Pursuing God's Fame

James MacDonald, David Platt, and the Question of Radical Sacrifice

2011-04-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

This is a great blog responding to the discussion between James MacDonald and David Platt concerning finances and sacrifice. Click the link below to read it.

James MacDonald, David Platt, and the Question of Radical Sacrifice

A Beautiful Thing

2011-03-10T09:57:00.000-05:00

You formed their inward parts; you knitted them together in their mother's womb.
I praise you, for they are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
(Psalm 139:13-14 adapted)

You are right, Nick, it is a beautiful thing.

A Godly Husband

2011-02-28T12:33:00.002-05:00

I was thankfully reminded of this today when I read Justin Taylor's blog.

Former president of Columbia Bible College and Graduate School, Robertson McQuilkin, resigned in 1990. The reason? To care for his wife Muriel. It is a blessing that someone recorded his resignation speech. A portion of that speech can be heard below. I highly recommend you listen to it.

I want to be a man like this. May the Lord fill me with a love for my precious wife, Shawna, that increases til the grave.

Abortion, Philadelphia Law, and the Supreme Court

2011-02-18T13:07:00.001-05:00

Click link below to read article.
Abortion, Philadelphia Law, and the Supreme Court

Divine Mercies (Puritan Prayer)

2011-02-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

Thou Eternal God,

Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable
   goodness, super-abundant grace;
I can as soon count the sands of ocean's 'lip'
  as number thy favours towards me;
I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise.
I thank thee for personal mercies,
   a measure of health, preservation of body,
   comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing,
   continuance of mental powers, my family, their mutual help and support,
   the delights of domestic harmony and peace,
   the seats now filled that might have been vacant,
   my country, church, Bible, faith.

But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness,
   the days that add to my guilt,
   the scenes that witness my offending tongue;

All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without,
   condemn me -
   the sun which sees my misdeeds,
   the darkness which is light to thee,
   the cruel accuser who justly charges me,
   the good angels who have been provoked to leave me,
   thy countenance which scans my secret sins,
   thy righteous law, thy holy Word,
   my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life,
   my neighbours, myself -
   all write dark things against me.

I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess,
   'Father, I have sinned';
Yet still I live, and fly repenting to they outstretched arms;
   thou wilt not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,
   thou wilt not condemn me, for he died in my stead,
   thou wilt not mark my mountains of sin,
   for he levelled all,
   and his beauty covers my deformities.

O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross,
   hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

The Valley of Vision, pg 16-17

Help for Prayer

2011-02-09T09:12:00.000-05:00

I want to pass along what has been a good help for me in my prayer life. Matthew Henry's Method for Prayer is a great tool. You can use the site to find specific areas of prayer (Adoration, Confession, etc.) if you like. However, what I have found to be most helpful is the link to sign up for prayer emails.

If you sign up, you will receive an email with a specific, focused prayer each day. The thing that I love most about it is that it is all Scripture. The entire prayer is Scripture. I encourage you to make use of this. One of the best ways to fan the flames (or create a spark) of prayer is through the use of Scripture as prayer. This is the prayer for today... just to whet your appetite.

The Lord of peace himself give me peace, all peace, at all times in every way: 2 Thessalonians 3:16(ESV) That peace which Jesus Christ has left with his people, which he gives to me; such a peace as the world can neither give nor take away; such a peace as that my heart may not be troubled or afraid. John 14:27(ESV)

Let the effect of righteousness in my soul be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. Isaiah 32:17(ESV)

Speak peace to your people, to your saints, and let them not turn back to folly.Psalm 85:8(ESV)

O create the fruit of the lips, Peace, peace to those who are far off and to those who are near; and restore comfort to your mourners. Isaiah 57:18-19(ESV)

Where the sons of peace are, let your peace find them out and rest upon them.Luke 10:6(ESV)

Let me hear of your steadfast love and taste that you are good, 1 Peter 2:3(ESV)for in you do I trust. Psalm 143:8(ESV)

Let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus; Philippians 4:7(ESV) and let that peace rule in my heart, to which I have been called. Colossians 3:15(ESV)

May the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit I may abound in hope. Romans 15:13(ESV)

May God use this resource to draw you into His presence more and more.

Matthew Henry Method for Prayer

The History of Redemption & the 100 People Network

2011-02-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

I encourage you to watch this video. It is the gospel, presented by using Scripture only. It was wonderfully worshipful. It's called The History of Redemption and was done at Austin Stone Community Church.

Click the link below, the video is available on Justin Taylor's blog.

The History of Redemption & the 100 People Network

Desiring God 25th Anniversary

2011-02-02T16:13:00.000-05:00

I am currently in Minneapolis, MN. The convention center to be precise. The Desiring God Pastors Conference ended a few hours ago and I was scheduled to fly home this evening, but the Lord had other plans. The weather has caused the cancellation of both of my flights.

It is not for loss. I will be having dinner with a dear friend and then attending the evening service at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Something I have wanted to do for many years.

Speaking of Bethlehem, I wanted to post this video. It is an interview with John Piper concerning the 25th anniversary of his book, Desiring God. I loved this book. In fact I am hungry to read it again, having seen this video. I commend it (the book) to you. May it encourage your heart toward a happier and all-satisfying relationship with the Lord.

Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility

2011-01-11T10:20:00.001-05:00

This is a wonderful article by Paul Tripp on parenting. If you are a parent, I encourage you to read it.

Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility

Good Clip from MacArthur

2010-12-22T10:43:00.002-05:00

The Watters' Story: God's Providence over Curriculum, Cancer, and Adoption

2010-11-18T09:38:00.002-05:00

Read this today (and watched the video). A powerful picture of God's sovereignty.

The Watters' Story: God's Providence over Curriculum, Cancer, and Adoption: "The Watters' Story: God's Providence over Curriculum, Cancer, and Adoption from the Desiring God blog."

Come Awake

2010-10-25T11:38:00.005-05:00

Yesterday (10.24.10) we played a video as a follow-up to the message from Ephesians 4:17-24. Some asked if there was a way to see the video again. The video was put out by Igniter Media. You can watch it below. Once the sermon is online, you can follow the link above (or here) to listen to the sermon as well.

What Love

2010-09-14T19:32:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, September 5 Tony Romano preached at Cornerstone. The message, "What Love" was from Ephesians 3:14-21. It was a wonderful, Christ-centered message. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the sermon was not recorded. Because the content (and delivery) of the message was so good I wanted to post what I could from Tony's message that morning.

Ephesians 3:14-21
What Love

Introduction
There are all kinds of objections people can raise to question the goodness of God. And maybe the most common objection has to do with hell. In fact, people go so far as to say that hell is a massive problem for God – how can He be loving and send people to eternal punishment in fire? - If God is so good, why is there a hell? If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll get the wrong answers. The biggest “problem” is not hell – it is the cross – if there is anything in God’s Word that should make you stand up and say, “Hey, wait a second…” it is the cross, it is not hell – it is the fact that God put forward, by His own will, His perfectly innocent, completely glorious Son to bear my punishment

What would you do with a Judge who knowingly and willingly and deliberately punished an innocent man for a guilty man’s actions? How can a good and just and righteous God forgive sinners and wipe their account clean when they did NOTHING to earn it? How can He just pass over it? – and how can He do it every single day?

Well, He can pass over it because He provided a Lamb – because He is satisfied with the work of His Son on behalf of all who believe, every single last one – He is pleased, in Christ, to forgive sinners and make them His sons and daughters – every move God has ever made to save anyone is justified completely by the Cross

If anything shocks you, let it be the love He displayed for sinners at the Cross and proclaims even now to a lost and dying world in His precious Gospel. Don’t let it shock you or bother you that God is okay with being God – that He loves His name and His glory and that He is infinitely righteous and holy and that if you reject Him, if you do not bow before Him, you will bear your own guilt and be liable for your own debt. If anything causes you to step back in amazement and say, “how could this be…” let it be the Cross where the Son of Man was crucified and bore the punishment for millions when He did not deserve it – according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. Ask “how could it be that a just, righteous, perfect, infinitely holy God could love me, a sinner when I know I do not deserve it?” – “How is it fair that a sinner gets heaven?!” Ask, “What love is this?” –

Read Ephesians 3:14-21

VV. 14-21
For THIS reason – what reason...BECAUSE HE HAS…
-blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing
-chose us in Him before the foundation of the world
-made us holy and blameless
-predestined us for adoption as sons
-given us redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
-we have obtained an eternal inheritance
-we are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of that inheritance
-He has placed all things in subjection to Christ
-when we were dead in trespasses and sins, God made us alive with Christ
-He has raised us up with Him, seated us in the heavenly places
-He will lavish His immeasurable grace on us in the coming ages
-He has saved us by grace through faith
-He has prepared us for good works
-brought us near by His blood
-and Jesus Himself is our peace
-access in one Spirit to the Father
-no longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God
-Jesus is our Cornerstone
-we are being built together in Him as a dwelling place for God by His Spirit
-partakers of the promise in Jesus Christ
-through us, through this one new body, the manifold wisdom of God will now be made known
-because God has realized His eternal purpose in Christ…for THIS reason…
-the substance of the Gospel, its redemptive message accomplished once and for all in Christ, the mystery of God hidden for ages but now revealed in Him…this is the reason for Paul’s prayer – everything that God has done for us flows to us through the Gospel because in it, Jesus is revealed – and for THIS reason…

-v.14-15 - Paul BOWS his knees in prayer to the Father – the TRUE Father of all – the OWNER of heaven and earth, everything and every person that exists does so only because of Him
-v.16 - from the infinite RICHES of His GLORY comes a GRANT- not from but “according to”
-STRENGTHENED with POWER from the INSIDE – a foundation
-v.17 - SO THAT – there is a deliberate purpose
-that the DWELLING of Christ in your heart through faith is THE means of your being ROOTED and GROUNDED in love – believe it is true because it is true – you need no verification that He is there beyond His authoritative Word to you through the Gospel – I DWELL IN YOU
-therefore the basis of your ability to comprehend…, the source of the strength you need to do this – is not anything mystical or extra – it is the Gospel bought FACT that HE DWELLS IN YOU
-v.18-19 - by His presence you will KNOW what you cannot comprehend, you will KNOW what SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE – and that is the love of Christ – it is so vast and so deep that it cannot be fathomed – and yet, He desires to reveal it to you in full disclosure
-Jesus wants you to know how much He loves you – and I want you to know that He loves you much more than you love Him and this is the ground of your hope
-not so that it will terminate on your value, but as a means to being FILLED with the FULLNESS OF GOD (this is CHRIST in you)
-there is a POWER at work within you (v.16-17) – faith is the key to appropriating what Paul prays for here – this is so crucial - the key to obeying our God, to being the church, is to understand that we are loved by God – it is to believe and understand the Gospel through which we are filled with the fullness of God, with CHRIST by FAITH, not by works, not by promises and commitments, your flesh does not have the power to do and be what God has called you to do and be – think about this love
1:4b-5 – In LOVE He predestined us
2:4 – because of the great love with which He loved us
1 John 4:10 - In THIS is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.(the essence of love doesn’t come from you; it is from God demonstrated in Christ)
John 14:15 - If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
-LOVE is POWER (v.17-18) – it is through loving your Savior who loves you with an infinite, indestructible love that you will grasp the POWER you need to be the CHURCH
-it is through this love that we become the fullness of Him who is the fullness of all things (1:22-23) – in Him, the fullness of deity dwells bodily
-the love of God in Christ for you is the means by which we are empowered to be the church – the Gospel is the foundation of all we are and all we do
-what God means to accomplish in you is not dependent on the strength you provide or what you bring to the table – God works according to the power He placed from Him in you – the Potter is working the clay inside of you
-to which we respond, “I don’t see any evidence of that,” “I am weak,” “I struggle so much,” “how can I ever reach the fullness of what God desires for me?” - to which His response is v.20-21
-v.20-21 - somewhere far beyond what you could ever imagine God could do is where He will do in you – God is able to do “far….more….and abundantly” beyond it
-and to this One who is doing all the work – to Him be glory in the place where that work is to be done: the church
-to Him, to our Savior, throughout all the generations, every family, forever and ever – may His love for us result in the praise of His glorious name forever and ever and ever – God will make sure His Son’s Bride loves His Son forever – oh what a blessed marriage arrangement
-all of this flows from infinite love and mercy – the church is a body created by the love of God in Christ - He formed her out of nothing, He breathed life into her by His Holy Spirit, He bought her back from death and slavery when she wandered away from Him, He took her back and shaped her and works today to make her beautiful, and one day He will put an end to history so that He can be with her and she can be with Him forever
-what love is this? “God’s love for His people is as long as eternity past, so wide as to include all nations, so high as to ring praises from angels in heaven, and so deep as to cancel the claims of hell on our soul.” – Brian Chapell
-until we are gripped by the love God has for us in Christ, we cannot be the Church we must

-some of us come from dirty pasts – and do you know what? – it is okay, it is okay – He is not ashamed to be called your God – He is not ashamed of you – His Son bought your justification – at the Cross God reconciled all things for you – He owes no one an apology for bringing you into His house and giving you a seat at His table – Jesus has paid every penny for you - He is not ashamed of you because of the supremacy and the power of His Son – Zephaniah 3:19

-we needed God to love us in order to make us acceptable to Him, to bring us to Himself – He had to employ that love to SAVE us, to WASH us, and it began with predestination – it is a total work – the love of God shapes us and changes us – it is far more than unconditional; it is effective to make us into what He wants us to be

The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song

-how can this be? Because of Christ.

