We continue our series this week with one of the more interesting, entertaining, and compelling stories of the Old Testament. We’ve seen the sin of Adam and Eve, the faithfulness of Noah, the covenant promise to Abraham, and the promised child Isaac. We come now to Jacob. Jacob’s story opens with the episode we read …
Let’s review where we’ve been. We’ve talked about Adam and Eve as the first “children,” who tried to grow up too fast and cast off God’s parenting and love—an act that represents humanity’s bent toward self-interest and instant gratification. That cycle of dysfunction and betrayal of God’s creative power spiraled down into total depravity…so much …
I grew up in a church that took the Bible and theological grounding very seriously, which meant that we were memorizing Bible verses before we could read and had learned all the books of the Bible in order by the second grade. That foundational approach during those formative years was a huge influence on me …
Beginning with the End in Mind: Genesis 1-13 Continue Reading »
So, you’re going to read through the Bible with us in 2009. What a great decision you’ve already made! Now comes the next one–what Bible should I choose? Some of you will have an old, trusty Bible that you’ve carried for a lot of years and that has served you well. I have a Bible …
Pastor Bob’s Guide to Choosing a Study Bible Continue Reading »
Luke 2:41-52 Well, it’s the first Sunday of the new year and everywhere people are talking about resolutions. You can even see some of those resolutions in their fledgling form. For example, Jennifer and I went to the fieldhouse on Friday for a normal workout and I noticed that it was way more crowded than …
About the Father’s Business – Sermon for 1/4/09 Continue Reading »
Do Not Be AfraidLuke 2:1-20 By my calculations tonight is my 15th Christmas Eve as an ordained pastor. While that’s something to celebrate I have to tell you that it’s also a major challenge. See, every year we fill the church with people who all know the same story, who have this text memorized (even …
Do Not Be Afraid – A Sermon for Christmas Eve 2008 Continue Reading »
The God Who ComesIsaiah 64:1-9 A few weeks back I saw an article from Great Britain about a new campaign that’s being advertised on the sides of those double decker buses you see tooling around London. While people in Great Britain are used to seeing church and religious signs and symbols on buses and in …
The God Who Comes – A Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent Continue Reading »
Matthew 25:14-30 I went back a few weeks in the lectionary to pick up this week’s text, which normally comes around about the time we’re doing a stewardship campaign. It’s a familiar story, a timeless parable, one that speaks about investment and trust. But even though we’ve completed most of our church stewardship campaign for …
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a summit on ministry in resort communities that was put together by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. As far as I know, this meeting was the first of its kind, getting together pastors and leaders of churches that are located in places where people …
I've been sans blog for a couple of weeks now as I'm furiously reading and taking notes in preparation for writing the first chapter of my dissertation. Still, there's always time for a few quick notes: Saw an article about atheists in London who paid for advertisements on the sides of buses saying, "There's probably …
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This week's scripture text is Matthew 22:15-22, the famous "Render unto Caesar" passage. We'll be talking about the use of money and I find this instruction from John Wesley to be very helpful. It's from his sermon "On the Use of Money." John Wesley’s Sermon No. 44 “The Use of Money” An Abridgement in Modern …
This us one of my favorite times of the year as the baseball playoffs are in full swing. But perhaps the most compelling story coming out of this year’s playoffs has nothing to do with who’s going to win the World Series, but rather who will not…again. This coming Tuesday is a significant centennial anniversary. …
Rejoice in the Cubs Always – Philippians 4:1-9 Continue Reading »
I’ve been having some weird dreams lately. I go through periods like this where I’ll have some bizarre dream—not a nightmare, but more like a thought-provoking head-scratcher of a dream. When I’m under stress, for example, I’ll usually have a consistent dream theme that I’m back in the military, but in the dream I’m always …
As part of the Doctor of Ministry program, I had the chance to travel to Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago for their leadership conference. Willow Creek is one of the poster children of the megachurch movement that brought terms like “seeker sensitive” and “unchurched” into the ecclesiastical vernacular. They average about 21,000 in attendance …
The Honor of Humility – Philippians 2:1-13 Continue Reading »