Blog (Page 5)

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted what is known as the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. For those of us that affirm the truth of being made right with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, this event was the very “beachhead” in the battle to recover this great doctrine that had been lost and obscured for hundreds of years. Another important doctrine that was recovered during the reformation…

It was rather perfect timing when Steve invited me to write a guest post for Creekside. Burk and I are just getting settled in Lebanon. We found a church, but due to the craziness of summer (camping trips, weekends visiting family, a 10k race this Sunday), we haven’t gone consistently, so having to meditate on the importance of the church reminded me of my responsibility in seeking to get to know people, something I desperately needed. We felt so at…

I’ve never blogged before, so I’m going to give it a try! These are just some thoughts I had as I was reading in Proverbs this morning. Hope it encourages you!   It is human nature it seems to swing on a pendulum when it comes to certain issues. I was reading in Proverbs chapter ten today and I came across this verse which describes one of these pendulum swings we (or at least I) often tend towards. “The one…

On July 4th at about 8:15 a.m. our family received a call from my nephew that let us know that his father, and my brother, Mike, had passed away.  Independence Day.  In our American independence, we enjoy freedom bought for us by the sacrifices of others.  On July 4th, 2012, my brother celebrated true Independence Day, a day made possible by the death of the One, Jesus Christ.  On that day, Mike truly celebrated his independence from labor, hardship, struggle, sin…

  One of the last duties that I did in the office this week before my Sabbatical officially begins is to wire the money that was raised for the Nepal Scholarship Fund.  Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and was recently rated as one of the most difficult places to live in the world.  As I begin my Sabbatical, I am encouraged to see God’s faithfulness in providing for this ministry. Through our partnership with Kishwaukee Bible…

It is often easy to not recognize the grace of God when it comes.  In fact, sometimes it comes to us and we miss it altogether.  I believe that at times it comes to us most powerfully when we are surprised by “Secret Agents”—people who serve and minister  completely for the joy of serving God and not for the praise or recognition of men.  One of the realities of what it means to be part of the people of God…

Yesterday in my message, I asked our church family to consider joining with us in fasting on Tuesdays the remainder of this month—skipping breakfast and lunch—out of a desire to really seek the wisdom of God for Creekside.  I realize this morning, that I needed to say more, much more about fasting, and failed to do so.  For that I apologize. Fasting is the practice of laying aside something (generally food) to seek God through focused and devoted prayer.  We…

I have been getting some questions about “The Table” and how it will be used as a tool for us as God’s people here at Creekside.  True growth of any church, is in part, accomplished through the teaching of the Word of God.  Yet, that teaching isn’t meant to just be accomplished in our corporate meetings, but is to reverberate or ripple throughout the church community as the truth is spoken in the context of daily life.  Each and every…