George Whitefield's Prayer

2010-08-18T11:21:00.002-05:00

Not too much to say after this quote by George Whitefield.

“Oh that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.”

Lord, I want to be such a man. Please let this kind of godly manhood permeate my heart and life as husband, father and pastor.

Every Nation Sing on iTunes

2010-08-07T12:52:00.004-05:00

So, the CD I recorded a 18 months ago, Every Nation Sing, is finally available on iTunes. I'd love for you to take a listen and show a little love.

For those who are interested, I'm starting to record again. Going to try a hymns project that I will be recording independently. I'll try to keep you updated on the progress. If you don't hear anything it either means it's going badly or going so well I don't have time to comment. Let's hope for the latter.

Thanks for checking in and hopefully checking out the iTunes link. Feel free to spread the word.

What Will Be Heaven?

2010-07-26T12:23:00.007-05:00

I remember the first time I read "God is the Gospel" by John Piper. In the introduction he asks this "critical question"

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there? (page 15)

Still, when I read that today, I am struck to my heart. How do I truly answer this question? I know what I'm supposed to say. After all, I'm a pastor. Christ is All! I can even tell you where to find that verse.

What will be heaven for me?

This question became more real a week ago. My son who is 6 became sick. He was complaining of bad headaches and had a high fever for several days. He said that his joints were hurting and he definitely was not himself. Things became most concerning on Saturday when he began to cry and hold his chest over his heart. "My chest hurts daddy." At that moment, mine did too. I began to worry. I prayed and truly wondered if the Lord was taking my son. Was I going to join the ranks of so many parents who have hurt as they watched a child die?

For those who might be reading this and getting angry that I haven't taken my obviously sick son to the doctor, I did. We had a family friend (Dr) look at a bite area on his hip. Let me mention that our son reacts badly to bites. Mosquito bites become baseball-size lumps. This bite, similarly, was big and ugly. So we didn't know if we should be worried about it. Eventually it was 8 inches in diameter. When our friend saw the bite, she recommended that we take him to Children's Hospital Urgent Care. After arriving, they examined the area, took a blood test, and prescribed antibiotics. What we found out was that while I had been speaking in PA the 2 weeks prior, our son had been bitten by a deer tick and been infected with Lyme's Disease. Thankfully, we caught it early enough that the antibiotics have been effective and hopefully, he will be Lyme's free in a few weeks or months. But back to that Saturday...

As I thought and prayed, I wondered, "If this son of mine dies, will it make me want to go to heaven more than I do now?" For some that may be an easy question. "Of course! He's your son!" But for me it wasn't. I want to treasure Jesus more than anything in the world. More than anything. More than stuff and more than any of my sons. More than all of my sons. I want my desire for heaven to be a desire for Jesus; not gold streets, or loved ones, or sinlessness, or anything but Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I think those things will be wonderful. Wonderful! And I do look forward to them. But I want my desire for heaven, for Jesus, to be so great that it cannot be increased by any other thing that is there. Those things will be great, but they will not compare to Jesus.

Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Christ is my life, Christ is my death. And so, for me, what will be heaven?

My desire is that I might be able to answer John Piper's question above with a resounding and sincere, "No! I must have Christ for it to be heaven." And with Christ, it will be heaven, no matter who or what else is there.

I thank God that my son is doing better. I cannot imagine the hurt that losing him would have brought. And I thank God for the journey that caused me to evaluate my love for Jesus, again.

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

Clover

2010-07-15T07:36:00.008-05:00

I wanted to take a few minutes and post a "thank you" to our friends at Clover. We've used Clover for the past two years for our web design and hosting needs. We have not been disappointed.

If you are a church planter, pastor, member, attender, lover, etc., I highly recommend checking them out. The site is so easy to manage and it would take a lot of intentional effort to make it look bad. The team at Clover has gone out of their way, it seems, to make things as easy as possible for me. When we signed up with Clover, I never expected it to be as wonderful as it has been. And with the release of Greenhouse 2.0 (greenhouse is Clovers backend editor... i.e. how you edit your site) it just gets better and better.

So, here are my 5 favorite things about Clover. They are in no particular order, as I couldn't decide what I love most. Maybe I'll add a few more things in the future.

1. Cost
Having researched sites before, I am so impressed (and thankful) that Clover is offering what I have found to be the best product for churches of any size at an affordable price.

2. The Media Player
We post our sermons online and this has been a seamless and easy process with the Clover media player. Type in the name and whatever info you want shown about the sermon and then upload the sermon into the player... a click of the button. Also, check a box and, if you have an account set up to podcast through iTunes, it will update that as well. Beautiful.

3. Pictures
I love how easy it is to insert pictures into the site. First each site gives you different page layout options. Then I can just drag my picture into the designated pic area and enlarge it, shrink it, turn it click a button and it looks great. Really great. Also there is an option to have multiple pictures transitioning on each page. And I can do all of it myself.

4. WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get! I so love this. As I'm typing info into my site, I'm seeing exactly what everyone will see when I'm done. So there's no need to go back and forth from site to editor until you get the desired look. This saves so much time. I'm thankful for that.

5. Customer Service
This has been amazing. Clover is so easy to use that I sincerely have not needed to call but a few times. Those times were questions about setting up podcasting through iTunes or things like that. The staff at Clover has been amazing. I have never waited for an answer. I've always received a very kind and helpful response. I love that. It bothers me when I feel like I'm bothering people. And I never feel like that with Clover.

So to Clover... Thank you. You have blessed many churches and ministries with a great tool to reach people for the glory of God.

To you, the reader, you should check them out. You can "test drive" everything and see for yourself. Just click one of the links in this post and it will take you there. (Like THIS link)

Tears of the Saints

2010-05-27T08:45:00.003-05:00

Came across this video again today and thought I would post it. Praying the Holy Spirit will be poured out on His people in such a way that we cannot sit idly and watch. Holy Spirit, fill us! Give us the courage, the boldness, the power that you alone can give. Make us fruitful. For the glory of Your Name!

Why You Should Be at the Adoption Class

2010-05-17T15:14:00.005-05:00

There are several things that excite me about Cornerstone right now. I won't get into all of them in this post, but will mention one. There will be a class on adoption on June 5 at the church. Some couples from Cornerstone who have adopted will be sharing as well as an adoption social worker. There will be opportunity to ask questions during the time too.

Here is a reason why I think that most people who attend Cornerstone should be at the class. It is from the Desiring God website and is by Jason Kovacs. Jason Kovacs is the Director of Ministry Development for The ABBA Fund. He blogs about orphan care and adoption and is on the steering committee for the Together for Adoption Conference.

________________________________________________
Glorifying the Father of the Fatherless
July 23, 2008 | By: Jason Kovacs

* * *

Like every other dad, the day I became a father for the first time was unforgettable. My wife and I were a happy young couple waiting to adopt our first child. Visions of a beautiful baby filled our minds.

We weren’t sure if we would be matched with a birthmother a few months prior to the due-date or if we would get a phone call that a baby had been born and the brave young mother was ready to immediately place her child for adoption.

Months went by and we finally got a phone call, but it wasn’t for a baby.

God had a two-year old boy and an eight-month old girl for us. The social worker asked if we were interested and we said “Yes!” and drove down to Florida to meet our children.

At the adoption agency, the first person I met was my son toddling around the corner. He walked up to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. He wanted out of that place!

What I believe he wanted even more than that was a daddy.

That is the case today with millions of children around the world. UNICEF estimates that there are over 132 million orphans in the world today living without a permanent family. In the United States alone, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says, there are over 129,000 children waiting for a daddy and mommy. There are also many mothers with unexpected pregnancies who want to choose adoption instead of abortion.

Many of the children overseas must fight all by themselves for their very lives. Others are cared for in orphanages. The orphaned children in America will fight for their futures as well: roughly 2% will receive a university degree and 84% will have their own children within a few years of aging out of the foster-care system.

With all these parentless children, it is no side note that God is a “Father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). He has made adoption the apex of the Gospel. His spiritual enemies are now his very sons and daughters through the Cross.

And God calls us, his adopted family, to be a part of his care for the fatherless. At the core of God’s nature is a Father’s heart that we are to reflect. Scripture is clear that practical care for orphans is fundamental to the mission of the church.

In Psalm 10:18 we are commanded to “do justice to the fatherless.” And Isaiah tells us to “Defend the cause of the fatherless” (1:17). James writes, “religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans…in their affliction” (1:27).

Surely this means not only caring temporarily for the needs of orphans, but also permanently caring for them through adoption.

We have an incredible opportunity in adoption to live out God’s compassion and so eternally change the life of a child.

A year after we adopted, my wife gave birth to our third child, a beautiful baby girl. The wonder and beauty of becoming a parent through birth and adoption are incomparable and yet each is just as sweet and amazing and wonderful.

I encourage any of you who are praying about growing your family to consider adoption as a way of magnifying the “Father of the fatherless.”

And for those of you who aren’t called to adopt there many other ways to care for orphans such as foster-care, financially supporting those who are adopting, visiting orphanages, sponsoring a child, and praying.

The question will never be whether you should care for orphans. The question is how you will care for them and in doing so reflect the compassion of God for the least of these.

The Middle Road?

2010-04-30T11:01:00.003-05:00

I just came across this video from my friend, Francis Chan. I hope you will watch, listen and grow in grace.

I want to follow Jesus. I want to walk the narrow road. I want to delight in Him forever.

Good Friday

2010-03-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

We will again be having Good Friday services in different communities this year. Although the service can be used for your family, we encourage you to invite one or more families from Cornerstone as well as from your community.

To host a service, follow the service plan below. If you would like a CD of the songs to help in the service, please contact the church office to pick one up.

It is a good idea to distribute the passages to different people to read.

For a downloadable service plan as well as lyrics and chords for the songs, go the the Cornerstone Website, then click 'About' and 'Good Friday.'

Good Friday Service Structure

Sing: Amazing Grace

SCRIPTURE READING:
Matthew 26:36-46
Luke 22:47-53

Sing: Here I Am to Worship

SCRIPTURE READING:
Mark 14:53-65
Matthew 26:69-75

Sing: You Are My King

SCRIPTURE READING:
Matthew 27:1-2; 11-23
John 19:1-16

Sing: Jesus Paid it All

SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 23:26-53

Sing: Unashamed

*Pray with family and friends, thanking Jesus for his amazing sacrifice and the blood that He shed to cover your sins.
**You might also prepare to take communion together after singing Unashamed, and the sing Unexplainable Love or just close in prayer.

Friendly reminders

2010-03-13T12:09:00.003-05:00

To my Cornerstone family:

Don't forget to change your clocks tonight. We lose an hour, so if you forget, you'll show up for church an hour late. I cannot speak for everyone, but I would miss you.

Also, remember that we are having baptisms at 1:00pm tomorrow afternoon. Please plan on coming and celebrating as people obey the Lord through baptism.

Have a great (short) night!

I love you.

Tony

Guilt and Sinfulness

2010-03-08T15:46:00.002-05:00

I read this article today and wanted to pass it along to those of you who check my blog. I think it's a good read for all of us. Hope that God uses it in you.

Click Here

Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

2010-02-22T11:23:00.003-05:00

I just watched this video from Francis Chan a few minutes ago and am still shaken. It has pierced me to think of how shallow my faith is. Jesus said in Matthew 10:21-22, "Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Who hates me? I watched this video and saw godly men who love Jesus. They are hated for it. They are beaten for it. I watched from my comfortable chair in my furnished office at my un-persecuted church.

Pray with me for the church in Orissa. Watch and beg God to strengthen them. And let us beg Him for faith like theirs. For they will indeed be saved. Theirs, Jesus says, is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:10).

Persecution in India: Francis' Response from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

The Gospel According to Ruth

2010-02-20T10:38:00.007-05:00

This Sunday we are starting a new series at Cornerstone. We are beginning a series through the book of Ruth. The series is titled, "The Gospel According to Ruth." This is the first Old Testament book I've preached through. I'm quite excited about it. So many things addressed in this little book; race, sexuality, sovereignty, suffering, and most beautifully, redemption.

I'm excited to head towards Easter with the beautiful message of redemption illuminating our path. I hope that you will join us!

Series starts tomorrow, February 21 at 10:00am. Get info about Cornerstone and directions 'here'.

By His grace,
Tony

Relief for Haiti

2010-01-13T11:59:00.004-05:00

On January 12, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti with an epicenter about 10 miles Southwest of Port-au-Prince. The capital city has been largely destroyed.

Please join us as we pray for the people of Haiti. Also, join us in providing relief for the many who have lost homes and even family. Here are a few links to ministries we have found helpful and trustworthy in relief situations.

