Mark’s Mountain BBQ July 28, 2008
Everywhere I have ever gone, I have noticed that people are open to human touches—friendliness, compliments, smiles, gifts, tips, kindness, appreciation, a listening ear. These are the kinds of things that nurture human relations. It is in the exchange of human relations that we influence others for eternity. Ministry to people depends on human relationships.
Campton is the county seat of Wolfe County, Kentucky. Every Thursday night all summer long there is a singin’ on the street in front of the courthouse. People sit on the courthouse steps and in lawn chairs on the grass. There’s free lemonade as long as it lasts. For two or three weeks this summer the Pierponts were among the singers. (more…)
Lake Louise-Alberta, Canada July 16, 2008
I’m headed here this morning to hike and teach the Bible to a group of young people. Yesterday on the plane I was meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:6 and I noticed a mention of the Creator God:
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This looks like a great place to adore our Creator.
I’ve preached in some really interesting places. Jails, prisons, rest homes, streets, country chapels and city churches. I have a feeling this is one I will remember for a long time.
Story about Stories July 7, 2008
Here’s a short story about stories pulled out of a recent talk I gave.
podcast produced by Daniel Pierpont
Soul Thirst
Do you believe there is such a thing as soul-thirst? I do. Deep down in the heart of every person is a thirst only Jesus can quench.
I once directed a Christian ministry housed in a sixteen-story hotel in Michigan. The hotel was built on the river. One morning one of the children was looking out over the river and said; “Oh, Dad, that guy just took a cup out and dipped it in the river and drank from it.” (more…)
Sunset on Summer July 5, 2008
Here is the title story from my book Sunset on Summer. Download and enjoy. Let me know what you think.
Sunset on Summer
Thanks to Daniel for producing the podcast.
Lois Gail June 26, 2008
I do have a wife. This is a picture of her and our youngest daughter.
She Testifies in Church June 10, 2008
Our daughters Holly, Heidi, Hannah, and Hope are singing this month in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Last week one of the places they sang was Pigeon Roost Community House of Prayer. It was a tiny, neat church hidden in the hills of Kentucky, hill after green, forested hill from a town of any size. The girls have become such flatlanders living in Michigan that they usually arrive at their engagements green as the surrounding mountains.
They recovered enough to sing. When they sang, each of the girls testified. When they were done the pastor said he would like to hear their mother testify. Lois is reluctant to speak in public but when she does it is always sweet and meaningful. She stood to her feet and gave public thanks to the Lord Jesus for his goodness. When Lois was done the pastor said, “Well, now we’ve heard from each of the girls and the mother. Now I would like the grandmother to testify.”
Lois is reluctant to speak in public, but her mother never speaks in public—never. She is so quiet publically it is hard for her to order in a restaurant.
Lois and Holly both immediately started to intervene to save Grandma Allene from embarrassment, but before they could she stood up and delivered a flawless testimony of her dependence on Jesus and her gratitude to Him. She is almost seventy and it was the first time in her life that she ever gave a public testimony. On the way home she said, “These are my people down here in these hills. It’s not hard for me to talk to them.”
I’ve heard people in Kentucky, when they are referring to someone as a devout believer, say, “She’s a fine Christian, why she even testifies in Church.”
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
June 9, 2008
Why Talk About Hell? June 6, 2008
It is unpopular and uncommon in most churches in America to hear a message on Hell. I am going to preach on Hell Sunday morning. It would be a good service to invite people to if you care about their souls. Let’s admit it Hell is not a popular subject, so why would we preach on it? What good can come from preaching on Hell?
This should be answer enough: Jesus preached about Hell. Jesus had a lot to say about Hell. Why did he talk about Hell so much? It must have been good to talk and think about Hell. Here are just a few of the good things that happen when we talk, think, and preach about Hell:
• It makes us we examine ourselves.
• It stimulates efforts to evangelize.
• It magnifies God’s grace.
• It illustrates God righteousness, holiness, and justice.
• It reminds us to examine ourselves.
• It causes us to hold God in awe.
• It causes us to hate sin more.
• It sobers us and we are often told to be sober.
• It makes Heaven sweeter.
• It makes the things of this world smaller.
In American colonial days Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon; Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Listen to a version here. Read it here. Was Jonathan Edwards wrong to preach that way? Is it possible that one of the reasons there is so little fear of God in America and so much disregard for God, because there is so little preaching on Hell in America? We believe there is a hell. Why don’t we warn people about it? If we don’t warn people about it, is it because we really don’t believe in Hell?
Let’s talk about Hell. It will do us good.
