It hardly seems possible, but I’m already neck-deep in preparing for Resurrection Sunday, which is March 31. As I write this, that’s only five weeks away. Yes, it happens about the same time every year; yes, the preparation and celebration are just about the same every year; however, that doesn’t change the fact that the schedule, plans, and preparations have to be made. The day is coming, whether I’m preparing for it or not, so it just makes sense that I ought to be working on it now. In fact, simply because I know that Easter comes every year, I could easily be working toward it all the time ..read more

I’ve called the current sermon series through the first book of the New Testament, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry, “Mission: Kingdom” because Matthew chronicles Jesus’ single-minded purpose to restore God’s kingdom among the people God created. We see this in the accounts surrounding Jesus’ birth – in his genealogy (Matthew 1:1) and in the visit of the wise men seeking the one who had been born “king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). We see it in the accounts of Jesus’ ministry – in his primary message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17) and throughout hi ..read more

For the last couple of years, I have been trying to restore my physical health. Honestly, I’m not sure I can actually say “restore,” since I have never been measurably healthy by any reliable standards. I have been obese since grade school, and since I graduated high school, I have spent a large portion of every day sitting, usually to listen, read, write, drive, or relax. When most of every day is spent mostly motionless, everyday health dwindles quickly until it is nearly nonexistent. In the last year or so, I lost about 100 pounds. While I’m proud of that, the bigger accomplishment is that ..read more

Is it just me, or does it seem that everybody is really looking forward to celebrating Christmas? As I’m writing this, it’s only the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I’ve been hearing Christmas music and advertisements and seeing Christmas decorations and sales for a couple of weeks, since before Halloween. Unfortunately, a lot of that early Christmas hype seems to be driven by an extra emphasis on holiday business. Over the next few weeks, a lot of Christians – especially preachers – will get a lot of mileage out of that observation, commenting on the condition of “the world” and how it has lo ..read more

As I write this article, October is winding down, and the anticipation of November already piques a sense of gratitude. Certainly, we anticipate our annual Thanksgiving observation that we will celebrate with friends and family, within the church, and throughout our nation with various expressions of gratitude. With many folks, especially within the church, prayer is the primary expression of our gratitude, giving thanks specifically to God for the blessings we have received. Many people also have traditions of sharing thoughts of thanksgiving, often around a dinner table with family and frien ..read more

As I continue to preach through 1 Corinthians, focusing on Paul’s explanation of love being “the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31), I have to remind myself – all of us, actually – that Paul wrote this letter to a body of believers who were missing the point of God’s love (chapter 13), namely the fulfillment of God’s plan through Jesus’ death and resurrection (chapter 15). Because God loves the people he created and despite our ongoing sinful efforts to separate ourselves from God and others, he sent his Son Jesus to restore us to himself. John wrote, “This is love: not that we loved Go ..read more

When I first considered preaching through Genesis, I recognized that many Christians have established a disconnect between the Old and New Testaments, so I had to be intentional in showing the unity of God’s plan from “the beginning.” Throughout the series, I have been reminding us that Genesis was written and given to Israel by Moses some time between their exodus from slavery in Egypt and their entrance into the Promised Land. During the nation’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, God had been teaching them not only about their beginnings but also his work through the generations to re ..read more

On September 12, 1777, the day after General Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, Thomas Paine wrote in his pamphlet series The American Crisis, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” Paine wrote to encourage Americans that, despite the previous day’s defeat, their cause was right and they were sure to be victorious in the end. However, within two weeks, Philadelphia was captured by the British and held for nine months. Certainly, our new country felt the fatigue of supporting its freedom, but Paine was right; as ..read more

The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” With that foundational perspective, the Founding Fathers of our nation continued to enumerate the grievances against the King of Great Britain and the reasons for this declaration, essentially stating that they were pursuing action to restore their God-given rights as human beings which the King had denied. Concluding their argument and announcem ..read more

I started the new year writing about how God continues to restore us within the church with the help of our leaders, noting my new, additional role as an elder within this body. Having served as an elder for only four months, I am noticing a few things about myself and about leadership that I had not expected. First, I don’t think of myself as much of a leader (and it would not surprise me in the least to discover exactly how many folks would agree with me). My personality and experiences throughout life have always put me somewhere in the background; full disclosure: I’d rather work behind th ..read more