Children's Hunger Fund

Compassion International

Food for the Hungry

Food for the Poor

Read More

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" 1 John 3:17

5 Years of Cornerstone

2010-01-07T10:20:00.006-05:00

This Sunday was the 5 year anniversary of Cornerstone. It's really hard to believe. 5+ years ago 13 people moved from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA to see what God would do through a church plant in Columbus, OH.

So I thought that along with showing a couple pics from the 5 years, I'd write some thoughts about why I'm so grateful as I look back (and I am!), and what I am looking forward to as I look ahead.

5 Things I'm Grateful for as I Look Back

1. God Called
I was happy and extremely comfortable as the worship pastor in Simi Valley. I loved my job. I loved the people I served with. I loved what God was doing in the church. I loved being used by him to bring glory to him through the singing of his people. But he graciously saw fit to call me away from that. He knew that it would be much more difficult at times, but he graciously called. I am so thankful that he asked. And I am grateful that he gave me the faith to say, "yes!"

2. God Sustained
Many church plants do not survive. I knew that coming here. It is not because the pastors are not as good as me (you have no idea). I am lacking in so many areas. I pray for and strive to grow still. And when I came, even though I thought otherwise, I had no idea what I was doing. No, Cornerstone still being here is only because God has sustained us. It has nothing to do with me. In fact, it is in spite of me that we are still here. There were several times through the first four years where I either called or sat down with my pastor and friend from Cornerstone in Simi Valley and said, "I'm done. I think I want to come back. I can't do this any more." But God, being rich in mercy, dusted me off and as a loving dad always does, embraced me and said, "Get back on the bike, son."

3. God Refined
As I mentioned, Cornerstone still being alive and well is not because of me, but in spite of me. I am a prideful person. But thankfully God has used this church plant to chip away at that pride. To show me that I'm really not that great. I am grateful for that. Prideful people don't think they're prideful. I didn't. I had all the right answers... humble answers... when I came to Ohio. But there was a cancer in me. It would grow until God put his finger on it and began to reveal it more and more. Painfully, I might add. It has been a difficult process and one that I am sure is not completed. But I am thankful for what he has done. Even when it hurt and brought tears and frustration and anger. It all brought me to the point of seeing that I think too much of me and too little of Jesus and others.

4. God Gave
For 5 years we have never had a year where God did not give us more than we needed. Through this, we have been blessed to give much away and to meet the needs of the ministry here. This has been a wonderful point of worship for me. Seeing God provide over and over again has been humbling and exciting.

5. God Built
I am so grateful for what God has built. If you are reading this and attend Cornerstone, you know what I mean. I love the people here. It amazes me how they love Jesus and respond to his word. We are not done. We have not arrived. But this is my favorite church ever.

He has also allowed us to see missionaries come from our body. Erica Snyder is currently in Mozambique; the Kirkwoods are leaving in just over a month for full-time missions; and the Ronyaks are raising support to go to Papua New Guinea. Amazing and wonderful!

____________________________________________________________

There is much more I could write about the past. But I will continue in my next post by looking ahead. Let me end this post by quoting Paul:

1 Timothy 1:12-17 - "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

Sing for Joy!

2009-11-16T14:08:00.002-05:00

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Psalm 98:4

Yesterday, during our worship service at Cornerstone, we sang Happy Day by Tim Hughes. It was a wonderful time. There was a room full of people singing for joy! It was beautiful.

I'm sure you've seen people who were singing (or shouting) for joy before. I can think of two quick occasions. First, is birthday parties. I think of mommies and daddies, siblings and friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, all singing that silly Happy Birthday song. So simple and almost always expressed joyfully. I mean, excluding a few occasions where a jealous little girl or boy didn't like someone else getting all the attention, I can't think of a sadly sung Happy Birthday.

The other occasion is an Ohio State football game. I was at the OSU vs Iowa game this past weekend. Exciting? Yes. Loud? Very. Joyful? Definitely. When the buckeyes were winning, people were happy. The band (or recording of Zombie Nation) would play and fans were smiling, cheering, jumping, singing, swinging towels, and having a blast. It's an incredible feeling; so many people elated for a single reason.

Think about the Happy Birthday song for a minute. It's not the song itself that stirs a joyful response, right? No. The people singing love the one they are singing to. They are happy because of that one person. Similarly, no one drops $69 for a football ticket so they like the songs, they love the team. (btw - my ticket was a gift... so THANKS TOM!)

So should our worship be. I mentioned that on Sunday the room was full of people singing for joy, not because everyone was clapping their hands. Several didn't clap. I'm okay with that. I've been to places where people have learned to clap, because that's part of the experience. I also don't say it because everyone was singing as loud as they could. Some weren't. But there was an expression of joy everywhere I looked.

I don't think music style matters at all in this. In fact, I just wish some churches would decide what kind of music they are going to do and then preach a high view of God that will lead people to joyfully respond to Him. Hymn or modern worship song... God is worthy of our joy.

I was encouraged more by the joy than the singing (which was loud) yesterday. It's one of the multitude of reasons I love my church family.

If you have a church family, don't analyze their musical choice. It's your family and you're singing to your Father. If there are drums, sing joyfully. If there's an organ, sing joyfully. Throughout the ages and musical choices, He is worthy.

Africa and the Prosperity Gospel

2009-11-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Would You Have Prayed?

2009-10-23T13:03:00.002-05:00

Saw this video and thought I'd share it. Was so encouraged. Would I have loved this young man enough to pray and share with him? Would you? Jesus came to reconcile robbers to God. What a beautiful, providential event to remind us of that glorious and gracious truth!

Watch Video

Illustration for Children: Why Faith Glorifies God

2009-10-14T11:08:00.002-05:00

This is an illustration given by John Piper in a sermon he preached in 1999. It is wonderful and I am certain I will use this with at least 5 boys. Read it and pray that God will use you to produce Christ-exalting faith in your children.

Click here to view illustration

My Van and the Holy Spirit

2009-10-07T08:05:00.003-05:00

We've been traveling quite a bit the past two weeks. First a trip to Virginia to visit family and show off our newest little one. Then this past week we drove to West Virginia where I preached a revival for 3 days and preached in another church 2hrs and 40 minutes from there. Great memories and opportunity to see the Lord moving and working in lives.

While we were in WV we hoped to do some sight seeing. On Saturday morning we wanted to drive to Seneca Rocks to take some pics of the family and just enjoy the beauty. However, when we got up that morning there was an unusual, strong, odor coming from the van. I knew what it was, and it wasn't the kids this time. It was coolant. We had a leak.

I was still scheduled to preach one more time that evening, then get up and drive to Sutton, WV to preach in a church there and then drive 5 hours home. Not the best scenario for a van with coolant leaking out. So we made a plan. We'd try to get the van home by continuing to stop every 70-80 miles and making sure the radiator was filled.

Yes, it seemed like a tedious plan, but necessary. I mean we have 5 boys, including a 6 week old. So stopping over and over is not what we'd usually do. We like to get as far as we can as quickly as we can because we know that our infant is going to need to stop and eat every few hours. So this plan would be a distraction to our usual busyness. The kids would be a good excuse to just keep going and only stop to refill if we HAD to. You know, if the engine started overheating.

But do you know what? I didn't mind stopping at all. It wasn't an inconvenience. It was a necessity. I knew that if I didn't stop often enough... I'd be stopped for good. I would not make it home like I hoped.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:18, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." The command in Greek is a present imperative and does not describe a onetime “filling” but a regular pattern of life. He's telling us to keep keeping filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like with the van, we must continue to keep filled with the Holy Spirit.

Again, I have 5 boys. The temptation is often to just take care of the busyness of life and not stop and make sure I'm keeping filled with the Spirit. But that is not an option. If I, like many, just go and only stop when I HAVE to... I'll overheat. I'll die spiritually.

I hope that you do not see this command as a burdensome one. Keep filled and you will have the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control you need for the moment. (Galatians 5:22-23) You might need to pull over right now and top off.

A beautiful life

2009-09-18T13:42:00.001-05:00

I saw this posted facebook today. It is beautiful. I don't know if the Lord will allow me to have so many years with my wife. But I hope that our love for Him and for the world will make such an impact. Give me Jesus.

Fernando Ortega - "Give Me Jesus" from Adamson.TV on Vimeo.

Time for a Rotation

2009-09-07T18:53:00.002-05:00

It is labor day. My family and I took a drive to my wife's parents' home. We had a great time together and ate a wonderful lunch which included steaks cooked perfectly on the grill by my brother-in-law.

On the way there, we drove through some rain. I am usually a pretty confident driver in rain or snow, but as I was driving up the interstate we started to hydroplane. It got my attention and then kept my attention as we continued to hydroplane a few more times.

When we arrived at my in-laws, I decided something needed to be done. It's not worth chancing a wreck with my wife and 5 boys in the van. I knew what the problem was. The back tires were fine, however the tread on the front tires was wearing.

So, with two jacks and some effort my father-in-law and I rotated the tires so that both front wheels have good tread to pull the van, even when it's raining. The van drove great on the way home and I could actually feel the difference.

Some of us could use the same thing in our lives. We're driving on worn tread.

Ephesians 4:22-24 says:
"to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

You may feel like you have no spiritual tread. If so, maybe you need to rotate things. Too often people claim to be in Christ, yet they neglect to put off the former manner of life and put on the new self, created in true righteousness and holiness. If you have things out of place and are still holding on the your former manner of life, you'll get no traction. When storms come you will slip.

What is this new self? Get into the bible and find out. Read, read, read and pray, pray, pray. Read and pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you and change you and teach you through His word.

Sunday, August 23 follow-up

2009-09-02T15:00:00.002-05:00

The past two weeks we've talked about worship in our services. Here are the passages under each category of worship that we talked about. There are also some extra passages listed, however there are certainly many more that I encourage you to research on your own.

SINGING
What do you want God to see when He sees you singing?
2 Samuel 22:50; 1 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 5:11; Psalm 13:6; Psalm 21:13; Psalm 33:3; Psalm 47:6; Psalm 96:1-2; Zephaniah 3:17; Ephesians 5:18-19; Psalm 98:1, 4; Psalm 100; Psalm 104:33; Acts 16:25; Colossians 3:16

GIVING
What do you want God to see when He sees you giving?
1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:2-3; 2 Corinthians 9:3

SERVING
What do you want God to see when He sees you serve?
Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

SCRIPTURE READING
What do you want God to see when He sees you reading scripture?
1 Timothy 4:13; Isaiah 66:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

PRAYING
What do you want God to see when He sees you praying?
Matthew 6:5-14; Matthew 21:22; Acts 1:14; Colossians 4:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:8; James 5:13-18; 1 Peter 3:12

FELLOWSHIP/LOVING ONE ANOTHER
What do you want God to see when He sees you loving others in the church?
John 13:34-35; John 15:12, 17; Romans 12:9-21; Romans 15:7; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 3:11, 23

LISTENING/RESPONDING TO PREACHING
What do you want God to see when He sees you listen/respond to preaching?
2 Timothy 4:1-2; Romans 10:9-17; Psalm 119:4, 18, 36

Does your worship say to God, "I am denying myself and following you?" Does it say to others, "I enjoy making much of God?"

Practically Speaking - Lessons on worship

2009-08-22T18:07:00.002-05:00

I wanted to give you a few follow-up articles and video to look through after this week's sermon. Take some time to read through the sermons/articles and watch the short video. I think you'll be encouraged more in your approach to worship.

Sermons by John Piper

Ambushing Satan with Song

The Curse of Careless Worship

Prepare to Meet Your God

Singing and Making Melody to the Lord

I'll post more as I come across it.

If We're Not Building the Church pt. 2

2009-08-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I posted last. I apologize. Busyness of life and ministry can often cause time to slip by so quickly that before I realize it, weeks (and sometimes months) are gone.

I do want to continue this topic of building the church though. I know this is a struggle for many. However, I see in Scripture that there is a joy in those who have been transformed by God's grace that leads them to be a part of Jesus' initiative to build His church. I think this is seen so clearly in the man who Jesus cast the demons out of in Luke 8:26-39. Jesus changes him and although he'd rather go and be with Jesus right then (vs. 38), when Jesus says no and tells him to "return to [your] home, and declare how much God has done for you," he gladly does it. In fact, the bible tells us that he "went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him." I really think this is what we should be like. Why? Because we're led by obedience to Jesus and the joy of the Holy Spirit.

So what keeps me from living this way? I think if I'm honest, it's fear. I want to have a good relationship with my neighbors. I mean, 1 Timothy 3:7 tells me that I "must be well thought of by outsiders." Outsiders certainly includes my neighbors, right? I'm afraid of what they will think of me if I bring up the gospel.

However, as I was reading in Luke last week I came across this passage again. Shouldn't we be more fearful of this verse than of our neighbors/coworkers not being offended by the truth?

Luke 6:26

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

The truth is, if everyone is speaking well of me because I'm just saying what they want to hear and am fearful of bringing up the truth of the gospel, then I should really evaluate and worry. 1 Timothy 3:7 (mentioned above) is referring to my reputation. Am I living like Christ or do I have a reputation of doing wrong? Paul's concern is how the church and gospel are portrayed to the world. If it is hidden... it is not portrayed well (or at all).

