, 2020 I like a good “who dunnit?” Sunday evenings, our family has enjoyed many hours of watching Masterpiece Mystery — Foyle’s War, Sherlock, Inspector Lewis, Miss Marple, Poirot, and Endeavour among them. I have read quite a few Agatha Christie mysteries, and other similar fare. In […]

Promises, Promises

We are used to people breaking promises. We assume politicians — Presidents, Senators, Representatives, State legislators, city councilmen and more — will break their promises. We know that some marriage vows being given in earnest this year will be broken in years to come. Promises to children for vacations and days away (“Six Flags!” and […]

Best books of 2020, so far

I love books. And I not only collect books, but I actually read them (well, not all of them, but I give it a good try). I’m not a particularly fast reader, but I am a persistent reader, so I am able to read a pretty significant number of books every year. My reading pace […]

Sermon: God’s People? Saved! (Pt 1)

God’s People? Saved! (Pt 1) Romans 11:25-27 July 12, 2020 How have you spent your COVID? It’s not the only thing we have done, but we spent at least four days attacking trees and shrubs in our yard — trimming, cutting down, and then digging out roots. By my count, I have dug out 10-12 […]

Have you considered God’s kindness — and severity?

The most popular cultural conception of God is that He is loving. The idea is that He is a God of all (and only) grace, overlooking the foibles, peccadilloes, and even most severe sins because He is too nice to be mean. He is so loving that He could never be angry. This perception is […]

Sermon: Israel, God’s Promises, and Unexpected Favor

Israel, God’s Promises, and Unexpected Favor Romans 11:17-24 July 5, 2020 In Romans, Paul is establishing his credibility as an apostle and as a missionary. He wants the Roman church to be his sending church on his journey to Spain, and he is giving them his understanding of the gospel — man’s sin and lostness […]

Sermon: Failure and Faithfulness

Failure and Faithfulness Romans 11:11-16 June 28, 2020 The past four months of COVID-19 and unrighteous killings and riots have led to many questions, and few answers. Many questions have not just been asked about our political leaders, but also about God. All the questions about God might be summarized by three questions asked by […]

What do you want?

D. A. Carson told the story of Lillian Guild who was driving one day with her husband and noticed a recent-model Cadillac at the side of the road with its hood up. The driver explained with some embarrassment that he was in a hurry to get to a business meeting and that while he’d seen […]

Sermon: A Servant of Scripture

A Servant of Scripture Psalm 119:121-128 June 21, 2020 Private Harry Cole was a private in the British Army that was retreating to Dunkirk in 1940. He penned a letter to his mother and family during the retreat, but his regiment was overrun by the Germans and he never made it to Dunkirk and did […]

Today is a day for thankfulness

Today is a day for thankfulness. Every day is a day for thankfulness. Every circumstance is a time for thankfulness. That’s not my opinion. My (personal and fleshly) opinion is that most days are for grumbling, complaining, disputing, and arguing. I do not naturally gravitate to thankfulness. I naturally move towards ingratitude and discontentment. But […]

Sermon: Thanking God for the Past…

Thanking God for the Past; Trusting God for the Future Philippians 1:3-11 June 14, 2020 Sometimes it is hard to give thanks for the circumstances and people of our past. That’s not just true in the past three months, but it’s also true of life in general — illness, unexpected deaths, financial hardship (poverty), broken […]

What the world needs now

I was going to say it Sunday, but I forgot. I had thought of it while on a run last week, but I didn’t have a pen and paper handy at that moment, and then forgot to write it down later. So when I wrote last Sunday’s sermon, it didn’t get included. When we think […]

Sermon: What the World Needs Now

What the World Needs Now Selected Scriptures June 7, 2020 Thursday morning I went for a run as I normally do on that day. I woke up particularly early, so I grabbed my headlamp to guide my way. It was somewhat warm and humid so I was a little tired on the run. A little […]