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In the early days of our planting this Church, somewhere around 1986, we had several people who had recently come to faith in Christ and had never attended or been engaged with a Church of any kind. Everything we did as a congregational practice was new to them. I have wonderful memories during these years of explaining why we did what we did, but it was the first time I had ever been around people that knew nothing about Church…

I titled this article in a way to hopefully force you to do a double take – “A Bloody and Violent Parable!” One of the preachers from the past that I enjoy reading used this title for the story that we are focusing on this week. When I saw it, it certainly captured my attention, and I hope it does the same for you. Parables are one of the most popular and wonderful tools of teaching that Jesus used during…

In 2014 when the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl by beating the Denver Broncos (with a blow out score of 43-8 by the way!), Patty and had I international students who were living with us at the time — 2 young men from China and 1 young man from Thailand. We decided to treat them to a fun American and NW experience by going to downtown Seattle for the Seahawks Super Bowl Victory Parade. It was indeed a cultural…

It seems that one of the most common illustrations that I use when writing or speaking is the illustration of Mountain Top experiences. Well, I’m using it again. But as I help prepare us for our Sunday morning teaching time, it’s hard not to use the same “Mountain Top” experience story because the story itself is an experience from a true, physical mountain top. Here’s are some of what I’ve learned from being on mountains in my life… These are…

One of the silly love songs that my wife and I laugh about occasionally when we lift listen to the oldies station is the song, ”I will follow you.” You may or may not be familiar with it but it is a 1963 song written by Ricky Nelson.  Some of the lyrics are… I will follow youFollow you wherever you may goThere isn’t an ocean too deepA mountain so high it can keep me away Away from my love! My…

Have you ever met someone famous? I love the game at parties… “Two truths and a lie.”  When I play this game I love to put famous names out there; two of them being a truth, and one being a lie. Patty and I have run across in random ways many people that were quite well known; politicians, film stars, musicians, sports stars, and even a US President (before he was the president). These would be recognizable people to you,…

Boy Oh Boy do I remember exams at school. Some of you reading this are still taking exams at school. But for others, like me, you might remember well what exam time meant, especially those dreaded ‘final exams!’  Maybe you enjoyed exams at school, but I did not. Taking a final exam was much like a trip to the dentist office for me when they drill on your teeth. You know you have to go through it, and there is…

As I have told you many times, I am a ‘Church Kid’ from the earliest of times. My father was a Baptist Pastor in Texas and that is the home and environment I grew up in. I have absolutely NO complaints about this; I was NOT scared by this; and I have positive memories from this kind of background. (I only say this because sometimes we hear those kinds of background stories in negative ways — and mine was very…

This sounds so much like a great quote to help us learn the lesson of how to have greater faith. As you all know I certainly do watch movies, and honestly I do like the Indiana Jones movie series. In the last of this trilogy Indiana is searching for the holy grail used by Jesus at His last supper. Indiana is to follow the ‘clues’ in order to work his way back into the room where the holy grail is…

When I was in college my mom gave me the starter mix for cinnamon rolls. I had three other roommates, and it became kind of fun to start with a batch of bread, and with the correct ingredients, the bread could be divided, then cooked, then eaten by the rest of us, but it wasn’t all gone. When I put back part of the bread it would just grow until we were ready to have more! I fattened up my…

I love asking this question to children. It opens up all kinds of conversations and comparisons to the size of God. As we all know, a child most often defines size that is compared to a parent.  Let me give you an illustration from my life.   I was working at one of the many children’s camps I’ve helped with over the years, and at this particular time it was a kid’s camp in Russia. So, I not only was…

Crossing the desert to seek the child Adventure stories from days of old and the trail blazers from history still fascinate me. Lewis and Clark were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to cross the uncharted parts of North America to the Pacific Ocean. I’m fascinated with their very young native Indian young girl guide Sacajawea that helped guide and negotiate on that land crossing. Christopher Columbus was sent by the King of Spain to try to cross the unknown and…

Merry Christmas one more time! As I write this article to you, our dear LifeWay Church family, on this Thursday morning the day after Christmas, I just want to say that my heart is full and warmed by the pleasure of being part of this dear family, as well as being amazing partners with you as we strive to serve the King by carrying the Gospel message to the world. Somehow the Christmas Eve candlelight services served as an amazing…

Hi there! Can you tell me who was the first shepherd mentioned in the Bible? Do you know who was a shepherdess according to Genesis 29? Did you know that Moses was married to a shepherdess? It’s true. It’s in the Bible. Shepherds is a major theme in the Bible. They are everywhere not only in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well. I remember growing up as a little boy, my parents brought out our Nativity…

I’ve done lots of pre-marriage counseling over the years, and I have always enjoyed it. Of course, I have done weddings for people who were all ages. Pre-marriage visits are always enjoyable and the couples are always ‘giddy’ about getting married no matter what age they are. I think the oldest couple I did a wedding for were in the 80’s… and yes, they were delightfully giddy and behaved just like high school kids all over again. It’s pretty fun…

Last week we began our Advent Season with John the Baptist and his parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth. We saw that John was the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. Intertwined with the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth, is the story of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Mary and Elizabeth were relatives, and despite the difference in the women’s ages, their miraculous babies would arrive within months of each other. While Elizabeth’s pregnancy was a cause for celebration, Mary’s was a bit more problematic.…