I know that some people will be offended by the gospel. That has been the case since Jesus walked this earth. It was true for him; it was true for Peter; it was true for Paul; it was true for Stephen; and it will be true of me (2 Timothy 3:12). But am I so joyful that my name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20) that I will arm myself with the same thinking as Christ (1 Peter 4:1), not be surprised or ashamed when persecution comes (1 Peter 4:12, 16) but rejoice that I was considered worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus' name (Acts 5:41)?

Let it be so, Lord!

The Grace of God

2009-08-05T15:46:00.002-05:00

As I was studying for this weekend's sermon, I came across a video by John Piper about suffering and how God gives grace for the moment. It is amazing and wonderful. Thought you would be encouraged by it today.

If We're Not Building the Church...

2009-07-21T10:06:00.002-05:00

So I've been thinking quite a bit about this post. It's something that is sincerely on my heart all the time now. If we're not building the church, then what are we doing? As I have looked at Scripture, I can only see that the answer is, "we're wasting our time." To put it into one of my favorite pastor's words, we're "wasting our lives".

I'll probably spend a few posts looking at different passages that deal with this. So I think the best starting point is 1 Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This is a wonderful passage. I mean really think about what the first half is saying. We are chosen by the God of the universe! How wonderful is that?!? But that's not all (read that like an infomercial host)! We are a holy nation. We are a people set apart by God and for God! How amazing. Remember, we're talking about the God of the universe, who dwells in unapproachable light.

Wait, there's more! We are a royal priesthood. The priests were those who could approach God. We can do that through Christ. And we are a people for His own possession.

We ought to be incredibly grateful as we read those truths about ourselves. So grateful that we would do anything for Him, right?

I have good news. He tells us what to do. The second half of the verse tells us why he chose us and set us apart. Why? So that we will proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Proclaiming is something that isn't easily contained and is noticeable to those in close proximity.

We are chosen and set apart for God so that we will build the church! Proclaim Him. He is good and He is worthy. Build the church. Spend your life doing what you know God is doing. He's building the church.

Father's Day

2009-06-17T14:43:00.001-05:00

I always find church attendance interesting on Mother's Day and Father's Day. On Mother's Day attendance is usually up. It seems that some husbands, who normally do not attend church, feel obligated to go on the second Sunday in May because "mom" asked them to.

Father's Day is different though. Unfortunately, the trend is that fathers' wishes are different. "It's Father's Day! I'm going to sleep in. I'm going to play golf. I'm going to watch golf." Because it's Father's Day, men sometimes feel like their reward should be a day off.

But what is that saying about church? Should church be something we need a vacation from? I hope not. Is our perception of church right when our first thought on a holiday is, "Good, I don't have to go to church today"?

And what about our eternal Father? If it's Father's Day, shouldn't our first thanks go to our perfect Father who adopted us into his everlasting, heavenly Kingdom?

This Father's Day, let us worship. Be a dad worthy of the cards and gifts you'll get by showing your kids what real, godly men do. They worship.

See you on Sunday, dads.

Prepared Praise

2009-06-09T08:57:00.002-05:00

I was reading this morning from Matthew 21. It's the passage about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On a donkey.

As he enters the people are gathered and shouting out praise to God: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Beautiful scene. Must have been emotional.

Obviously, this was not the reception the Pharisees wanted Jesus to have, so they were a bit ticked. It's pretty amazing. They confront Jesus after hearing children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Beautiful. It says they were indignant and that they said to Jesus, "Do you hear what these are saying?"

Here's what I got hung up on. Jesus answers, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?" I happened to be reading in the NLT which reads, "You have taught children and infants to give you praise.'"

That's what hit me. God has prepared praise from little children. Jesus said (quoting Psalm 8) that He has prepared praise from children and infants. He has taught them to give praise.

As a pastor I work hard to teach people praise. Praise that the Father seeks. Praise that comes from true worshippers, those who worship the Father in spirit and truth.

But I'm also a father, the pastor of my home. And I wonder if I am working as hard to teach my children to praise, the way the Father seeks? God has prepared them for praise. Have I? Am I getting in the way of what God has prepared?

I want to be a catalyst for the kind of praise that God has already prepared my children, and even infants, to proclaim.

May 24 remix

2009-05-28T20:04:00.002-05:00

If you were to ask someone how to live an innocent life as a follower of Christ, you might get several answers. I imagine most would say things like: don't look at pornography, live simply, don't gossip, etc. And those are good answers.

But as we talked about on Sunday there is something else that is important in our living lives of innocence. The Gospel.

Acts 20:25-26
"Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."

If we are going to live a life and leave a life of innocence, it must be a life that is completely controlled by the gospel of Jesus. Every relationship should be directed and motivated by this one thing. We will leave those relationships as innocent followers of Jesus if we have been faithful to fulfill the commission our Lord gave to us.

I have too many regrets in my past. Times when people, either friends or neighbors, left my life never hearing the whole gospel from me. It's not worth the risk. Those people need Jesus. They literally need him. And I am blessed to know it. It's no secret. It's the greatest, most joy-filling news anyone could hear.

We are blessed to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. What a blessing! What a joy! Why did he bless us so? 1 Peter 2:9 tells us; "that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Whether you eat or drink...

2009-05-21T19:40:00.002-05:00

Don't forget that following the service this Sunday (May 24) we will be having an ALL CHURCH COOKOUT! Yea... that's right.

We will provide the burgers and such. Please bring a side dish and an appetite.

If you missed this past Sunday, we had our first service in the new building. What an amazing blessing it was for me to walk into the sanctuary at 9:59AM. The sound of fellowship was truly worship! And just as loud as the singing during the service. How marvelous.

Hope to see you this weekend.

Service @ 10:00AM
Lunch @ 11:30AM-ish.

The Time Has Come!

2009-05-12T20:12:00.008-05:00

Well, the time has finally come! We are moving into our new building this coming weekend. Here's a pic of the outside of the building...

We will be having a dedication service as well as our regular service this Sunday. Here's the schedule...
9:00AM - Dedication service: singing, prayer, scripture reading
9:45AM - break
10:00AM - Worship Service

I'm so looking forward to worshiping together! God has blessed us. Let us come ready to lift our voices and our hearts to Him!

Moving Daze

2009-04-29T20:48:00.003-05:00

If you are a part of Cornerstone, you know that we are moving to a new, more permanent location this month. This is a very busy and joyful time for our church.

Originally, we planned on moving out of Marcus Cinema this Sunday and having our first service at the new location on May 10. Unfortunately, when you are dealing with construction stuff and inspections and permits, things don't always meet intended deadlines.

So, we will patiently wait one more week. The new schedule is as follows:

May 3 - regular service at Marcus Cinema
May 10 - shortened service at Marcus followed by loading everything and moving it to the new building.
May 17 - First service at 8930 Commerce Loop Dr!

Please continue to pray as we move forward. I'm praying that God will use this new facility to glorify Himself in greater ways. And that we will better fulfill his call to love each other as much as we love ourselves.

I'm so grateful for the days behind us and even more grateful and excited for the ones ahead!

Here's a biblical goal for us to pursue as we move forward:
Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

Okay... I'm gonna have to blog about that passage soon!

Cornerstone Interview: The Popas

2009-04-22T20:04:00.006-05:00

Occasionally, I will be interviewing people who attend Cornerstone so that you, the people of Cornerstone, can get a glimpse into their life and why they come.

Our first interview will be with Bryan and Amanda Popa. Before I give you the interview, though, let me say that I love them both. I am so blessed to be called their pastor. It is a privilege that I don't take lightly. So, what am I waiting for? You need to get to know them.

1. How long have you been married?
4 years on July 8

2. Tell us something that everyone should know about your spouse.
Bryan: Amanda has an undiagnosed case of OCD. She hates clutter, is a Nazi about cleaning, wants shoes off in the house, needs to see vacuum lines in the carpet, likes having a blanket cover her toes, etc., etc. She is ranked nationally when it comes to being organized – I believe she’s #6 in the state of Ohio. But I can’t complain, she keeps me in line, our calendar straight, and our house in order – it’s actually a blessing. She is someone that has compassion for serving others before herself. Amanda is an amazing spouse, best friend and will be a fantastic mother!
Amanda: Bryan has a borderline unhealthy love for our pug dog Crosby. He looks forward to getting down and wrestling around with him on the ground every night after work - it's very funny to watch. He also enjoys picking Crosby up upside down by his legs and pretending like he's a "pig". They snort back and forth at each other (don't worry, this is totally normal). On a more serious note though, after seeing how much he loves Crosby, he says that he's excited to see how much more he will love our son than he loves our dog!

3. How long have you been attending Cornerstone?
We started coming the summer of 2006. We found out about Cornerstone because Kate and Amanda taught at the same school together. We wanted to start coming earlier but had an obligation to stay at the church that was linked with the school.

4. How have you been involved at Cornerstone?
Amanda: I think that Bryan leading the Monday night Life Group has been the most rewarding "service" that we have gotten to do at Cornerstone so far, we also participate in the nursery set up every other week and Amanda serves in the nursery as well.
Bryan: I’m super excited about rallying men together in community with purpose of living for Christ at our places of work and more importantly leading our families.

5. What's it like for you to be a part of the Cornerstone Community?
AWESOME! We feel like God allows us to get a glimpse of what He truly desires for His Body at Cornerstone. It's more than we could have asked for in a church before we found it. We enjoy being real with people and having true community that is deep, raw, difficult, challenging and Spirit-filled.

6. What is a favorite verse and why?
Bryan: Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." I love it because it’s all about Jesus; He created everything, he’s before all things and he himself holds everything together. EVERYTHING!
Amanda: A favorite passage of Scripture for me usually depends on what I am studying, because the whole Bible is full of my favorites! Currently I'm studying Ephesians with Megan Kirkwood who is discipling me and I'm learning SO MUCH about how the Church Body is designed to be the fullness of Christ. I love these verses because we are told that it is through Christ that we have access to the Father and because of this, being built on Christ we are to be fitted together in unity so that we can be a holy dwelling place for God - how sweet is that?! The whole book of Ephesians is full of wonderful verses about how we are to live in a manner worthy of our calling, preserving the unity and bond of peace with the Body and I am so challenged by how we are to do this through the Spirit only, not in our own strength.
"For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Ephesians 2:18-22

7. How can we pray for you?
We would love prayer for direction in our lives - as God's children, what does he have for us while we are living in Columbus? How can we be stretched more and live outside of the norm? We would also love prayer for wisdom and selflessness in parenting and for our marriage as we add a little one this summer.

Listening with Our Eyes

2009-04-21T13:35:00.005-05:00

Yesterday evening I was hanging out with my family and we noticed a rainbow that was directly in front of our home. It was the brightest I remember seeing. It arched high into the sky and could be seen clearly end to end. My wife and four boys gathered around the living room window with me to behold it's beauty.

I thought: "God made that." So bright and so beautiful. And yet it does not compare to the brightness and beauty of Him.

Then today I saw a picture taken by the Hubble Telescope. It was described as a "peculiar group of interacting galaxies that contains a 'cosmic fountain' of stars, gas and dust that stretches over 100,000 light years." Beautiful. And grand.

Again, I thought: "God made that." What a blessing that we can even look at it. Yet it does not compare to the beauty and grandness of it's Creator.

Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

God made that rainbow and he made those galaxies for a purpose. Not so a small family of 6 could gather around a window and say, "Wow! That is it! That's real beauty." Indeed, that might be true. But we ought to listen with our eyes. That rainbow, those galaxies and many more things... things you are looking at today that I will not see... they are saying something. They are declaring to you and to me that God is glorious! He is a master creator and a loving Savior. They beckon us to look beyond them to someone more beautiful.

If we will only listen with our eyes.

Good Friday Worship

2009-04-10T12:44:00.003-05:00

I want to encourage you to worship and remember today. Here is a simple Good Friday service you can do with your family this evening. If you want, you can invite others to come too. It is focused on a chronological reading of the events that took place around Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion. If you have small children, maybe just sing a verse of Amazing Grace (or another song about Jesus' sacrifice and grace) where singing is encouraged. I'll give you a couple songs to choose from but you can obviously pick something different if you feel it is more fitting or appropriate.

Gather together and sing (Here I am to Worship; Amazing Grace)

Read
Matthew 26:36-46
Luke 22:47-53

Sing (Child of God; Amazing Grace verse)

Read
Mark 14:53-65
Matthew 26:69-75

Sing (You are My King)

Read
Matthew 27:1-2; 11-23
John 19:1-16

Sing (Jesus Paid it All)

Read
Luke 23:26-53

Sing (Amazing Grace)

Pray with your family or friends, thanking Jesus for his amazing sacrifice and the blood that was shed to cover your sins.

Passion Week: Thursday

2009-04-09T18:52:00.002-05:00

This is the toughest post for me this week. So much could be said about the day before Jesus' death. I encourage you to read what I will not focus on. It's a lot, but read it thinking about the fact that Jesus was to be arrested less than 24 hours later. Amazing. Here are the things Jesus did on Thursday that I'm not commenting on.

