Last week we prayed for some dear brothers and sisters who were facing starvation, and we urged you—as the Lord led—to give to our famine relief fund. In concert with our fellow CREC congregations, we are happy to say that over 40 thousand dollars has been raised, just over half of what we needed for …
Live More Than the Length of It
The life that Christ has called us into is a life that is not just everlasting in duration. The eternal life that He welcomes us into is qualitative. Jesus says that He is the resurrection and the life, and that life is one that the Holy Spirit weaves us into. This affects the texture and …
No False Pride
We are in the presence of God to worship Him. We are gathering in the name of Jesus, and we are doing so as His people. We belong to Him, and, because of this, we belong to one another. Although we are ascending into the heavenly places in our worship, by the power of the …
A Lot of Expectant Whispering
The wonderful thing about living through four seasons is that just when one of them is threatening to overstay its welcome, and you are frankly tired of it, a natural desire is born that longs for the signs of the next approaching season. Snow was met with great excitement and laughter in November, but by …
Mountains That Disappear into the Sky
We have come to worship the one who touches the mountains and they smoke. He touches the mountains and sometimes they just disappear into the sky. We worship the one who nods, and the oceans gather into their storms. We worship the one who looks down on all the galaxies we might be able to …
Time for a Reset
Christopher Dawson once said that the Christian church lives in the light of eternity, and can afford to be patient. In a nation filled with men and women pursuing the gods of envy, mammon, malice, bloodshed and theft, this is important for us to remember. They are all caught up in the tyranny of the …
Toddlers on Your Lap
Many years ago we made the decision to disband our children’s church and nursery, and go to a system of parents training their little ones to worship with us. We have cry room, and so on, but the intent is to have our children grow up into the worship of God. We have had many …
New Songs, Both New and Old
This exhortation concerns something we do in every worship service, and consequently it is possible for the whole thing to start becoming “old hat.” I am referring to the practice of psalm singing, and want to urge you to not do it in a way that we can simply check off our list. “Sang my …
No Tight Little Circles
In the colonial era, ministers used to preach what were called artillery sermons—messages leading up to elections in order to teach and inform the saints on their duties in the civil realm. The message today is an artillery sermon to prepare you for the election, and for what comes after, regardless of what that is. …
Little Foxes
One of the ways we lose our grip on the truth is by allowing it to become commonplace in our minds and hearts, in our families, and in our circles. We take it for granted. The truth remains the truth, of course, but we often live in such a clichéd way that our grip on …