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At our pastoral best
You are at your pastoral best when you are not noticed. — Eugene Peterson (@PetersonDaily) June 20, 2015
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No fear of the topic of hell
“Why should anyone be shattered by the thought of hell? It is not compulsory for anyone to go there. Those who do, do so by their own choice, and against the will of God, and they can only get into hell by defying and resisting all the work of Providence and grace.” — Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
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Let us weep and mourn
This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Jer. 31:15)
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The hurt in our hearts
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked…
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6.14.15 Imagine A New Day Podcast: Not By Might
“Imagine a New Day” – A sermon from Heights Church Subscribe in a reader or on iTunes
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Ignoring the cultural buffoonery — Psalm 101
We can’t ignore it. I realize that. It’s in your face whether you try to read news or just catch up on social media. But in the face of the current idiocy we find in our culture, Psalm 101 calls me back to something key: it’s about WHERE I choose to keep my thoughts and focus. The key is here:…
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Progression isn’t always good
“Modernity is above all things convinced… that is owes nothing to the past, that it has made itself, that what matters most is what is happening right now. Indeed, this is the meaning of the freedom, power, and progress that we all prize.” — Michael Allen Gillespie quoted in Theology as Retrieval. This actually has a connotation that “post-modernism” still has…
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Being “on mission”
I am revisiting Briggs and Hyatt’s book on Eldership and find myself challenged by the lead question: “How would you define ministry?” The working answer for Briggs and Hyatt: meeting people where they are and journeying with them to where God wants them to be. They have a list of what ministry is not to reaffirm that definition: It is not waiting for people…
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Reminder of the Day
From time to time it is wonderful to be reminded of some solid Kingdom truth: Your eternal destiny is not cosmic retirement; it is to be a part of a tremendously creative project, under unimaginably splendid leadership, on an inconceivably vast scale, with ever increasing cycles of fruitfulness and enjoyment — and that is the prophetic vision which ‘eye has…
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Worship songs that ring true — Oceans
Awhile back I remember a headline or something on Facebook mocking the popularity of a worship song called “Oceans.” I’m a pastor, but I can’t possibly keep up on all the music coming out today, so when I finally paid attention and I realized we actually sang that song… and I really LIKE that song. Then, I ran across this…
