What is the Fear of God?

Many years ago I saw a new title by a favored author and I immediately purchased the book for two reasons: one, I always benefited from all that author’s writings, and two, the book was on the topic of the fear of God, something I had struggled to comprehend as a believer. So with anticipation […]

Sermon: Preserving Unity, Building the Body

Preserving Unity, Building the Body Ephesians 4:11-13 February 7, 2021 Ted was discouraged. He had written what he thought was a pretty entertaining children’s book. But it had been rejected by multiple publishers — 27, in fact. He had just decided to go home and burn the manuscript to the book when he ran into […]

I went on vacation

Sunday evening Raye Jeanne and I returned from the longest vacation we have taken in years, if not ever. We were gone for 17 days. It was more vacation than we took in all of 2020. And in the week that I have been back in the office, I’ve come to two conclusions: One. Vacation […]

Best books of 2020

I know. This is late. I had good intentions. But I just didn’t get it done. (I might have been reading another book instead.) So a few weeks into the new year, here are some of the best books I read last year. As I did last year, I will categorize them around some general […]

New blog design

Recently, our church website was overhauled with a new design. I was encouraged to work on a new design for my blog site. After all, it had been five or more years since I had given the design any attention. When I went to edit the site today I found that the design I have […]

Of penguins, pandemics, politics, and parking lots

John Ruskin, a philosopher, naturalist, and artist wrote in the 19th century, “One can’t be angry when one looks at a penguin.” I spontaneously smiled as soon as I read that sentence this week. In a day when there are many opinionated and angry people, perhaps we need to look at more penguin pictures. Or […]

Sermon: Jesus Prays

Jesus Prays John 17:20-26 January 3, 2021 Few things reveal the nature and condition of our hearts like prayer (when we are genuine and truthful). That is true as well of the heart of Christ, which makes the Lord’s prayer in John 17 a particularly rich and stimulating passage of Scripture. Of this passage, Melanchthon […]

Bible Reading Plans for 2021

Every day I make plans for what I will eat that day; rare is the day when I don’t get three meals (with an occasional snack or two along the way) and an adequate amount of caffeine and liquids. I am dependent on food and water, so I make plans to take it in regularly. […]

Sermon: What We Want from the Word

What We Want from the Word Psalm 119:129-136 December 27, 2020 What did you want this week? That’s a fitting question for a week when there is much gift giving. What gifts were you anticipating giving? What kinds of gifts were you hoping to receive (or not receive)? Where did you want to go (or […]

The Father Who Sent His Son

The following is the manuscript of the message given at our Christmas Eve service this evening. In February 1942, the American war against the Japanese in the Philippines was not going well. It was going so poorly that by March 12, 1942, President Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur, who was stationed in the Philippines, to […]

Sermon: Christ is Coming

Christ is Coming Revelation 1:7 December 20, 2020 It was early in November that I saw my first sign of Christmas. There on someone’s Facebook video was a Christmas tree in the background — two weeks before Thanksgiving! It was shortly after that Raye Jeanne and I began noticing that Christmas lights started appearing on […]

Men, Relationships, and Ministry in 2021

Relationships are essential. Relationships are a non-negotiable component of corporate church life and individual spiritual life. Relationships are not an added blessing like a favorite dessert after a satisfying meal. Just as fruit, vegetables, and protein are foundational to a good meal, relationships are foundational to life. We might survive without relationship, be cannot thrive […]

Sermon: Christ Has Come

Christ Has Come Revelation 1:4-6 December 6, 2020 A truck driver was driving across a town but something appeared to be wrong — every time he stopped at a red light or stop sign, he would jump out of his truck running around it and beating the side of it with a baseball bat. Someone […]

Fellowship with God

This post was originally published June 3, 2013; it is being republished today because the theme fits this past Sunday’s sermon so well. The term “fellowship” is used regularly in the context of the church (do non-believers use the word?). Often the word is used synonymously for “food” or “feast,” as in, “be sure to […]

Sermon: Fellowship and the Cross

Fellowship and the Cross 1 John 1:1-4 November 29, 2020 Many years ago (while in seminary) I was an evangelism trainer on a team of people from our church who went out weekly to share the gospel. One of the people on my team was a good friend from seminary. As we were headed back […]