Bittersweet Farm

Bittersweet Farm

Ken

Falsely Accused

Filed Under: Current Thoughts, Faith and Family

A Classic Re-posted from 2003

The note from my campus mailbox made my heart pound. It was summons to the office of the Dean of Men. “Please report to Dean Pride’s office at once.” Dean Pride was nothing more than the college disciplinarian and the college I attended took discipline very seriously indeed. The smallest infraction could send you packing home to momma and cost you a semester of academic blood, sweat and tears. Visions of shame and disgrace, failure, ruin and poverty assaulted my mind.
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Chords That Are Broken…

Filed Under: Sermons

Series: Matthew’s Gospel
Title: Chords That Are Broken
Text: Matthew 8:5-13
Place: Evangel Baptist Church–Taylor, Michigan
Speaker: Pastor Ken Pierpont

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont - Sermons
Chords That Are Broken...
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A Flyover of Ecclesiastes

Filed Under: Sermons

Series: A Flyover of the Bible
Message: A Flyover of Ecclesiastes
Speaker: Pastor Ken Pierpont
Place: Evangel Baptist Church–Taylor, Michigan
Date: July 10, 2011 PM

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont - Sermons
A Flyover of Ecclesiastes
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The Cinderella Outfit

Filed Under: Sermons

Series: Matthew’s Gospel
Title: The Cinderella Outfit
Text: Matthew 8:1-4
Place: Evangel Baptist Church, Taylor, Michigan
Date: July 10, 2011 AM

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont - Sermons
The Cinderella Outfit
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Eager to Pay

Filed Under: Current Thoughts, Faith and Family

Three or four times a year we try to do a “Preaching Roundtable.” Kyle (our first-born son) and I and whoever of his brothers is available at the time will meet in a small town about half-way between Riverview, Michigan and Granger, Indiana for coffee, conversation and study. Together we will work on sermon material and ideas. We will meet early and spend the morning studying and talking, then we will grab a fast-food lunch and head back to our homes and families and churches.

The last time we met we ate at MacDonalds. I arrived ahead of time and ordered food for all of us. Just as I finished the order Kyle came in and ran across the lobby toward us. The young lady told us how much I owed for the food. I reached for my wallet. Kyle didn’t say anything. He didn’t argue half-heartedly that he wanted to pay. He just raced across the lobby of the restaurant just as I was handing a twenty-dollar-bill to the clerk and he swiped his credit card in the little machine on the top of the counter. Immediately the machine said “payment approved” and I stood there with a twenty-dollar bill in my hand staring blankly at the young lady behind the counter.

She smiled and said; “He was first.”

Thats that way it ought to work. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that God loves it when we do not give grudgingly or under compulsion, but eagerly and cheerfully. (see 2 Corinthians 9:7)

I love that boy. God loves him, too. He loves a cheerful giver.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
July 18, 2011

The Eagerness of a Child

Filed Under: Faith and Family

Photo credit to Kevin Pierpont

A Classic Re-post from 2002

The happiest moment of my week is when the last strains of the organ prelude die away and I stand up to welcome the people to church and I look down to my left and see my family all lined up on the pew in their Sunday best. That is a beautiful sight.

We live in a parsonage a few blocks from the church now, but in our former church we lived about twenty miles away. We always went to church in two cars so I could go early and Lois would have a little longer to get ready.

When I would leave I would shout to the family, “The first load for church is leaving in fifteen minutes.” Then I would make announcements in five-minute increments after that.

Five minutes later I would call out loudly, “Ten minutes.” Five minutes later I would call out again, “Five minutes.” Then, finally I would shout, “Load up, the first load is leaving now.” This is an old family custom I learned from my Dad.

Some of the children would go with me early the rest would come later with Lois. Usually the boys were in the first load because they were small and spend less time fussing over their personal appearance.

One sunny Sunday morning I called out, “Last call. The first load is leaving now.” Just then I heard a little low voice cry out, “Wait for me I’m coming. Wait for me” and little Heidi who was about four came scampering down the stairs in a slip with her dress and Bible and shoes in her hands. Her blonde hair was all askew and she was trying with all her might and concentration to get down the stairs and into the car before I left.

The sight arrested my heart. Immediately a spontaneous prayer formed in my soul; “Oh God, may my precious little girl always be so eager to worship you.”

The law of God says, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” God created the Sabbath Rest and the Lord’s Day to refresh the spirits of His people. He made us and He knows we need it. It should be a season of refreshing to our souls. God meant for it to bring us joy. David said; “I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.'”

I love the things of the Lord. I love to hear the people of God sing and the organ ring. I love to hear the Word of God taught and preached. I love to see the saints of God young and old gather in on a sunny Sunday morning. I love to see families lined up on the pew, seeking God together. I love the Lord’s Day. I always have, and I love it when my children share that love. When they are eager to worship my heart is glad with a deep gladness. I’m sure that’s how the Heavenly Father feels. God’s true children delight in Him and they delight in His house and in His day.

On the Lord’s Day, when the Heavenly Father looks down, always be there and worship Him with childlike eagerness.

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