This past Sunday, with hands raised, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude as I sang with fellow believers in worship. I was grateful for my heavenly Father who cares for me. Thankful for Jesus, the cross, the suffering, the victory. As the words of the songs filled the sanctuary I was aware that everything was …
Changes
Many are familiar with the passage taken from Ecclesiastes, if only by listening to the words in the famous folk/rock ballad sung by The Byrds. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a …
The Eagle and the Cornfield
I was driving through a portion of southern Minnesota this week during a warming period. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm and the snow cover sparse. For those who do not live in this area, southern Minnesota is home to great expanses of soybean and corn fields. The crops thrive in the rich ink black …
I Really Want That
I just finished a gem of a book entitled, "Stop Loving the World" by William Greenhill. It was a freebie in my welcome bag at the Desiring God conference in 2011. The book is a sermon that was preached by Greenhill, a Puritan, originally titled "Being against the Love of the World" and has been published …
Seasons of our Lives
There seems to be one constant in life and that is change. Solomon worded this so beautifully in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. "A time to be born and a time to die." (ESV) Opposites, contrasts, change. Verses 2-8 are examples of the truth Solomon sets forth in verse 1 - "For every thing there is a season, and a …
A New Thing
The coming New Year gently prods us to change. Or maybe causes enough guilt that we try to rally the troops and make appropriate changes for a better life. It is a natural starting point, an excuse for a do-over. We look for the New Thing to change our life, to spark some excitement, to …
My Top 10 Reads for 2011
As a pastor I read books for a variety of reasons. I use many reference works and commentaries to build sermons. Reading for scholastic purposes can sometimes be tedious and time-consuming but it is a necessary part of good sermon construction. The following reads do not necessarily fall in that category. The books that I …