Passover Meal and Last Supper
Matthew 26:20-35; Mark 14:17-26; Luke 22:14-30

Upper Room Discourse
John 13:1-17:36

What I want to comment on is Jesus praying in Gethsemane

Mark 14:32-42
And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

In all of history there has probably not been a more passionate, desperate prayer. Jesus is literally on the verge of doing what no one else could ever do. Bear the wrath of God.

His prayer is so intense that Luke says that an angel appeared to strengthen him and that his sweat became as drops of blood. Imagine what Jesus was going through inside.

As he prays though, he is not self seeking. See what he prays? "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” I know that anything... ANYTHING is possible for you. So, remove this cup. Yet, not what I will, but what you will.

Was there another way? No. Because this was THE way determined by God. But Jesus, knowing that God could do anything he wanted to, asks. But submits to what God wills... not what God has to do, but what God chooses to do. Jesus submits to God's will rather than his comfort.

Why did God will it to be done this way? Love. Romans 5:8 says that, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Thank you, Jesus for submitting to the Father's good will. Thank you Father for showing that you love us, the best way you possibly could.

Passion Week: Wednesday

2009-04-08T19:08:00.004-05:00

Luke 21:37-38
And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

Two days before he is betrayed, brutally beaten and killed, Jesus is busy. What is he doing? Putting his affairs in order? No. Taking trips with friends to places he never got to visit? No. (That's a dumb one, I know... he created every place and there's no place he hadn't been) Golfing? No.

The last few days of Jesus' life were spent teaching. He genuinely loved people. He came to save people and he wanted them to know the truth which would set them free.

May we honor Christ this Easter as we follow in his steps. Wouldn't it be great if we didn't leave the teaching, the truth, out of our relationships and plans this week?

Passion Week: Tuesday

2009-04-07T17:32:00.005-05:00

Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus did a lot of teaching on the Tuesday before his arrest and crucifixion. If you want to read the rest, here are the texts:

- The disciples see the withered fig tree (Matthew 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-21)
- Temple controversies in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:23-23:39; Mark 11:27-12:44; Luke 20:1-21:4)
- Olivet Discourse on the return to Bethany (Matthew 24:1-25:46; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-36)

But I want to mention this part of Matthew 22. Jesus is asked what the most important thing for us to do is. And he answers. Are you grateful? I am. I didn't have to answer. There were other questions that Pharisees asked, which he refused to answer. He didn't have to answer this question, but he did. He really is good.

His answer, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." The most important thing for you and for me to do is to love God. Not half-heartedly, but completely. With our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind. That doesn't really leave much space for other first loves.

But Jesus is so good and loving that he answered another question too. He told us what the second most important thing is. To love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. This takes effort, but our best efforts are far short of enabling us, unless we are living the greatest command.

And so I ask myself and you this Easter week: Are we genuinely loving God with our whole heart or just the part leftover at the end of the day (or week, or month, or year)? He only wants the whole thing. He's worth more.

If you attend Cornerstone you might remember the "Learning to Love" series from November 2008. I encourage you to listen to the sermon, "Learning to Love pt 2 - Why Love?" that I preached November 16. Click here and then go to the "Sermons" page and scroll down to find that sermon.

Passion Week: Monday

2009-04-06T18:03:00.003-05:00

Mark 11:12-14
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

In just a few days, Jesus will be arrested, beaten, and crucified. Yet he continues to teach the disciples along the way.

Two things are important to note from this fig tree encounter.

First, Jesus was hungry. Jesus was human. That's not to say that he wasn't God. He was. But he was fully God and fully man. So he got hungry just like we do. He got hunger pains with that hunger. He felt like we feel. And so I imagine that we could never understand the pain that he genuinely felt as he willingly took God's wrath on himself to demonstrate his love for us.

Second, Jesus doesn't think much of fruitlessness. The cursing of the fig tree signifies the judgment of God on the fruitless Jewish people, who had turned away from God into empty ritual and legalism.

Oh, may we not journey through this week ritualistically! May we worship, truly worship, the Son who came to demonstrate the Father's love for us... for you and for me.

Passion Week: Sunday

2009-04-05T20:33:00.002-05:00

John 12:12-15
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!”

I wonder how many were gathered along the road that day. I wonder how loud the cries were as the people called out to the King of kings. I imagine it was a beautiful scene.

But I can't help but remember that only days later their voices were raised again. Maybe louder. But the tone changed. Instead of "Hosanna!" they cried, "Crucify him!"

If you gathered with people this Palm Sunday and raised your voice to worship the King of kings, don't follow the pattern of the crowd 2,000 years ago. Some will be tempted to end this day of worship on the internet searching for pictures Jesus died to redeem them from. Some will go from raising hands to the Lord to raising their hand to their spouse or children. Or maybe just using words to provoke or abuse them... God's sons and daughters. Again, Jesus died to redeem you from that.

I'm going to post each day this week about the events of Jesus' last week. Let us continue to lift our hands, raise our voices and give our hearts to Him. He gave his life so that we could.

Half Way to Jesus

2009-04-01T14:43:00.004-05:00

My birthday was this week. I turned 36. In my mind, it's a significant birthday. It's not 40, I know, but it's significant.

Psalm 90:10 says "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away."

I'm pretty good with math. If my calculations are correct, that means I'm at least half way to Jesus! That might seem silly to you as you read this, but to me it's both exciting and sobering.

Exciting? Self explanatory, I hope. Like I said, I'm at least half way to Jesus! What could be better?

Sobering? Yes. In a good way. A couple verses later in Psalm 90:12 it says, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." A heart of wisdom. When I realize that my life is fleeting (the first half was definitely a vapor) it helps me to stay focused on what's really important.

So how do I want to spend the rest of my vapor? Here are some of the resolutions I'm re-committing to for the remainder of my life.

- To read through the entire Bible at least twice a year.
- To know God’s Word so well as to know nothing else but to live and breathe it in all that I do.
- To devote myself to the disciplines of reading, meditating, and the memorization of the Scriptures more than the watching of television.
- To live a life devoted to God filled with joy, that I might proclaim with Paul, “To live is Christ! To die is gain!” I want God to be glorified not only in my hope in living but in my hope in dying.
- To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can.
- To live a disciplined life in which my children rise to find me reading, praying, working, living and loving… not sleeping.
- To never have to apologize to my children for cheating on their mom… physically, emotionally or visually.
- To preach the Word! Never to compromise what God teaches so that I will be better liked.

This is not my whole list, but one that I hope encourages you to consider the same. As I contemplate it, I am reminded and thankful that it is not I but Christ living in me!

By the way, here's what I noticed about the picture of the hourglass. It only makes me nervous when I'm not doing what I know I should.

Teach us to number our days, Lord, that we may truly gain a heart of wisdom! I can't wait to see you. The grains of sand in my hourglass will be gone before I know it. May each one fall to the glory of You.

It's Time to Get Up

2009-03-25T09:38:00.007-05:00

I was reading the Bible last night and came across a passage that I thought I should post about. It's not a commonly read passage, so many of you may not even know of it. This year, I'm reading through the Bible chronologically from the New Living Translation (I like to switch translations each year). Last night I was reading the book of Amos.

Now before I get to the passage, let me make a few comments. First, I realize that this is specifically spoken to the nation of Israel. I'm not trying to stretch that. Things are different now. We are not a country or nation set apart by God. Israel is that in this passage, but we are not. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are a people of EVERY tribe and tongue. And so I am not saying that these words apply to The United States. God was judging His people, so if we want to make the application today, we shouldn't make it to our country but to the church.

But, secondly, oh the wisdom that is to be found in this warning to those Israelites!

Amos 6:4-6 (NLT)
"How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves. You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was. You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin." (emphasis added)

I will comment briefly. It is time for the church to wake up and be the church that loves God and loves people. That loves, reads, meditates on, believes and lives His word. That exists to glorify God not itself. Be glad! We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

It is not the government's job to legislate holiness. It is the churches joy to live it.

Don't hear me wrong. Jesus loves his bride and so do I. Just a reminder. And an encouragement that we are the bride of Christ. His chosen and precious bride whom He loves. He has covered our sins. The debt is paid. Let us live for the glory of His name!

Wake up, church. We overslept. Darkness has fallen and there is work to be done.

Baptism service

2009-03-20T13:49:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, March 15 we had a baptism service at Worthington Christian Church following our regular worship service. Three people were baptized; Alden Hall and Kevin and Sarah Arnold. Here's a video highlighting that service.

The Joy of the Holy Spirit

2009-03-16T14:12:00.002-05:00

In yesterday's sermon we talked some about the blessing of having God's Spirit dwelling inside of us. Not a lot of chatter in this blog. Just thought I'd give you some more to rejoice about. Here are some passages and a comment about what we graciously get from having the Holy Spirit. Two thoughts: (1) don't just read the comment; click the link and read the passage. (2) I know there are other passages about the joys of the Holy Spirit; this is just a good start.

(in no particular order)

Galatians 5:16-18 - Triumph over sin
Galatians 5:22-23 - Fruit!
Romans 8:7-11 - Hope and life
John 14:16-17 - Help
John 14:25-26 - More help
John 15:26 - True thoughts about Jesus
John 16:7-15 - Conviction of sin; guidance in truth; the glorification of Jesus Christ!
Romans 8:6 - Life and peace
Ephesians 1:11-14 - An eternal guarantee

Childlike faith, pt 1

2009-03-12T11:07:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, at bedtime, Alden was complaining that his ear was hurting. After investigating, it was apparent that he was serious and that his ear was hurting him a lot. He seemed to be in a lot of pain.

So like a good dad, I handed him two junior ibuprofen as he was going to bed. He laid down and I asked who wanted to pray (him or Leif). Alden volunteered right away and I encouraged him to pray about his ear. It was a simple, well-thought (Alden's good about that) prayer.

After he was done, I said to him, "Alden, I want to pray for your ear. I'm going to put my hand on it when I pray." He looked puzzled and asked, "Why?" I told him that the Bible says that if anyone is sick they should have the elders lay hands on them and pray for them. I told him that there was nothing miraculous about what I was doing but that sometimes God decides to heal people when they obey and it was just an act of obedience. He said, "Right now!" (referring to idea that God could heal him right then) I said, "Yes, sometimes God does that and sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he lets us stay sick and uses that. Alden, do you believe that God could heal you right now if he wanted?" He said, very confidently, "Yes."

So I prayed, as I have done many times before with my kids and others. But when I was done, my sons face was glowing. Like, ready-to-explode glowing. He said, "Dad, my ear doesn't hurt anymore!" I said, "Really?" He said, "No. It doesn't hurt at all!" I encouraged him to pray and thank God. He did. Then I said to him, "Alden, God did something miraculous just now. He literally touched your body and healed you." He said, "I think that's the first time He's ever done that to me."

He was still beaming! Shawna went in after I left and he told her everything. She said that he was just so excited. Could hardly contain it.

I learned a few things through this that I want to share... as if the story isn't enough.

1. Doubt. Sometimes my faith in what I read, doesn't match the faith I live. When Alden told me his ear was better, I immediately began to reconcile this with my doctrine, debating in my mind if it REALLY happened. Maybe some of you are doing that now?

2. Childlike faith. I am amazed at the faith of this 7 year old. He trusts the Lord as much as I want to. I see what Jesus meant by the whole faith of a child lesson.

3. Thankfulness. I know God hears me when I pray. However, it is amazing when He chooses to do something that proves it!

There's more to the story. I'll post it as part two.

Winning with Discipline

2009-03-10T15:03:00.002-05:00

This past week I turned a new page in my life. Running. Some would say that it's a page revisited, because I've started running before. The last time I tried was two years ago. I made it a couple weeks and then stopped. No excuses, I just stopped.

That's why I'm calling it a new page. I have too. I'm turning 36 this month and if I don't start now and keep going, I'll probably never do it. I have a friend who is keeping me accountable, so I'm hopeful. Plus, I'm running in a 5K in May, so I've got to keep going.

Last night was my third run. I started off last week running 1.2 miles. Not that impressive, but to my out-of-shape body (especially in the area of cardio) it seemed like a marathon. I wish I could say that I didn't have to stop and walk some, but I did. On Saturday, my second run, things seemed worse. I think I walked more then than the first time.

But last night was different. I started off at a good pace and when I reached the spot where I wanted to quit the last two times, I felt fine. In fact, I kept feeling fine. I ran the whole 1.2 miles without a stop.

I have to tell you, it was encouraging. I felt like I got passed the "why in the world am I doing this" stage. I'm not saying that it will be that easy from here out... but I felt great and was glad to be a runner.

It made me think of what we've been talking about on Sundays. This past week I mentioned that we've got to be devoted to God's word. Not just 20 minutes a day, but as much as we can. We'd never say that 20 minutes a day with our spouse will cut it, so why are we patting each other on the back when we finally reach 20 minutes with Jesus?

It may seem like a marathon to set aside that much time each day at first, but soon you'll feel the value of time with the Lord. It will not only become easier, you will want it. You'll miss it. You'll look forward to being with the Lord. You'll wake up excited about your time with Him.

I'm finding that myself. How sweet it is to open the word and hear the voice of Almighty God!

I'll leave you with something God said to me, today:
"I count the stars and call them all by name. How great I am! My power is absolute!" Psalm 147:4-5 (first person)

Change!

