Spiritual Formation
-
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1, ESV) What comes into our minds may be out of our control at times. What stays in our minds is under our control. The Spirit gives us that power and discernment. We can also gain control… Read more
-
No matter who we are in life, no matter how far we have gone academically, this is true: everyone gets an education. The question is this: What kind? It could be in the finest schools money could by. It could be “on the streets.” It could be “in the school of hard knocks.” But everyone… Read more
-
This past Sunday I actually used all four texts of the Sunday reading in my message. I couldn’t even begin to dig into any one of them, but I felt the Lord had something from each passage to give to people in the congregation. The ending passage was Romans 8 and the thought we left… Read more
-
With the Lord as my shepherd, and the metaphor of me being the sheep, the picture is that I follow. When I follow I will find that I lack nothing. He provides. He brings me to places where my hunger is taken care of and my thirst is quenched. He is the One who brings… Read more
-
“Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” (Psalm 71:18,19, NIV) Part of the joy… Read more
-
Growing up and not celebrating Lent I had the impression it was a time where Catholics gave up meat or sweets. They could live like the world every other time of the year, but for Lent they had to “give up” something. It was just about the “giving up.” The more I’ve grown in disciplines… Read more
-
In The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister, there are some helpful insights into the purposes of Lent. This year I want to be more purposeful in my walk through Lent and invite my church to do the same. There is something the Spirit is speaking to us as a body, and I desire for us… Read more
-
This week and weekend is a mix of celebrations. Our middle son, Josiah, is 18 today. Time is flying. He is in his senior year of high school, finishing the spring play and his high school career in drama, and then this fall will be off to college. This weekend will also mark a celebration… Read more
-
We are going through Tim Keller’s excellent book The Prodigal God in our Wednesday night adult group at church. Keller is incredibly challenging. I love his style. Our views on the parable of the prodigal tend to focus on the younger son. Who can’t get into that? We write songs about it. (“When God Ran.”… Read more
-
Lent begins 4 weeks from today. As we walk through this time as a church, I want to unpack more of the meaning as we prepare our hearts for Resurrection Sunday. Lent is a 40 day walk. Pentecost Sunday will come 50 days after Resurrection Sunday. Fudging numbers, that’s about 120 days. There is a… Read more
Apprentice 2 Jesus 