Thy Kingdom Come
I’m currently in the midst of a series on The Lord’s Prayer. This past Sunday I preached on the phrase: “They Kingdom Come.” I came across some great quotes in preparation: From Ray Pritchard‘s excellent book, And When You Pray: Consider the matter this way. Every time you pray you must say one of two things. […]
Prayer That Starts With God
On Sunday I started a brand-new series on the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) entitled, “Teach Us to Pray.” Let’s remember that this is not a prayer Jesus prays, but that a prayer He offers for his disciples to pray. One of the things that really strikes me about Jesus’ model prayer is just how God-centered this […]
The 4 Elements of Courage
I recently finished a sermon series in the book of 1 Peter. It’s a remarkable book, really. Peter addresses the Church and reminds them they are exiles, they are temporary residents of this world. They belong to another Kingdom, the Kingdom of Christ. At the end of 1 Peter, the apostle closes with a stirring […]
You May Have Something that Michael Jordan Doesn’t
Over the weekend, I stopped what I was doing to read this brilliant ESPN piece on Michael Jordan by Wright Thompson. The article, a transparent window into the soul of this great athlete, left me a bit sad for Michael. You have to understand that I grew up in Chicago during the apex of Jordan’s […]
Finding Joy in Winter
This is a picture from outside our front door in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. It’s winter time. I love living in Chicago for a variety of reasons. I love the city. I love the Midwest. I love the Autumn season. I love the Bears, Bulls, and Cubs. But I hate winter. Always have. People […]
If There is No Sin, There is No Grace
Be of sin, the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure – Augustus Toplady There is a hesitance, actually more like a firm resistance, to calling any behavior, “sin.” When the issue of sexual lifestyles are discussed, even evangelicals are wary of labeling any one behavior as sin. It’s the word we want to […]
Friday Five: Paul Rude
Last week I read an excellent article on the Gospel Coalition blog on the significance of everyday work. At times, pastors and ministry professionals tend to cast “secular” vocations as a sort of second-tier calling. I loved Paul’s perspective and asked him to join me today for a chat around this topic and his new […]
Do Truck Drivers Matter to God?
Paul Rude asks a great question, “Do Truck Drivers Matter to God?” His answer: The truth is stunning. The truth is that the regular, everyday, earthly work of a Christian’s life possesses breathtaking significance bestowed by the touch of God’s magnificent glory. God pulls the white-hot ingot of eternity from the forging fire of his sovereignty. […]
What Advent is and Why We Should Celebrate
There is something really wonderful about the word, advent. When you Google the word, one of the definitions you get is: the arrival of a notable person, thing or event. We know this word from other contexts besides religions. We say things like, “Since the advent of the automobile . . . .” Or “Since […]
Evangelism as a Journey Instead of a Deal
I’ve been reading quite a few books on evangelism lately for some of my Mdiv work at Trinity. I don’t agree with all that I have read, but one of the things that I think I’m learning is the simple idea that evangelism is less of a “deal” that we must close and more of […]
5 Things I’ve Learned in Ten Years of Marriage
Last month, on November 22nd, Angela and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I’m not an expert on marriage and by some standards I’m still a rookie. But I have learned a few things in these ten wonderful years. Here they are, in no certain order: 1) I’m not naturally a good husband. Before I tied […]
A God For Every Part of this Tragedy
Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15 ESV) As a father of four young children, it was hard for me to process the horrific news of the […]