Beware of a temptation of spiritual gifts

In the 1920s, Harvey Penick purchased a red spiral notebook and began keeping a diary of his observations about golf. He only shared the book with his son until he mentioned it to Austin reporter Bud Shrake in an interview in 1991. He asked Shrake if he thought anyone would be interested in publishing the […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Serve God’s People

Because of God’s Mercy…Serve God’s People Romans 12:6-8 September 27, 2020 When James was seven years old, he was hit by a bread delivery truck. He survived, but he suffered an injury to the frontal lobe of his brain and a chunk of his skull was missing — an indentation that was evident for the […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed (Pt. 2)

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Humble Romans 12:3-5 September 20, 2020 Henry Augustus Rowland was a professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University in the second half of the 19th century. On one occasion he was called as a witness in a court case and his qualifications were given as “the highest known authority in this […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed (Pt. 2)

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed, Part 2 Romans 12:2 September 13, 2020 We need to change. We have to change. We have been called to change. Change is necessary for the one who is in Christ Jesus. And we can change because of the gospel that has saved us. Just listen to a few passages […]

The (often) slow nature of sanctification

I cringe every time I get on our scale. I am fearful (ok, that’s a strong word, but it’s probably pretty close to my internal anticipation in that moment) of what number will be revealed moments after I am positioned and still. Even though the scale doesn’t cringe and groan as much as it did […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed Romans 12:2 September 6, 2020 If you know me, you already know this is true for me; if you don’t know me, this is just a little self-disclosure: I don’t like change. I like regular. I thrive under routine. Sameness is my friend. And that means that Raye Jeanne and […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy

Because of God’s Mercy… Romans 12:1 August 30, 2020 A few weeks ago, Americans received an unexpected COVID-gift from the United States government. And the topic quickly became, “what are you going to do with your money?” Some paid bills. Some paid down debt. Some made purchases for which they had been saving. Some gave […]

Sermon: Transforming Truths of the Gospel

Transforming Truths of the Gospel Romans 1-11 August 23, 2020 “The world is broken.” That is what Raye Jeanne said to me Wednesday evening as we sat on our porch and recounted our day and the people we had interacted with and the world circumstances we’d observed. I’m not talking about COVID, though that is […]

Sermon: In Praise of God, Pt 2

In Praise of God, Pt. 2 Romans 11:36 August 2, 2020 In an article entitled, “How Big is God?” David Coppedge, a scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory writes that a manned flight to Pluto going at the maximum speed of Apollo astronauts, would take 17 years before it could park in a hangar at […]

God knows

God knows… God knows the name of every star (and by extension, every heavenly body); He not only knows their names, but He named every star, solar system, galaxy, and universe. He numbers, names, and monitors each and every one (Ps. 147:4; Is. 40:26). God knows the average number of hairs on every head — […]

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 […]