“Making and Maturing Disciples of Jesus Christ”
BE STILL. What a great command at this time of the year. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy being still after all the hustle and bustle of the season. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the Christmas Season. I love the get- togethers and the lights and the visiting of family and friends. I
Read MoreLast month, we spent our time in worship focusing on gratitude. I discovered there’s an unfortunate downside to doing this—the more one focuses on gratitude, the more one notices how ungrateful people generally are. This reality grieves my heart as the ingrates don’t all live outside of the church. During our time of great thanksgiving
Read MoreFor those who have been saved by grace, and therefore recognize that all that they are and all that they have is a gift from God above, grati- tude should be a defining attribute. Our hearts should sing psalms of thanksgiving as well as the lyrics of songs of thanksgiving like “Lord, I Just Want to
Read MoreOne of the things you may not know about me is that I love poetry, especially American poetry. Anne Bradstreet, the Puritan poetess, showed me how to combine faith with learning and insight to create beauty and art. Once I was hooked on good poetry, that new love took me outside of my comfort zone
Read MoreAs the children head back to school, I have to admit that I did not keep up with my summer reading assignment. In many years, I have read a book in the summertime that combined fiction and faith. I wanted to read something that delighted my soul as much as it illumined it. Just since
Read MoreI Am—Ego Eimi The way He lived and the way He died pointed to the reality of who Jesus was as the centurion proclaimed. Jesus spoke of who He was. In the Gospel of John, He used the phrase “I AM” or “Ego Eimi” in the Greek to reveal who He was. This summer, we
Read MoreI was asked to answer that question briefly, which will be a problem as Easter is at the core of my faith, and every Sunday we celebrate Easter. In fact, Easter is why Christians moved worship to Sunday while Jews still worship on Saturday, the Sabbath. Sunday was originally the day of rest, but it became
Read MoreTolle lege. I know to many of you that may look like gibberish, but those words tolle lege (pronounced toll-ay, lay-gay) changed the world. There was a man in ancient times named Augustine. He is considered an early Church Father. His thinking changed the Church in its early stages. Later, his thought inspired Martin Luther
Read MoreGod has laid it on my heart to preach on the book of Jonah in January. For the four Sundays of this month, we will walk through the book chapter by chapter. The sermon series is entitled We Respondwith ?, …, !, or *%$# which reflects Jonah’s responses to God’s calling on his life. We
Read Moreby Jason Upton Shut up the windowsLock all the doorsMake sure nobody gets inLearn to protect what is rightfully yoursOr someone will take it my friend We’ll all sleep well tonightWith no worry about tomorrowEverything’s all rightSafe in our panic room We’re building a wallHigher and higherCome join the gospel crusadeDon’t you know God lovesGood
Read MoreCall to Confessionby Ambrose (c. 330-397), Bishop of MilanO Lord, who is all merciful: Take away my sins from me, and enkindle within me the fire of Your Holy Spirit. Take away this heart of stone from me, and give me a heart of flesh and blood, a heart to love and adore You, a
Read MoreThis year’s Christmas sermon will focus on the poverty of Christmas. It may sound like a peculiar theme given the excess of the season. Lights are everywhere taxing our overburdened electrical grid. Decorations are evermore elegant and elaborate and come with an ever increasing price tag. And don’t get me started on the trees—no seriously,
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