Meditatio: Further Reflections on Sermonizing

I must confess that my entire approach to preaching is unorthodox and, perhaps, inadequate, at least in the eyes of those who so faithfully equipped me throughout my educational years. This great revelation came to me a bit ago while I was out shoveling the snow off of my driveway. For whatever it is worth, READ MORE

Daniel: Hope in Uncertain Times

April 10 we at New Hope Church will be stepping into a new sermon series entitled, “Daniel: Hope in Uncertain Times.” There will be much emphasis, particularly in the later chapters, regarding God’s unfolding plan for the ages—prophetic passages that will help us to more fully appreciate God’s sovereign control of time and space and READ MORE

Select Reflections on Preaching

Preaching is among the sublimest gifts of life, for in it the written Word of God comes alive for the hearer, and the Spirit of God uses such a hearing to direct the soul of a man or woman right to the very foot of the Throne. Preaching can never be taken lightly within the READ MORE

Warriors, to be Reckoned With

Unless the Lord returns and takes us to Heaven, this coming Sunday at Bethel Church we will run headlong into a brief but important sermon series entitled, Warrior: A Study of Biblical Womanhood. This journey will take all of us—men and women—through the Scriptures’ winding roads, where we will make meaningful stops in places like READ MORE

Continuing “Jesus, God’s Beloved Son”

Here at Bethel Church we are in the midst of an in-depth study through the Gospel of Mark entitled Church on the Edge: The Book of Mark. Because of the in-depth nature and length of our time in Mark, it has been broken into a handful of smaller segments or sub-series. The first segment or READ MORE

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills

Psalm 121 is one of my very favorite psalms. I have read it at the graveside of a teenage friend killed in a car accident. I have read it at the bedsides of innumerable hospital patients. I have repeated it to myself when anticipating a tough conversation or a difficult sermon or entrance into a READ MORE