2009-03-07T15:50:00.002-05:00

Don't miss church tomorrow! Change your clocks. They go forward tonight. I realize that means you miss an hour of sleep. But it also means you don't miss church. Seems like a pretty good trade-off.

Ingrown Hairs

2009-03-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

I think I have four ingrown hairs on my face and neck right now. I hate those things. I mean, it's a pretty simple concept. If you're a hair, you're supposed to have a root that is firmly planted in the right direction while simultaneously growing out of the face. Pretty simple.

When hairs do the right thing, they look nice. I mean imagine what your head would look like if the hairs all rebelled and grew inward. Not pretty. On the other hand, when they all come out, whether through the top of the head or the face, it really can be quite pleasant (assumed grooming here).

Pleasant doesn't describe the circumstances I'm facing right now. Because when hairs decide to grow in, they really irritate you. They fester and cause pain... eventually either disappearing (for the life of me I can't figure that out) or exploding, which is painful.

This past Sunday I preached about our responsibility to be proclaimers. I feel like the church has a lot more ingrown hairs than ones growing the right direction. Apparently, from the Bible's perspective, we're supposed to have a root that is firmly planted in the right direction while simultaneously growing outward. We weren't meant to sing really loud inside a church building and then hide our faith from the world.

Don't be an ingrown hair. If you are, you might be irritating and you'll probably end up either disappearing or exploding... and that is usually pretty painful.

How has God used you to proclaim his greatness?

Article on the Assurance of Salvation

2009-03-03T19:01:00.003-05:00

I came across this old article by John Piper today and thought that it might be an encourage to some of you.

Click Here to Read

Be encouraged. God is gracious!

New leaf

2009-03-02T21:51:00.002-05:00

Okay. So I'm reopening the blog file.

I'd like to make this more useful for the Cornerstone Ohio community. Come often. I'll be using this as a follow up to Sunday sermons as well as other thoughts and even questions.

Please, get involved in the conversation!

Happy Birthday, Leif

2008-08-28T08:38:00.003-05:00

Leif,

Today you turn 5. I cannot even believe how quickly time has gone by. You have always (excluding the 6 weeks of colic) been an incredibly fun, easy, joyful boy. People love you, Leif. There is something that you bring to life that makes everyone smile.

And now you are growing spiritually, too. You are so sensitive to the Lord and His word. I know that he will use you to do great things.

My prayer for you today is that you will pursue God. That you will present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice and that He will use you to advance His kingdom.

Leif, you are hilarious! I don't know of any 4 or 5 year old that is so funny and witty. I think of playing with you yesterday and how much we laughed together as you became the ham you always do. I love it. And I love you.

Leif, God is good. He loves you more than you could ever dream. Listen to Him. The path to God is narrow but our reward (Jesus) will be great. Follow him, Leif. No matter what, follow Jesus.

So, I will quote a great father to son verse for you today, my sweet boy:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

I love being your dad.

I (still) Believe You're My Healer

2008-08-22T12:45:00.003-05:00

Recently I purchased the newest release from Hillsong, "This is Our God." This CD is one of my favorite worship CDs. There are so many songs that the Lord is using to help me worship Him.

I had anticipated the release of this CD for a while. While searching the internet for things about the CD, I stumbled upon a video telling the story of one of the songs, "Healer." I remember sitting in my office at home, weeping worshipfully as I watched. The writer of the song told his story about how he found out he had terminal cancer and the Lord gave him this song. Powerful. He actually led the song during the recording with an oxygen tube connected to his nose.

Unfortunately, since the release of the CD, this man has confessed that for two years he has lived a lie. He made the whole thing up! No cancer. No tube. It was a lie.

For the life of me I can't even begin to think of a reasonable answer to the question, "Why?" As I listened to the details; how he is in big trouble with the authorities (he received money from people to help with his expenses), how those he worshipped with and the church didn't know, I was heartbroken. Do I get rid of the CD?

As I've thought through it, I've decided a few things. The song is a great song and is true... no matter who the writer was or what he did. God used a lot of sinful people to bring about his purposes all throughout Scripture. He still does. The liars in Scripture did not disqualify the truths of God, and neither does this.

Paul says in Philippians 1:18, "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."

So I will go on singing the truth about the Lord. He never lies. He never fails.

Lord,
I believe You're my healer.
I believe You are all I need.
I believe You're my portion.
I believe You're more than enough for me.
Jesus, You're all I need.

#4- Matthew 9:37-38

2008-08-18T14:18:00.002-05:00

So... what I meant when I said that I would post really soon was... in a month. Sorry. Things have been incredibly busy. Onto the task, though....

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest."

This passage almost didn't make the cut. Believe me, I don't mean that negatively. It just happens that this one seems to be skipped a lot. In fact it's something that we just applied to our church, literally, in the past 6 months.

Think about what Jesus is saying here. (It's pretty critical that I, a church planter, get this) The harvest is plentiful. Boy, it doesn't feel like it sometimes (I can hear my church planting readers shouting "Amen"). But God's word is truth (John 17:17) and what the Lord says is that the harvest is not just possible... it's plentiful. God has called many... from every nation and tongue. That includes where you live and where I live.

But Jesus follows that incredibly hope-filled statement with the somewhat sobering news... "The laborers are few." Why is that? Why are there so few who will work to advance the Kingdom of God? Why is it so rarely that we say.. "Man, that guy or that girl is on fire. They're telling everyone about Jesus!" It seems to me like we believe the second statement a lot more than we believe the first. We so readily put our hope in man. And so we rely more on the few laborers than the plentiful harvest.

But this passage is one of great hope and encouragement. The point is that God will reap the harvest and we can be a part of it. In fact, there is a command in this passage. It's a command that I've neglected.. not even thought about... most of my ministry. What does Jesus prescribe for this harvest vs. laborers problem? Prayer.

Therefore (since we have a shortage of workers for such a great harvest) PRAY! And don't just regularly pray... like "God is great, God is good let us thank him for our food and please send people, Amen." No... pray EARNESTLY. Pray hard. Make an effort at praying to the Lord of the harvest (he's in control of all those waiting to respond) to send out laborers into his harvest. Beautiful. Once again, I am reminded that my hope is in the Lord.

At Cornerstone, we are finally striving to obey this passage. So every first Friday of the month, we have a ministry called 938 (from Matthew 9:38). It's pretty simple. We just meet and pray, earnestly... "Lord please send out laborers.. from us and from our church.. into your harvest."

It's simple, and it's obedience. Oh that He would answer as only He can!

Quick Update

2008-07-23T20:39:00.003-05:00

Just want to say quickly that I know that I'm due for a new post. It is coming soon. I will try to post a few times next week to continue my study of what Jesus calls us to.

But to update you and give you an excuse for my delay, I've had an amazing week. Francis Chan spoke at church on Sunday. His message was, I'm pretty sure, a "Dear Tony" message from the Holy Spirit. Between that, my time with him the next couple days and a few other things... this week has been monumental. I have never felt more confident in ministry.

Why? My confidence has so often been in myself. But "myself" keeps letting me down. My confidence is no longer in me. It is in the power within me... the same power that raised Christ from the dead. My confidence is great because it is in the one who called me to this ministry. It is in our only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality... Jesus Christ.

#3 - Matthew 7:21-23

2008-07-10T13:37:00.002-05:00

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

I must say before posting anything about what this passage means, that my concerns about this passage are as much for me as for others. I do not ever want to stand as one looking out as judge deciding who this will be and who it won't. I have feared at times in my life that it is me.

With that said, this has to stand as one of the scariest verses in the Bible. We get a picture of the horrible side of eternity. Imagine this scene. People coming before the Lord Jesus Christ with great anticipation of what is ahead and then hearing that earth shaking voice declare the verdict none should long for, "I never knew you; depart from me."

Lest we casually dismiss this passage as simply those who are unsaved, let's look at who Jesus is talking about. I mean, He does give us some details about these people, so it would be wise for us to examine them and ourselves to be sure there are no parallels.

First, these are people who say, "Lord". Now we know from further description that the operative word here is "say". They may call him Lord, but they have not made him the Lord of their lives. That word, Lord, means master. When Jesus is truly Lord of our life, then we, like any other good slave, will do whatever the master says to do. That's why Jesus says that the ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven will be the ones who don't just call Jesus Lord but treat him as Lord... they do the will of God.

I used to think that these were people of other faiths: Mormons, Buddhists, etc. But notice, these are people that call Jesus Lord. Who does that? Christians. He's talking about people who call themselves Christians.

Friends, head these words of Jesus. Do as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." And also, 2 Peter 1:10, "be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure." Don't just sit around hoping that something you said or did in the past is enough to get you to heaven. Follow Jesus. That is salvation. When we believe (not just say) that Jesus is Lord, we will follow him, not just pay lip service to him.

How frightening and hopeless for those people on that day. People who went through this life just thinking everything was fine with them and Jesus because of what they call him. And then they are separated from Him in utter anguish forever.

Sobering. Let it not be us. Live for the King of kings. He is worthy. His grace is sufficient to supply all our needs. He is so much more satisfying than those things that keeps us from following him.

How much better (and how worth it) to hear the words spoken to those who persevere: "Well done, good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

#2 - Matthew 4:10

2008-07-03T09:30:00.002-05:00

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."

This response, by Jesus, is in the same context as the first post. He's being tempted by Satan. In this case, he's specifically being tempted to worship Satan. Jesus' response is pretty straightforward.

To remind us of post #1, notice that Jesus uses God's word to respond to all three of the temptations in the passage. We must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Anyway, look at Jesus' response here:
You shall
- worship the Lord your God
- him only shall you serve

Oh, that we would obey this command! How often we give ourselves to idols. In John 4, Jesus tells us the kind of worshippers that God is seeking... "those who worship in spirit and in truth." So our worship of only God must be in spirit (from our hearts... in other words sincerely, not just participating in a church service) and in truth. Not to keep harping on #1, but what does that mean? Jesus prays in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth." So our worship must be sincere and consistent with God's word.

A quick comment about the importance of doctrine and worship. One of Jesus' indictments of the Pharisees was Matthew 15:8-9, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Correct doctrine in incredibly important. The Pharisees worship was in vain. Imagine coming before the Lord, which Matthew 7 says many will do, and finding out that your worship was meaningless. Why was theirs meaningless? Doctrine. They didn't believe and obey the truth. Church, study. Don't just assume that doctrine is something that is just for pastors to know. It is crucial for our worship.

Another comment on worship: Romans 12:1 gives us a picture of our spiritual act of worship. Paul says, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Now this could be a long post, but to comment quickly... a sacrifice is something that is surrendered at a cost (often life); holy means to be set apart; and we're called to be acceptable to God. This verse screams holiness. If we're going to worship God in a way that pleases him, we must resist sin and live for him (him only shall you serve).

Isn't that what Jesus is doing in Matthew 4? I love this because in this passage he's not preaching to others, he's preaching to himself. Yes, the kingdoms of this world are tempting. Power and influence are tempting. Food is tempting. But "you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." When tempted Jesus reminded himself (and Satan) of this command. We as the church should do the same.

Tolerance and the Glory of God

2008-06-30T14:24:00.002-05:00

I read an article this past week that was pretty frustrating. It was about how 3 teens beat a homeless man to death. A very sad story in itself. But one of the things that was incredibly frustrating was something that the surveillance camera revealed. This man never should have died. There were eyewitnesses. The camera revealed that during the beating, several cars slowed down to observe the teenagers beat the man and then drove off. Drove off.

My heart broke as I read that. I struggled with not being more mad at the drivers than the teens. How can people just watch someone suffer and then die and not intervene? I mean at least get someone else to help; the police or someone.

But sadly, my mind turns to the church and how much we are like these people just watching and not intervening. In my sermon, yesterday, I talked about this very thing. How so many "believers" will not tell their co-workers, neighbors, friends (how can we even use that word), or family the truth about the Bible and it's exclusive claims about salvation.

An amazing part of the passage we looked at (Acts 13:4-12) is vs 10, where Paul looks at this guy who is opposing the message (God's word) that Paul and Barnabas are teaching and says this to him: "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?"

After asking the people not to memorize this to use on the next person they talk to about the Lord, I mentioned how we probably look at that and think, "That's pretty harsh, isn't Paul?" In our day of tolerance and not wanting to offend anyone with this exclusive, you have to be born again-Jesus is the only way message, it does seem harsh. But is it? I contend (as I did yesterday) that it is not. It is loving and more.

Why do I think that? Because verse 9 says that Paul said it, "filled with the Holy Spirit." Ephesians 5 teaches us what the fruit of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. So the most loving, peaceful, kind, patient, good, gentle thing that Paul could have done is said that to Elymus (the man opposing the gospel).

God is not tolerant. He is loving and good... more than we can imagine. And the most loving thing that you can do is tell someone the truth about Him and how they can only find forgiveness and grace through Jesus... even if it offends them.

How long will we be satisfied being the people driving by while others are being ravaged by sin, satan and the fall of man. We have help. We have the truth. We have the saving power of the Word of God. Don't just slow down and look at people going to hell. Stop and tell the truth.. the whole truth of the gospel. Or at least get someone else who can help them.

