Over the last 8 years my church has focused on slowly preaching through whole books of the Bible instead of focusing on individual topics. Especially in 2020, wouldn’t it be helpful to focus the sermons around racism, politics, and other culture dynamics? Though each of those topics has been highlighted, they have not been our…
All posts tagged bible
Redeeming Wanderlust
Rather than a life of Instagram worthy wanderlust, becoming a follower of Jesus is a humble embrace of a pilgrim path. On this episode Michelle Van Loon walks through what it looks like to follow Jesus while maintaining a status of an exiled wanderer in the world. Michelle is a wonderful writer and storyteller with…
A Year Through The Bible
If you’re too busy to read, you’re too busy. — I just recently finished a year-long Bible reading plan, for the second time in my life. It did, however, take me 13 months to complete, because I’m human. On my previous one-ibleyear read through of the Bible the reading was part of a school assignment…
Taking After God, like David
One of the more confusing parts of the Bible is David’s description in 1st Samuel 13, as a “man after God’s own heart.” At the moment God has declared this of David we know little of him. He’s the youngest son, severly overlooked and undervalued. We get the sense that he’s a hard worker, but…
The 2 Ways to Produce Change in Others
As a pastor I do a lot of studying on communication, and how to be most effective with the Sunday morning sermon during our weekly worship gatherings. Thousands of books have been written on how to form a sermon, how to deliver a sermon, how to produce change in others, etc. Clearly the role of…
A Lens for Viewing the World
One of the most difficult parts of pastoral work is trying to get people to care about things that will lead toward the abundant life God desires each of us to have. It seems the majority of my time is spent trying to get people to make an effort, rather than supporting those who are.…