On this Memorial Day weekend, we as a nation, and as God’s people, should listen to the voice of Wisdom as she calls out to us. Wisdom Calls Out Proverbs 8:1-4, 12-31 1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes [...]
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Archive | May, 2010
What Energizes You?
May 25, 2010
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What energizes you? One of the things I like about ministry is that a pastor gets to do a variety of different things. In one day you can spend time alone studying and praying for your next Sunday’s sermon; then visit the hospital to celebrate the birth of a new baby with a family in [...]
Read moreA Better Sermon on Babel and Pentecost
May 25, 2010
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I preached on Pentecost last Sunday as “Babel Revisited.” In that sermon I repeated the conventional thinking that God punished mankind’s attempt to build a tower to reach to the heavens. But listen to what Wendell Griffen says, That interpretation of Genesis 11:1-9 is not fair to God. Do we really think the Creator of [...]
Read morePentecost Sermon: Babel Revisited
May 22, 2010
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On Pentecost, the community that was divided by God at the Tower of Babel is recreated in the miracle of communication at the coming of the Holy Spirit. Babel Revisited Acts 2:1-21 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came [...]
Read moreLeadership as Watchfulness
May 21, 2010
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Gannon Sims offers excellent insight on watchfulness over at Duke’s Call and Response Blog. He says of watchfulness: It’s a good word for the church. In his instructions to the church at Colossae, Paul asks his readers to be watchful. Leadership trades more often in words like ‘vision’ and ‘future.’ These are not bad words. [...]
Read more‘Tour of Small Churches’ Coming Out in Small Church Issue
May 19, 2010
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I just finished writing “A Tour of Small Churches in America” article for Outreach magazine. I’m not sure that will be the final title, but in the article I sketch 7 types of small churches, and other writers are profiling a specific church in each category. The seven categories of small churches we cover include: [...]
Read moreShannon O’Dell Is Breaking All The “Rurals”
May 17, 2010
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I admit to some ambivalence when I received Shannon O’Dell’s book, Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All The Rurals. I write for small church pastors and leaders, and one of the themes I keep hitting is “small churches don’t have to be big to do meaningful ministry.” Then I got my copy of Shannon’s book [...]
Read moreSermon: Disturbing Our City
May 15, 2010
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Paul and Silas disturbed the city of Philippi when the power of the gospel interfered with business. Shouldn’t our gospel disturb the city today? Sermon: Disturbing Our City – Acts 16:16-34 NRSV 16:16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and [...]
Read moreBaccalaureate Sermon: The Goal of a Successful Life
May 14, 2010
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I’m preaching the baccalaureate sermon tonight at Hargrave Military Academy here in our town of Chatham, Virginia. One hundred years ago, the pastor of our church became the founding president of Hargrave, so our ties go back to 1909-10, the first full school year. The Goal of a Successful Life 2 Timothy 4:6-8 6For I [...]
Read moreA Message for National Police Week
May 13, 2010
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This week is National Police Week. All across the country, law enforcement officers and community residents are gathering to honor the memories of officers who have been killed in the line of duty. I was asked to speak at our local memorial service for fallen officers hosted by our church this year. Here is the [...]
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