A Quick Addition to #1

2008-06-26T13:21:00.002-05:00

Some, I know, may think that I take the Bible too literally. To those who feel this way I respond simply with this:

I will take my chances.

For the life of me, I cannot imagine the Lord chastising someone for taking him too seriously or trying too hard to obey him. I say this absolutely humbly. I cannot boast, because I fail miserably at what I take literally. I am not a success story. I just believe that God's Word never fails which makes me extremely dependent on the Holy Spirit to lead me in the way of righteousness.

#1 - Matthew 4:4

2008-06-25T14:22:00.005-05:00

But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

In the the book of Matthew, this is the second sentence that Jesus spoke. It occurs during a time of temptation when Satan is trying to convince Jesus to turn some stones into loaves of bread (a task which would have been simple for someone who could turn water into wine). Jesus was hungry. Okay... REALLY hungry. He had been fasting for 40 days. The Lord's response was simple... "Satan, food is not what guides me... God's word is."

I have been saddened again and again by how "Christians" seem to look for life and joy and direction outside of Scripture. It seems that they quickly turn from the Word to something else; i.e. friends advice, pastors' advice, self-help books, Christian books, parents advice, etc. Please don't get me wrong. I read books and grow from them. I seek advice from friends, parents and spiritual leaders. I'm not saying those things are bad. They are extremely helpful and wise. But my concern is when these things take the place of God's Word, rather than submit to it's authority in our lives. I'm afraid that often, our guidance and growth come from these other sources, rather than from God's Word.

I have been challenged lately by the Psalmists words in Psalm 119. Let me remind us of some...
- "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."
- "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
- "In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches."
- "Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors."
- "Behold, I long for your precepts."
- "my hope is in your rules."
- "I find my delight in your commandments, which I love."

For sake of length, I'll stop there. But that was only selections from the first 47 verses. There 176 verses in that chapter and most speak of God's word and it's value to us. I will mention one more: verse 105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Now, why do I mention Psalm 119? Because when the Psalmist says those amazing and wonderful things about God's word, he doesn't have the whole Bible. In fact, he only had the law. Yes, the part of the Bible that trips us up every time we commit to read through the Bible in a year. The Psalmist loved God's word, even the law, so much that he craved it and was led by it.

So, what's the point? How much more should we speak such words about the Bible we have? Yes, about the law, and yes about the life of Christ and yes about the letters and instructions to churches! Jesus doesn't say that the Bible is something we can just go back to in a crunch. It is more valuable than bread to our sustenance. We don't just refer to it... we "live... by every word" of it. As followers of Christ, we must be guided by the words of God which He has written down for us.

It is not our job to figure out how much grace we can apply so that we can get away with whatever we want (Paul referred to that in Romans 6:15). As followers, our job is to read, meditate on, memorize and OBEY the word of God. I love Isaiah 66:2. It says: "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." What a picture. Do we tremble at the Word of God? Or do we look for ways to lesson it in the church? Do we live by it (as Jesus states)? Or do we refer to it as a good book?

I love God and I love his Word. I love that it shows me what He is like. I love that it gives me direction. I love that He speaks to me through it. I love that I get doctrine by reading and studying it. I love that it sustains me.

I "shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

A New Direction

2008-06-25T08:54:00.002-05:00

For the next few weeks (probably months), I'm going to be more purposeful with this blog. I read and hear so much about how the church is "changing" and how certain movements (some new, some old) are lessoning their hold on biblical truth, doctrine, and the "strictness" that lies therein.

So, I want to devote some time on this blog to Jesus. What did He say? Was his teaching more or less difficult than the "strictness" that some are walking away from? My approach will be pretty simple. I'm starting at Matthew and will work forward. Each post will be my thoughts on a teaching of Jesus. I will definitely skip some things, but only to focus on those things which I believe are pertinent to this discussion.

And so, I'd love your feedback. I hope that some are encouraged and that some are convicted.

One thing I know. God is trustworthy. When He claims that His Word will never fail... I believe him. So that will continue to be my basis for where the church should go and how it should function.

Enjoy!

A Time of Rest

2008-06-10T08:50:00.003-05:00

This past week, Shawna and I had the opportunity to "get away" for a few days. My sister and brother-in-law graciously took the boys for us for the week. It was a much needed and undeserved time.

Shawna and I stayed at home for the first couple days doing nothing but whatever-we-wanted. This included seeing "Prince Caspian" on Sunday evening, which I highly recommend. Monday morning we worked around the house. One of our goals was to move the youngest boys to what was our room, move our room to what was the school room and then convert what was the younger boys room into my home office. Seems confusing... but worth it. We did accomplish that and I'm thankful for a place to study on days that I don't want to spend money on gas (I want bother ranting about that).

After spending time working on the house, we decided to go to the Columbus Zoo. We have season passes for the family but always have the boys and therefore their objectives when we usually go. So it was nice to just wander and enjoy being together while looking at cool animals and deciding which we would have as pets in the millennium (Shawna - Moose; Tony - either Lion or Grizzly).

As our time at the zoo wrapped up, we noticed we had exactly enough time to see "Iron Man" and get to our dinner with our friends, Michael and Melanie. I had seen it already, but wanted Shawna to see it too. It was good, again. Has qualified as my favorite superhero movie. Dinner at PeiWei with Michael and Melanie was great... as expected. We ended the day with Graeter's Ice Cream... thanks to a gift card given to us by Melanie!

Wednesday was a lazy morning hanging out at the house and going to Easton Towne Center, before heading to Hocking Hills for our time away. The cabin (I'll post pictures below) was amazing. Quiet, secluded, romantic and just plain wonderful.

We decided to go for a hike down to Rock House. Beautiful hike and wonderful time together. I love my wife. I am so blessed with a beautiful woman who loves God, loves me, and who I love to spend time with. I am thankful that we still genuinely love being together.

Thursday was filled with more hiking (Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave), Amish Buffet for lunch (de-stinking-licious), Putt-Putt golf (it was tied going into the last hole... that's all I'll comment), lots of reading... oh and a nap!

While away, I read "Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), written by Kevin Deyoung and Ted Kluck. Great book. I highly recommend it for those interested (and some who aren't) in the topic. Good reminder for me as to why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Friday was again lazy. We packed up, headed home (with a couple stops along the way) and then were very excitedly reunited with the boys. We ended the day with Alden's baseball game... Another win!

Again, I'm thankful for my wife. And I'm thankful for the time... not just with her, but with the Lord. I came back more committed to Scripture than before. I'm grateful for that. I truly want to hear from God in this life. And I am continually reminded that He does speak. And so I open His unchanging, never failing Word and listen, ready to do what He asks.

Back porch reading spot.

Yea, that's right!

If there's a rapture...

2008-05-07T14:14:00.009-05:00

I got an email from a friend of mine, today. It said, "So, what do we make of a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, a massive volcano eruption in Chile and a 6.8 earthquake in Tokyo, all taking place within 3 days of each other? Anybody starting to believe in a rapture?"

I must tell you that I am pretty much up in the air about when the Lord is coming back. I can pretty much narrow it down to seven years... but I can't tell you when those seven years are.

I have my reasons (biblically) to believe that the Lord Jesus will gather his church from across the globe before what the bible refers to as the tribulation, a seven year period of trouble that doesn't even compare with any we've seen up to it.

However, I also have biblical reasons to believe that we will as the church go through the tribulation. My reasons for post-tribulational rapture are as follows:
- If you read Jesus' account of the end times, you get no sense whatsoever that we don't have to go through it. Rather, he prepares us for what is to come.
- When Paul writes the church of the Thessalonians, he tells them that they shouldn't be worried that Lord has already returned. His reasons for them not to worry are that "that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction." How can we be gone and still be there to see the man of lawlessness (Anti-Christ) be revealed? It goes on in that passage to say that he will take his seat in the temple. According to Daniel 9 that doesn't happen until half way through the tribulation. So it seems that we must conclude that we will be on earth (if we survive it) for at least half of the tribulation.

My biblical reasons for not believing in a post-tribulational rapture deal with Revelation 19.
- According to Paul we will be changed and meet the Lord in the air. There will be an almost simultaneous resurrection of the dead and then those alive meeting the Lord in the air. However, at the second coming (Revelation 19), Jesus comes riding in with the armies of heaven following him. He then captures the beast and the false prophet and throws them both into the lake of fire. After that, those who were beheaded are resurrected. My problem with it is this: those that ride in with him have what seems to be their robes of righteousness already. So they must have already been resurrected or met Him in the air. But there are those who were beheaded who haven't received that yet.
- It seems as if the sacrificial system will be reinstated during the tribulation. I'm not sure how the church can coexist with Israel for those 3 1/2 years.
- I think that "what is restraining" (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7) the AntiChrist is the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, how can the church be on earth?

Okay, enough debating with myself. Here's why I wrote this. If you haven't noticed, here's what happened in the news this week:
1. A cyclone in Myanmar that killed an estimated 100,000 people.
2. A volcano eruption in Chile; more than 1,000 people have evacuated; 6,000 more could be asked to evacuate.
3. A 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Tokyo.

All three of these events happened in the last three days. Not to mention that, in the past month, there have been two earthquakes in the U.S. midwest, both over 5.0. The first was in Illinois and the second in Missouri.

In light of Jesus' words in Matthew 24, how should we respond as Christians? I'll try to make this brief (I know, too late).

First, pray for and help those affected by the catastrophes.

Second, repent. Too many Christians have a horrible response to catastrophes. Remember that Jesus talked about this in Luke 13. He said, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Third, get ready. For me it makes me want to, as Paul says, "Make my calling and election sure." What do I mean? Well, in Matthew 24, Jesus says that earthquakes and rumors of wars and nation fighting against nation are all the "beginning of the birth pains." Things will get worse, according to Jesus. If, then, there is a rapture that Jesus doesn't refer to (which, I am certain is possible, seeing that the Pharisees and disciples were all wrong about Jesus' first coming) then I want to be ready... I want to make sure I'm not just going through the motions, but that I am saved. Paul says in Galatians and Ephesians that the guarantee of that is the Holy Spirit in me... so I'm making sure. If there is not a rapture and we are meant to go through this time of intense suffering, then be sure that I want to have the Holy Spirit inside me so that I can and will endure.

Finally, it makes me more responsible for the teaching and encouraging of my wife and children. I pray for them and encourage them to follow Jesus and to make their calling and election sure.

If these events are truly signs and you read this and get scared... please, fall on your knees and pray. I truly believe that your fear is a sign that you need to surrender to Jesus. He alone can bring us salvation from this pending trouble. Then join those of us who have lived for this, knowing that very soon we could see our Savior. Referring to that time, Jesus says, "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

A Tribute to Alden

2008-04-11T09:07:00.009-05:00

Today, Alden, you turn seven. It's amazing how quickly time goes by. But how wonderful these seven years have been! When Shawna was only ten weeks along in pregnancy we thought that we lost you, buddy. I cannot even imagine what this life would have been like without you. God knew best. He blessed us seven months later with a joy we never imagined... you.

You have been an inspiration to me, Alden. It has been apparent to me for years that you have an acute ear for spiritual things. The Lord has used you to speak into my life many times. I have prayed that He will use you for the rest of your days.

Today, I pray that again. I pray that you will not struggle with the things that I have. I pray that, like John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit would be on you from birth. I believe He is in you now, Alden. So listen to him. Don't believe all of the people who will tell you that He doesn't speak anymore. He does. And you can quench and even grieve Him if you do not listen. Strange to think that you can quench the Holy Spirit of God, but that is yet another mystery of God's Word... which is the absolute, unchanging, never-failing, Truth.

Be more devoted than those around you. We should feel out of place in this world. Too often, I have felt right at home. Don't compare yourself to others, spiritually: not to your friends and not even to me. Compare yourself to Jesus. Live the way He calls us to live. It will be tough... but He will live through you and help you.

I am so very proud of you. What a blessing you are. You are so smart, so funny, so fun to play baseball and basketball with. I love you, Alden. I will always love you. Happy Birthday.

Dad

Easter Candy...

2008-03-22T10:24:00.002-05:00

Here are some sweet thoughts going into Easter Sunday...

"For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." Romans 3:21-25a

Thank you for the cross, Jesus! Thank you for the forgiveness I could not earn! Thank you for the conquered grave I could not defeat! Thank you for saving me!

Trip to Simi Valley

2008-03-06T17:56:00.004-05:00

We just got back from our trip to Simi Valley last night. What an unbelievable blessing! I had the opportunity to lead worship this past weekend. I'm so grateful for it. It was so wonderful to lead there again. Also, it was great to see so many friends from the church there.

The weather was slightly better than Ohio. Here are some pictures from our time at Zuma Beach in Malibu.

If any of my friends in Simi visit this: Thank you. I love you all more than you could ever know. How grateful I am that God has granted me to be a part of such a place and such a team. I have learned so much from you and have felt so loved.

Solomon's wisdom

2008-02-20T16:16:00.002-05:00

I was reading in 1 Kings 8 this morning. I was stirred by part of Solomon's prayer. In verses 57-58, Solomon prays, "The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers."

I thought it interesting that he prayed as one sentence, "May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him..." It is out of consistent closeness with God (from God) that our hearts are inclined to God. This does not happen as we check in and out of church or in and out of our "relationship" with him.

