I preached yesterday on the subject of “testimony,” or telling our story. We are beginning a series at our church that looks at our spiritual growth through different aspects of our Christian life: prayer, fasting, racial righteousness, reading the Bible, etc. My sermon was the first of the series and I explored the reasons why… Continue reading Preaching: A meal for the whole family
Category: Faith
Quotation of the Week
“And thus when we want an authentic experience of communion with Christ, the church is often the last place we think of–it’s full of all those fallen people. Instead, we retreat from the church into private prayer. There we have only one sinner to account for, and we imagine that with a little fervent prayer… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
Some thoughts on growing up
I was just reading something about the future of youth ministry in the church, and it made me think about what the things were that made a difference for me as a young person growing up in her faith: 1. Christian Camp: All of the “Jesus Camp” press aside, I was deeply affected as a… Continue reading Some thoughts on growing up
Sir, give me this water…
I think I can say that, in general, the collection of the offering is rarely the high point for people in weekly Sunday worship gatherings. This is usually the time where people excuse themselves to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, whisper to their neighbor, get their Bibles out, or read whatever… Continue reading Sir, give me this water…
In the shadows of the happy day
Tomorrow is Mercy’s second birthday, or “happy day” as we call it in our house. She has been quite clear as to what she wants for her celebration: “party hats, pink cake, hot dogs and apple juice.” I better enjoy the days when birthday wishes are this simple. I know that pony rides, doll cakes,… Continue reading In the shadows of the happy day
Needed: perspective
Often I feel like life here is filled with sacrifice and costly choices. I can even focus on this at times and feel like the joy and life embedded in those things is not accessible or believable. It has been a strange season for me here in many ways. Having lived without many comforts and… Continue reading Needed: perspective
Quotation of the Week
“…Christian spirituality, the contemplative life, is not about us. It is about God. The great weakness of American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition.… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
Wishes
People often ask me “what are your all-time favorite books?”, “who is your favorite author?”, “what are you currently reading?”, etc. In light of my upcoming birthday (hint hint), I thought I would share which books I am eager to acquire at the moment… With God in the Crucible: Preaching Costly Discipleship by P. J.… Continue reading Wishes
Lights, camera, action…
I was just out on a long walk with my kids, and as we crossed Adams onto LaSalle I began noticing fliers stuck onto every gate and door with the letters ER in bold font across the top. Curious, I stopped to see what they were and found out that Warner Bros. will be filming… Continue reading Lights, camera, action…
The view from here
The crew of boys that often occupied the backyard space beneath our bathroom and bedroom windows has been gone for more than two weeks now. These guys were the source of a great deal of fear and vigilance on our parts as they were heavily involved in a variety of activities that made us nervous… Continue reading The view from here