Kingdom Hearts

Sunday morning after worship services here in La Grange, I had an exciting, yet difficult announcement to make.
 
As many of you know, since receiving my masters degree a little over a year ago, I have wanted to get my license in professional counseling (LPC).  The downside of this exciting goal is that I have known [...]

Obviously much can be said about Christian stewardship.  There are many tangible things for which we are grateful and we make it a point to thank God for these things.  And we do often recognize the importance of being good stewards with these things.  And this is great.  We should be doing this.  But I believe [...]

Chase, our youngest, a 4 year old, is going through a lot of phases right now.  One is asking questions.  He loves to talk.  Often times, I wonder to myself, “will this kid ever just shut up?”  We were going fishing Friday and so earlier in the day, I was outside putting line on the poles and getting [...]

James made the following statement:
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the [...]

It never fails!  God always provides those opportunities for us to be humbled and it seems to happen more often than not, when we need it the most.  I was given a perspective on something yesterday and while I didn’t enjoy it at the time, I am glad it happened.
 
I am part of the Lion’s [...]

Monday night I was watching the 2009 ESPN Cash Cow, errrrr. I mean the 2009 Homerun Derby.  And something struck me.  I am not sure how much of the Homerun Derby most people have watched over the years but I have always enjoyed it… that is with the exception of the last few years.  It [...]

Preparing for the future has become a way of life for us in so many ways. I am not sure how we would survive without planning at least somewhat. We plan for our retirement and our children’s college, among other things by saving money. We plan for our future in the “working” world by going [...]

I have gotten to a point where I do not like arguing about “issues,” like I once did. For the most part, I think they are often counter-productive (Titus 3:9). So I don’t mind admitting that I avoid them when I can. However, because our young people often ask questions that are so pertinent to [...]

Here is a thought-provoking quote from Dallas Willard, concerning the beatitudes preached by Jesus (Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-26):
“They serve to clarify Jesus’ fundamental message: the free availability of God’s rule and righteousness to all of humanity through reliance upon Jesus Himself… They do this simply by taking those who, from the human point of view, [...]

Yesterday morning, I preached about a great Christian woman in the Bible, named Tabitha (Dorcas) from Acts 9:36-43. Interestingly, her name translated in its original language, actually means “female gazelle,” which is an antelope-like animal that is well-known for its beauty. Even the term for “Joppa,” the city where Tabitha was from, means beauty. I [...]