On my way to my favorite coffee shop this morning I turned on the heat and the radio in my Jeep. It’s been cold and they say the Thanksgiving weekend may bring some snow. Snow for Thanksgiving. We will be praying our travelers in. Tomorrow Holly flies to Washington State for Thanksgiving with Jesse. Others […]
Preparing My Heart for Advent
I’m preparing my heart for advent preaching. I’ve often said that I am a student. I am a careful and diligent student, but I am not a scholar. I respect scholars and I depend on Spirit-gifted scholars, but I am not a scholar. I like to think of myself as a pastor-poet. David was a […]
This Christmas We Will Adopt A Seven-Year-Old Again
I’m speaking tomorrow for a Christmas Banquet. it got me thinking and reading old Christmas essays. I stumbled across this paragraph: “Through the long warm days of seven summers it has stood on that pleasant hillside. On the fresh rain of seven springs it thrived. Seven winters flocked its branches with snow. And the geese […]
Praying and Plowing
Yesterday we interviewed a couple for membership. They are older folk. He (Alex) immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1957. I asked him to tell us how he came to know the Lord. He said that he was raised in a Christian home. He knew the gospel and he knew what was right […]
How Would You Answer Ragna’s Question?
I used to work in the Nationwide Insurance Claims Center in Columbus, Ohio. One morning I got into work and logged onto my computer, began to ready myself for the day when Ragna came in and went to work in the cubicle beside me. She looked over at me and said thoughtfully, “Why are you […]
Getting Ready for Christmas
I’ve been in pastoral ministry for 35 years. During that time I have aways preached Christmas messages during the whole month of December. Many of my friends in ministry have difficulty coming up with a unique Christmas message once or twice a year but have preached from five to nine Christmas messages every year for […]