Series: Gospel Optimism
Title: Gospel Conversation With Yourself (Romans 5:1-11)
Bethel Church | Jackson, Michigan
January 29, 2023 AM
Lead Pastor | Ken Pierpont
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My Ambition to Be A “Teller”
There are “Tellers” (a common name for storytellers) and there are “Tellers.” Some storytellers are simply entertainers. If you know me you know I am a teller, but I have always aspired, not primarily to entertain, but to be a faithful teller of the truth. The telling I do and the telling I love is Truth Telling. It is telling the truth of scripture. That is the only truth that sets people free. Anyway, in one form or another today I’m working on truth-telling, preparing for camp messages, writing sermons, podcasting true stories, reading and studying truth, witnessing, just planting seeds of truth. Truth-Telling.
An additional thought came to my heart this morning: “Those who talk a lot are likely to sin, but those who control their tongues are wise.” (Prov. 10:19)
Prayer to God: “Help me, Lord not to speak when I should be silent and not to be silent when I should speak. Help me to discern the difference.”
And when I tell… let it be Big T Truth.
Bittersweet Farm
January 23, 2023
An Angel With a Tire Iron
I was running late to church yesterday feeling no pressure because I was not preaching. Snow had fallen in the night. It was a beautiful morning but it was cold. Out on route 60 I saw a car pulled awkwardly into the median. Someone was having trouble. As I got closer I could see it was a young woman who had a flat tire. Cars were speeding past spraying icy slush. Snow was blowing down. I would not want to have to change a tire in that dangerous spot on a cold winter morning.
The whole scene was frightening and uncomfortable. I would not want to be broken down in winter weather at the mercy of other drivers and the weather. But there was one other thing that warmed my heart as I drove by like the Levite priest passing the man on the road to Jericho.
Behind her car was a pick-up truck with it’s hazards flashing. A middle aged man was squatting in the snow with a lug wrench. Even passing on the road I could tell he had things in hand. He knew what he was doing. She was looking on. They were laughing and talking while he was turning a dangerous episode on a cold, cold morning into a warm memory.
I smiled and continued on my way to church.
Bittersweet Farm
January 23, 2023
How God Used Billy Graham in My Life
One of the most important stories ever in our family is the story my father tells here. He was visiting Bittersweet Farm one afternoon in 2018 and I recorded him telling this story:
If you would like to have a conversation about how to have peace with God, please contact me. I would love to explain to you how you can know that you have eternal life and forgiveness from God.
Bittersweet Farm
January 13, 2023
Walking and Treadmills
I’ve been walking every day this winter. People who love me want me to buy a treadmill. Not a chance. I’m not going to do it. They want me to stay off the road. They are afraid I will get hit by a car and die. I’m afraid if I walk on a treadmill I will wish I was dead or perish of boredom.
I really don’t want a treadmill because I don’t walk for punishment, but for refreshment. Nothing about walking on the treadmill seems refreshing to me. You can’t hear the birdsongs on a treadmill. You can’t watch the sunrise in the basement. You can’t feel the chill of the wind in your face. The earth doesn’t rise and fall under your feet. It never spits rain or snow. On a treadmill in the basement you will not smell the freshness of rain or the coming of spring or the fragrance of burning wood. How sad would it be to live in a world without the fragrance of burning wood. You never pass a neighbor with a friendly greeting or another human out walking their dog.
I would much rather have a little hardship or adjustment or challenge than unbroken boredom. So I’ll put on my reflective vest and get my little flashlight and bundle up and see if I can get down to the corner where the only traffic is deer and wild turkeys and if I get hit by a car on the way there or back, at least you know I didn’t die of boredom.
P.S. For those of you who love me and want me to be safe, thank you. I love you too. For those of you who love treadmills, bless you. That is a matter of Christian freedom. 🙂
Bittersweet Farm
January 9, 2023
A Sign of the End Times? | Bittersweet Farm Journal | January 11, 2023
Hope you and yours are well in this New Year. Do you have plans or goals? I’d love to hear about them. I’m going to write two books this year. I am going to organize our basement and carriage house. I’m going to walk or ride my bike six days a week. I have a few other goals to. Last night I was thinking about organizing my basement and
I’m developing a set of guidelines/practices for our storage areas:
—everything must be stored in a stackable container.
—all containers must be labeled.
—all contents must be logged on a database and keyed to the container number.
—never discard something that does not belong to you without permission of its owner.
—periodically sell, donate or discard unused and unneeded items.
—store bins in seasonal sections so you know where things are based on the time of year you need them. Shorts. Sweaters. Christmas. Easter bunny collection. Ashes of the red heifer, etc.
—never throw away clothing that matches your youngest daughter’s American girl doll that you bought her when she was small on a trip to Chicago years ago. Keep it so you can stand in the basement and clear your sinuses periodically.
Signs of the Times?
When the children were small we lived in an old farmhouse on a dead-end road. To get home I would pass where you could see the house in a clearing from highway 36 and then double back on the dead-end road where the house was located. When I came home I would pass the clearing and beep my horn. The kids would usually be playing in the yard knowing I would be home soon. They would run or ride their bikes down the road to meet me. They are all grown up now and live in other places in Michigan or in other states. I don’t get to see them at the end of every day but I cherish the memory of their eagerness and unfiltered love.
I got to thinking about that this morning because recently a video has been going around on the internet with about the end times, the return of Christ, and the drying up of the Euphrates River. It got me thinking about the return of Christ. How much and how often do I look forward to the return of Christ? How eager am I to see him? Do I love to think about the Lord’s return? Do I love to talk about the Lord’s return? Are the many scriptures about the Lord’s return precious to me?
Paul wrote; “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8, ESV)
Christians should avoid discrediting their witness with end-times sensationalism or inappropriate speculation about end-time signs, but we should cultivate a deep love for Christ and his appearing. We all must always battle the temptation to fixate on things that won’t last and don’t matter over the things that will last forever and matter to God.
In a couple places the Scriptures predict the drying up of the Euphrates River. Recently this has been coming up in discussion because the water level in the Euphrates River is low right now. We should pay careful attention to these things and they should make us study the word carefully. We should avoid speculation and sensationalism, but we should also be careful not to be apathetic or indifferent about the return of Jesus.
It has been said that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament and that this teaching occupies one in every twenty-five verses from Matthew to Revelation
About the drying up of the Euphrates, I found a helpful article about this from a reliable, thoughtful source that answers Bible questions. Here is a link. I highly recommend it. It’s a quick read.
Bittersweet Farm
January 11, 2023
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