Remarkable Ordinariness

Scripture is filled with examples of God using ordinary means and ordinary people to accomplish His purposes. When He chose a man to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt, He chose a reluctant man with a stammering tongue (Ex. 4:10). When Jesus chose the 12, he chose a group of uneducated and overlooked […]

On the heart

The Bible has hundreds of verses on the nature of the heart. And when one includes other “inner man” topics like conscience, will, desires, motives, mind, and thoughts, there are hundreds more. Consider this very small sampling of Scripture’s instruction on our hearts: The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” They […]

Useless? No. Useful.

A couple of weeks ago I went through some rarely opened cabinets and drawers in my office. I knew they were full, but I was a little surprised by some of the items I found in them. I repeatedly found myself saying something like, “I forgot that was there…I’ve not used that or thought of […]

The Best books I read in 2024

I enjoy books. I like bookstores — new bookstores, old bookstores, used book stores, and digital (online) bookstores. I spend a significant amount of time and money in bookstores each year. And I read, too (though not as much as I’d like, typically). Several years ago, I began keeping track of what I read each […]

The Best books I read in 2023

I’m a book collector. I’m not a vintage book collector. I don’t collect first editions. There aren’t many valuable books (as most people value them) in my collection. But I do like gathering books, purchasing books, and accumulating books. I like hard backs, paperbacks, and digital books (Kindle, PDF, and audio). I collect books because […]

What the Spirit has done (and does)

The Galatians overlooked and minimized the work of the Holy Spirit of God. They acknowledged that He was instrumental in their salvation, but they were determined to bypass His work for their ongoing sanctification — they believed that they were capable of sanctifying themselves without His efforts. The temptation that derailed their walk with Christ […]

Life is mundane

There is an ordinariness to life. Most days are not filled with remarkable and extraordinary events, but a succession of events that are very, dare I say it?, mundane. To say “life is mundane” sounds pessimistic. Or fatalistic. It sounds like one has resigned himself to inescapable ordinariness — he has given up his dreams […]

Sermon: Excel Still More

Excel Still More1 Thessalonians 4:9-12January 2, 2022 I have been asked many times (most often by visitors), “What is your vision for the church?” I haven’t always known how to answer that question. Sometimes that question implies other things like, “How big do you see the church being in five years? Ten years?” “What […]

Sermon: The King’s Worshippers

The King’s WorshippersMatthew 2:1-12December 26, 2021 We are well familiar with the Christmas stories: the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias and Elizabeth announcing the arrival of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ — and Zacharias’ unbelief and silence. the appearance of Gabriel to Mary announcing her pregnancy with the Messiah and her willing […]

Sermon: The King’s Arrival

The King’s ArrivalMatthew 1:18-25December 19, 2021 My parents and I were born in Canada (I got to Texas as quickly as I could, though); and I suppose it was the influence of being part of a British Colony that led my mom to always be more than a little intrigued by the British monarchy and […]

Sermon: The King’s Future

The King’s FutureMatthew 24:29-41December 12, 2021 On January 1, 2000, the Wall Street Journal looked back at some predictions that had been made over the previous 100 years about what life would look like in the year 2000. There were a few errors in judgment: In 1950, Popular Mechanics surmised: “The housewife of 2000 can […]

Sermon: The King’s Kingdom

The King’s KingdomMatthew 13:44-52December 5, 2021 In our political process, whenever there is an election voters want to know in advance, “If you are elected what will you do?” “What will life be like under your leadership?” We want to know if taxes will be raised, if there will be new liberties granted, or if […]

Sermon: The King’s Authority

The King’s AuthorityMatthew 9:1-8November 28, 2021 I have a friend who — right before he gives his opinion on what I should do — likes to say, “If I were king for the day…” I think he means that jokingly. I think. What would you do if you were king for the day? Poet Judith […]

Sermon: The King’s Father

The King’s FatherMatthew 6:9-15November 14, 2021 King George VI ruled as king of England for about 15 years in the first half of the 20th century before he died in 1952 from coronary thrombosis. He was immensely popular, as was his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Yet as popular as she was, when George (“Bertie”) died, she […]

Sermon: The King’s Blessing

The King’s BlessingMatthew 5:1-12November 7, 2021 The last 100+ years have seen some of the most atrocious leaders and dictators in the history of the world: Adolf Hitler, who ruled Nazi Germany in the 1930s-40s was responsible for the incarceration or death of between 15-20 million people during the Holocaust, and responsible for a total […]