Pastor Ken Pierpont
The Study—Evangel Baptist Church
June 6, 2008
The Simple Joy of Missions April 28, 2008
In May 2006 I skipped my graduate school commencement and Chuk skipped his college graduation ceremony to take advantage of a missionary opportunity. Our family went with an evangelistic team to Mexico. One evening we visited a tiny, humble village on Lake Chapala. Most of the streets in the village were dirt. The main street was cobblestone.
The street was filled with children when we got there. We had a big watermelon to use for a skit, but someone had the idea that we should just slice the melon and give it out to children. A long line of children formed for watermelon. One of our team members made animal balloons. Another line formed there. Three or four girls visited in homes. I walked to a little shop that opened up to the street and ordered a Coke. I didn’t drink the water in Mexico but I put away the Coke. In Mexico they are cheap and cold and sold in real glass bottles.
Dan, Wes, and Chuk juggled. We sang to draw a crowd, told stories and did skits. Finally it was time to go. Most of the team made their way to the bus, but two of our young women stayed behind. The sun had set and the street was getting dark. I stayed with them. One of them knew Spanish. She interpreted while the other told the gospel story to a group of about five teenaged girls from the village. I watched. None of the girls looked away from her eyes for even a second. She explained the gospel and prayed with the girls, then we all walked back to the bus in the cool night air.
That spring night in a tiny, poor village in Mexico, a young lady from Indiana and another from Boston were learning missions first-hand. On the bus home they were tired but joyful that they had been able to give the gospel and pray with the girls. I will never forget the look in the eyes of each of the girls, the joyful chatter of our young ladies, the cool of the night, or the worn cobblestone streets of the village. I will never tire of telling the story.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
April 28, 2008
Janice Meredith Wilson April 14, 2008
I brought this post to the top of my site because I mentioned it in my message Sunday morning. Be sure you follow the link at the end of my essay.
Do you know who Janice Meredith Wilson is? You should. Let me get on my soapbox here for a minute and then I will introduce her to you.
The guest list for lecturers at the National Cathedral in Washington D. C. is heavily weighted toward an odd amalgam of men and women, writers and preachers, educators and media persons who almost always speak with robust confidence about questionable things. The same people treat with detached skepticism the simple, straightforward claims of the Bible. In other words, the people who speak at the National Cathedral are often sure of things that Christians have historically been doubtful about and doubtful about things that have historically defined Christianity.
I know I’m speaking in direct tones here, but I would not recommend that you surf onto their site and start watching lectures unless you have a strong stomach and a stalwart faith. None of us have enough time on our hands to watch people talk on and on about what they DON’T believe, no matter how sophisticated, popular, elite, educated, or well-spoken they are.
But there have been a few exceptions. On December 6, 2005 the powers that be at the National Cathedral invited Janice Meredith Wilson to lecture. From what I can tell it was one of their best decisions in recent years. I watched the lecture on my computer.
Janice Meredith Wilson is the name of the author who is known by the pseudonym, Jan Karon. She is the author of the Mitford series of novels about an Episcopal pastor from a delightful fictitious village in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Mitford, North Carolina. There are nine books in all. They tell a warm story about a community of people and a pastor, his wife, his dog, and her cat. The books are entertaining and insightful, they are descriptive and delightful. Her depictions of people make you laugh and cry. Her descriptions of food make your mouth water. Her insights on the things of God make you want to pray and serve and love and give. Though fiction they are accurate and tasteful in their treatments of human nature and Janice is able to accomplish all this without resorting to profanity, offensive violence, or sexual innuendo.
She did in her address at the National Cathedral what she did in her books. She told her story in a compelling and clear way weaving into the story spiritual insights and biblical truths. It is an art and she is a skilled artist. She told how she came to the place where she knew her life was empty and she called on the Lord Jesus to forgive her sins and take over her life. She so tastefully and boldly proclaimed Christ and the gospel that I literally jumped to my feet and cheered her on.
We may not be asked to speak at the National Cathedral, but we all have our pulpit, our lectern, our microphone, our street corner, our place at the table in the coffee shop. We all have our moment on the stage. We all have our circle of influence. When the time comes-follow Jan Karon’s example. When you have a brief moment in the lights don’t forget who your God is. Don’t forget who your creator is. Don’t forget the One who is your hope and your salvation. Don’t forget the One who is your life. Don’t forget the One in whom we live and move and have our being. With a winsome spirit, with the bold confidence of someone who is handing out one hundred dollar bills, with graceful poise, stand up and make Christ known.
He is the way, the truth, and the life and when you proclaim his name it will have the ring of truth in the hearts of those whom God is calling to himself. He is at work in the hearts of people, do your part and make Him known. Here is a link to Jan’s lecture
Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
January 16, 2007
Ken's new book - Sunset On Summer, now available for order, $13.95 each.