The Advent of Love
This week, as I try to prepare our congregation for the Advent of Jesus, I will be preaching on December 4th on the topic of love. Can I be real with you? Yes? Thanks! So here goes: Personally, I find it hard to talk about God’s love. And pastorally speaking, I...
Advent & Hope
In my last blog I tried to share with you the idea of Advent and our longing for Jesus, lyricized in Fernando Ortega’s song “Give me Jesus”. Ortega prayerfully asks to receive Jesus in the morning when he rises, to receive Jesus when he is alone, and to receive Jesus,...
Advent: Give me Jesus
Probably like a lot of preachers, on Sunday mornings I arrive at church very early. As one tradition puts it, I like to make sure I am “fessed up and forgiven” before I dare open the Word of God to preach and teach. But, more than that, I’m trying to “find” Jesus...
Proposition 3: A Sad Day to be a Michigander
The recent news after the mid-term elections is not all that good. In fact, I am feeling sadder than sad. Only the biblical concept of lament comes even close to what I feel: “This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning...
Walking in the Dark
"Walk with Me" is the overall theme of this blog. It's nice when someone does. You know, it's nice to not have to walk alone. But. Sometimes we do walk alone. Sometimes we must walk alone. At least it sure feels that way. Sometimes. But somehow, even when it feels...
Revelation, The Lion and the Lamb: Some Reflections on Strength and Weakness
I love the book of Revelation. Among other things, it me that our time on this earth is short. It profits a man’s soul greatly to read it (1:3; 22:7). It reminds me, as I read it, that the “powerful” of this day and age are living a short-term...
An Early Advent Message
“Looking for the God Who is Looking for Us – an Early Advent Meditation” “Hi. It’s Me, your God. Today I wanted to simply share something fun and amazing that you might not have considered. My child, I live simultaneously outside and inside of time. I see up ahead in...
A Few Words on Shame/Depression/Guilt
Several weeks back, I asked the Crossway family to give me some topics or scriptural texts they would like to hear a sermon about. This coming Sunday (Oct.16) I will address a requested topic(s) that, in some ways I have been personally acquainted. The topic is shame,...
Give Thanks!!!
What difference does the consistent presence of gratitude and thankfulness have in our lives? I’ve been thinking of that lately as a passage I have been working at memorizing (Colossians 3:1-17) gives a recurring call to gratitude. I might be wrong,...
God Likes What He Sees
God Likes What He Sees God was waiting for me to join Him in a walk. Walks often function as my prayer time. Sometimes I will listen to a podcast as I did on this walk. On this particular podcast, one of the hosts said the following: “God never looks in your mirror...
Male and Female He Created Them
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). Some of you who have attended one of our worship services during the past month are most likely aware that I will be preaching on “Biblical...
To Know Jesus and to Make Him Known
By Bob Manuel There are many ways to summarize what following Jesus, what being a disciple of His looks like. In our own local church, we have a mission statement that states it this way: “Jesus has called us to make disciples of Jesus Christ who respond to His Gospel...