Blessed is the man who does not… Psalm 1 starts off in an interesting way. Instead of saying what to do to be blessed, it tells you what not to do. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the […]
Blessed quiver-full A couple of years ago, I was preaching a sermon, and one of my points was that children are a blessing from the Lord. I’m sure I said a lot of other things in that sermon, but at the end, a young, visiting couple came to the front of the chapel to speak […]
Athough it isn’t always true in life, the term “handmade” is usually assumed to mean better than machine made, of superior quality. In the world of handmade custom suits, the word is “bespoke.” Bespoke tailors like Caraceni in Milan or Anderson & Sheppard in London can throw some pre-dust rags together for upwards of $3,000. […]
Serving when He comes Anyone who has been charged with overseeing a group of employees has quickly discovered that there are three broad types of workers: those who are unwilling to work at all despite repeated request; those who will work when given specific, personal direction; and, lastly, those who—even unbidden and unobserved—are always to […]
Blessed chastening Without question, one would rather not endure some of life’s hard experiences. This world is filled with pain, and suffering is the norm rather than the exception. Sickness and death are all too common, and economic hardship is widespread. Yet the living God is able to use these negative things for the spiritual […]
It’s not just a physical battle I tell people we are grass farmers since we live on several acres of land that is mostly grass. As caretakers of the land God has given us, we wanted to improve our backyard with a landscape plan that included planting beds which did not allow grass and weeds […]
The blessing of divine forgiveness I have known a few friends who have gone through the pain of personal bankruptcy. This decision was not reached easily. There was a great deal of angst and internal wrestling. Inevitably, there was a sense of personal failure. But if the reader can enter into the emotion of such […]
I know I’m behind the curve. Rob Bell’s book Love Wins was released March 15. In spite of some Christian chains not handling it, HarperOne had an initial run of 100,000 and the book spent considerable time on the Best Seller list. Bell, from Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI, at least injected […]
Starting in Luke 6:20 and continuing to 6:49, the Lord Jesus gives a sermon, either a condensed version of Matthew’s account or a second Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is preached on a level place, which could be either on a plateau on the mountainside or at the bottom of the mountain. Either way, […]