He has shown you what is good and told you what he requires of you: To act with justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. —Micah 6.8
For the next so many weeks, as we suspend having in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be offering a weekly conversation in the form of a video podcast.
This first one is a conversation between… Read More
For the past 8 weeks, our church has been in a sermon series called “Unchained Joy” – looking at the book of Philippians, half a chapter each Sunday. The most cheerful book of the Bible was written from a first-century prison cell—and it reminds us that despite our difficulties, there is a joy that runs deep.
We have God’s joy in our blood. —Frederick Buechner
The series has come at a particularly “good” time for me personally (good, not in the sense that all is well, but in the sense that the timing is good because all is not well). While walking through some difficult things—betrayals of friendship and painful losses—the “Unchained Joy” series has allowed me to preach to myself as I am sharing with the church.
The most helpful discovery of today has been that right in the midst of my sorrows there is always room for joy. Joy and sorrow are sisters; they live in the same house. —Macrina Wiederkehr
We often create what we call… Read More
Audrey Assad’s new album Evergreen comes out next month (February 23, 2018). One of the singles already released is… Read More
Singer/songwriter Audrey Assad has a song that she wrote as a meditation and personal application of the twenty-third Psalm. The song is called I Shall Not Want and is on her 2013 album Fortunate Fall.
From the love of my own comfort
From the fear of having nothing
From a life of worldly passions
Deliver me O God
From the need to be understood
And from a need to be accepted
From the fear of being lonely
Deliver me O God
Deliver me O God
And I shall not want, no, I shall not want
When I… Read More
Today’s Lent post is a video. It’s from a series I did last summer—13 weeks of preaching on the wild and untamed ways of the Holy Spirit. This particular message is titled, “Sails Up, The Wind Is Blowing.”
I hope you’ll take the time to watch it. The opening sequence (a prayer) is absolutely beautiful. And I think the message is timely, challenging.
Nobody in the audience says “Amen” during this sermon. In fact, everyone is quiet throughout the message (with the exception of a baby or two). The quietness might be the result of the opening lines of my sermon…
We pastors crave, we want “Amens.” Sometimes we joke about it and ask for them. Sometimes we just straight up plead with the people to give us “Amens.”
There is something encouraging and affirming about it. It’s nice to know people are with you—listening, and affirming what you’re saying…
And there’s also something about it… like, when I’m listening (to a sermon) and I say “Amen,” it’s quick. I mean ya gotta get that out there quickly right after the thing was said—and basically, what it means is, “I already knew that, I already believe that.” That’s something I recognize and it registers right away in my brain, “Yeah, that’s true.”
So, that’s what amen is saying. Like, “Yes, that’s true. Amen. Let that be.” It’s a very fast reaction that essentially means you didn’t learn anything new… because if you’re hearing something you’ve never heard before and you’re processing something that strikes you like, “What???” you’re not gonna shout out “Amen!” because you’re not really sure if you believe that thing yet.
And so part of my desire in this series is to have a few less “Amens,” and a few more, “Whaaaaattt???? What the heck?” I actually want that to be some of our reaction.
I wonder if we can we be open? Is it possible? And will we be?
Is there anything new we can learn? Or do we already… Read More
Crickets. That’s what you hear when you’re sitting around a campfire late in the evening. Not the sound of Fox News or CNN. Not the firing of weapons from Call of Duty. Just the joyful song of crickets.
It’s also the description we give when there is absolutely no response to something… when people are quiet. Pastors talk about this often: “When I preached on ______________, it was crickets out there.”
I suspect the subject of living a quiet life with less is one of those cricket-inducing themes in the American church today.
The shouts and hanky-waving and “Amens!” are gonna come with statements like… Read More
The other day I stumbled across a video of Martin Greenfield, “Tailor to the Presidents,” and fell in love…
You see, I have a thing for craftsmen and women—people who make handcrafted stuff: rustic Italian bread, wine, skateboards, pottery, whiskey, furniture, cabins, letterpress printing, whatever.
And I also think old men are… Read More
There ain’t no grave can hold my body down. When I hear that trumpet sound I’m gonna rise right out of the ground. Ain’t no grave can hold my body down. —Johnny Cash
This video is about resurrection. After 40 years of death, this VW bus… Read More
Have you seen the extra-super moon today?
Here’s something else you might want to see… some cute British Christmas commercials.
1. John Lewis Christmas Ad: “Buster The Boxer”
2. Sainsbury’s Christmas Ad: “The Greatest Gift”
Happy weekend to you! Here are a couple videos to give you a smile or two…
1. VIDEO: Puppy Realizes He’s at Dog Park and Goes Absolutely Bonkers.
2. VIDEO: Kids On How to Get… Read More