O, God, please incline my heart... incline our hearts... to you. Turn us away from lesser things. And in so doing, help us to resist the temptation to redefine what it means to "walk in all your ways" and to "keep your commandments, your statutes, and your rules."

A hero...

2008-02-06T19:57:00.001-05:00

I was blessed to be able to attend John Piper's Pastors Conference this week. What a blessing. How rich we are to have such godly men to learn from. I was challenged, convicted, encouraged and blessed. I have learned how to be a better son, a better dad and a better pastor. Please pray for me if you read this that the "how" will be engaged to "being".

Here's me with my hero, John Piper. I doubt he'll ever read this, but if he does (and just so you know why...), "Thank you John. I do not know what kind of a pastor I would be if it weren't for your faithfulness to the Word of God. You have poured into me from a distance. You have shaped my view of God. For that I am most grateful. I continue to pray that God will use me to give the people he has entrusted to me a view of God that you're people have."

My Exceeding Joy

2008-01-25T21:21:00.001-05:00

So I have a website for the CD. It's not completely done, yet (i.e. I haven't turned in everything to the guy who's doing it), but it's up and running. I'd love for you to check it out.

It's www.myexceedingjoy.com.

You can listen to the tracks, check out a real lovely of me (under bio... you won't want to miss it) and even grab some lyrics and charts. There's one other thing too... oh yea... you can buy it.

Eventually I'm going to add a "stories" link so that people can get the story behind the songs. I really want to share where the songs came from and what God was doing in me when I wrote them.

If I haven't said it lately... Thanks for reading the blog.

Gifts

2008-01-23T15:09:00.000-05:00

I am so blessed. God is so good. In the midst of difficulty, He has blessed in unspeakable ways. There have been many that I will not go into, but to the right are five ways....

Every Nation Sing

2008-01-09T11:53:00.001-05:00

Okay, Okay. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I have been more than a little busy. The last month has been filled with things (some good, some not) that needed my attention more than posting. I apologize, but will try to do better.

I'm happy to announce the release of my worship CD "Every Nation Sing". If you want to listen to a few clips or purchase the album, you can go to the link below and download it... for a nominal fee of course. :-)

I'm thankful that God has allowed me to worship Him through this process and hope that He causes you to worship as you listen.

Thanks so much for checking it out.

Every Nation Sing download

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T10:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! God is good! Jesus Reigns! His Word never fails. How thankful I am.

As we gorge today, remember that all things (turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, Shawna's unbelievable 7-layer salad, pumpkin pie, etc.) comes from His hand. He has blessed us indeed.

My friends in Northern Iraq will thank the Lord for different things today. Better things. Like life - Sadam and his army will not invade any villages in Kurdistan today and kill the men and boys. And even in the threat of possible invasion, they'll be thankful for today.

May we thank God for more than food today. May we thank Him for all that He is for us. And for all we have in Christ!

Be glorified through me this Thanksgiving, Lord.

Our God Reigns!

2007-11-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

I am home. After 9 days out of the country, I returned to my wife and boys yesterday evening. It was a wonderful reunion.

For the past week, I have been in Amman, Jordan and Northern Iraq (or Kurdistan). I cannot give a ton of details, especially people's names, but I'll give you a few highlights.

God is doing an amazing work in Kurdistan (and for that matter, Iraq as a whole). I was blown away with how different things are from what the media feeds us. Don't believe what you see on the news. I have never met more loving people than the Kurds. Yes, there were times of nervousness and anxiousness inside me, but what I discovered was that most of those times were caused by me and all that I had come to believe. Also, in my lack of faith in the Sovereignty of God.

We had the opportunity to attend a church service while we were there. There were people who traveled from Baghdad, Mosul and other difficult places... AT NIGHT! The team was so encouraged by their love for God. We talked afterwards about how little it takes for American "Christians" to skip church. If it rains; if it snows; if I'm tired; if the yard needs work; and on and on... Americans will skip church. You know, cause God would never want us to get wet or cold or whatever just to go and worship Him. Those that traveled distances risked their lives to come to church. What will you risk?

I am so thankful for God letting me go to Iraq. Some thought (and probably still think) that I am crazy. I'm okay with that. I saw God. And I am more sure than ever that He is faithful; that He reigns over us; that nothing can happen to me or for me apart from His will; that He is calling people from every nation for His glory.

Another blessing: I got to lead worship on Saturday evening for the team that went as well as two other Americans serving there and around 12-15 Kurdish men. The men were not Believers, they were Muslims. My friend Jamal looked at me just before I started leading and said, "Where are we?" That about summed it up. Who would have thought that God would allow me to lead worship with more Muslims present than Believers... in Iraq?!? God reigns. He is good.

Please pray that these men as well as many others we encountered will come to know Christ. That God moves through the church that He is raising up in Iraq.

Oh... one more thing. I met a man there who is from the States. He is serving the people in Northern Iraq to win them to Christ. I fell in love with him in about 2 minutes... maybe 1 1/2. He gives his life so that they will know the truth about God and His Son. He works hard. He is 68 years old.

Forgive us, Lord. May I give my life for the Glory of Your Name! May I live for You, not for myself. Be glorified in me. Help me to reach the people you have placed me around. Help me to give and work tirelessly that others may know. Please awake your church in America to Your Glory that they would be mobilized to places like Iraq and Afghanistan and other difficult, unreached places.

I love you, Jesus. Thank you for sending me to Iraq. Let me continue to press on and hear your voice and follow.

Why I'm going...

2007-11-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

Hey, those of you who know me, know I'm heading out for 9 days. I wanted to post a song off of my upcoming CD release. It's not completed. There's still some more mixing and editing to do, but I thought it was appropriate for the upcoming trip. I'll put the words below. Pray for us.

Be Glad in Him

Let every nation sing
And every tribe proclaim
You're worthy
Lord, give us hearts to go
That everyone would know
Your name

(Chorus)
Be glad, be glad in Him
For He alone is holy
Rejoice, proclaim His name
We're living for His glory

(Bridge)
Every knee will bow
And every tongue will sing
My exceeding joy
Is my eternal King

copyright Tony Hall 2007

Leif's first goal!

2007-10-12T07:31:00.000-05:00

So Tuesday, Leif's team was playing and we had a monumental moment for our boys... the first soccer goal! It was a little more than exciting. I thought I would post it for all of you... and maybe some scouts out there... to see.

I recommend watching it in full speed, then if it allows you, drag the slider slowly so that you can see the great kick. That's not just boasting on my son... it was a great kick, changing directions while the ball was coming at him. I am proud of him.

Have a great week and hopefully I'll be posting again really soon.

God's Blueprint

2007-08-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend I preached on Acts 2:22-36. I'm amazed at God. In Peter's sermon, he's talking about Jesus and how the people had delivered Him over to be crucified, even though they knew and saw the things that God did through Him. These mighty works, wonders and signs were all ways that God attested to Jesus. They were His way of shouting, "This is my Son, Jesus. He is the One who is to come."

But what amazes me most is Peter's comment before he says that they crucified and killed Jesus. He says that Jesus was delivered up by the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

I encourage you to listen to the whole sermon, but here's some thoughts that we talked about.

Many will write this off as simply God's foreknowledge. In other words, God responded to man sinning by planning Jesus' death. But let's look at it closer.

What does "definite plan" mean? Why did God "plan" it? When did God "plan" it? These questions, I think, will greatly affect our thoughts and even our worship of God.

When I think of someone having a definite plan, I think of an architect. Think about it. Have you ever looked closely at blueprints. There is time and effort put into the blueprint so that the exact plan is accomplished to bring about a certain result. That's what God's definite plan was, a blueprint (sort of) of how He wanted to accomplish a certain result.

Why did God plan Jesus' death? Love. Romans 5:8 says, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In other words, God planned for Jesus to die because it was the very best way to show you and me that He loves us. Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." So God planned to show us in the best way possible, Jesus' death, that He loves us, and that there is no greater love than his.

Finally, when did He plan it? This is a tough one. For many it is difficult. Our own nature wants to cry out that God must have done the planning after Adam sinned. But that doesn't fit with the teaching we get in Scripture. Nor does it best demonstrate God's love for us. Let's look at both of those:

Revelation 13:8 says, "and all who dwell on earth will worship it (the antichrist), everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain." Did you catch that? The book of life of the Lamb that was slain. The Lamb is Jesus. And when was the book of life of the Lamb that was slain written? Before the foundation of the world. When God wrote the book of life of the Lamb that was slain, no one had sinned. There weren't even people yet. God's definite plan before the foundation of the world was to sacrifice His Son for the sins of the world that hadn't happened yet.

As I said earlier, the second reason God had to have planned it before there was sin rather than in response to sin is that it best demonstrated His love. Let me give you this picture. Though I don't do this enough, my wife loves receiving flowers from me. But which way demonstrates my love most? Is it when I bring flowers because I screwed up and want to make amends? Or is it when I plan to demonstrate my love by bringing home unexpected flowers to say, "I love you honey." I know that is a small example compared to God's huge example, but I think it helps. God planned the best way to show his love, before there was a need.

The point: God loves the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes will not die but will be given eternal life.

The Silent Treatment

2007-08-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I figure I should probably begin by saying that I'm sorry there hasn't been a post in over a month. Things have been pretty busy, but I'll try to be more consistent with this again.

Since my last post, several things have happened.

A few weeks ago, our friend Corey and Megan moved to Michigan to begin training for the mission field. It has been weird to not have them around. They were part of the launch team at our church and have been involved in leadership since the beginning. Corey was always one of the first to arrive to set up and last to leave. So his absence has been noticable for the past two Sundays. Please pray for them as they are prepared to go into full-time missions. What an awesome blessing to see what God is doing in their lives.

At the church we've been going through the book of Acts. I'll probably be posting more about that in future posts as I want to start using this as a "what-I-would-have-said-if-I could-have-preached-for-2-hours" opportunity.

Anyway, I'll update some more soon. Thanks for your patience with me and for still checking in.

Pastor of my home

2007-07-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

I have a deeper love than ever before for pastoring. Yes, my church is included in that, but mostly I love pastoring my home. Family worship is going well, with the boys growing and taking it more seriously each day.

The teaching part of our worship has come from a book we recently purchased. Please take note of the title, dads. It's called, "Truth and Grace Memory Book" and it is published by Founders Press, but you can get it at CBD for cheaper.

The second half of the book is a christian catechism for ages 2 through 4 grade. Each question has passages to teach the doctrine that is covered in that question. It has been great hearing the boys respond to these questions with biblical truth. (If you had checked the blog before, I erased the questions that I had listed from the book due to copyright laws.)

How I look forward to the day when these doctrines shape not only their mind, but their hearts and purposes in life. May God be glorified through it all!

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Family worship

2007-07-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

We have turned a page in our parenting. I admit, it is one that should have been turned years ago, but we are just coming around to it. It comes in response to some passages we love.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 - And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (ESV, emphasis added)

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (ESV)

And so, we have started family worship. We will not expect our kids to do the "church thing" once a week. We will do it daily. I have my guitar at home and so our times are much like Sunday mornings with worship and teaching, except that our boys are all with us and there are a lot fewer people.

Our first night worshipping together was Saturday, I must tell you that it was less than reverent. We completely expected that our first times would be more training than worshipping, and we were right. The boys had a "tough" time staying focused and not acting like... hmmm... animals. We didn't know how many nights it would take for them to begin to settle in to the routine, but we were committed to doing it.

Last night, our third night of family worship, was wonderful. The boys sat and engaged like they had not done the previous two nights. Our friends Corey and Megan were there and participated. I'm not saying that we have arrived at the ideal family worship time, I'm just so thankful and encouraged that progress is already being made.

What is the purpose and end result? Our hope is that God is glorified beyond our generation...

Psalm 78:5-7 - He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.

July 4th prayer

2007-07-04T07:44:00.000-05:00

God,

Thank you for letting me experience the freedom that I do in America. Thank you that I do not live in fear of being tortured and even killed for speaking openly about You. Thank you for Jesus, who brought freedom to my heart.

Help me to respond in a way that is honoring to you. With much freedom comes much relaxing and laziness. Help me to speak of you. Help me to live for you in complete obedience.

Help me to love the broken and needy. Help me to see that my freedom is an opportunity to serve and love and give.

And if things continue to get more and more difficult for those who genuinely follow your word, Lord; then help us to respond as your disciples did when they were faced with arrest, persecution and death...

"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness" (Acts 4:29)

"And when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." (Acts 5:40-41)

Be glorified in your church today, Lord.
Amen.

Correction

2007-07-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

Not that there is anything wrong with my last sentence in the previous post, but let me rephrase it for personal clarity:

Oh how I want to anticipate and long for Jesus' presence like these brokenhearted disciples did.

It's never easy saying goodbye

2007-07-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

This morning I preached through Acts 1:6-11. One of the things we talked about was Jesus' ascension into heaven. I was almost overwhelmed as I thought and taught through this whole part.

Have you ever thought about what the disciples must have been thinking? How about what they were feeling?

They had lost Jesus once already. He was dead. Their Friend and the One who they had given up everything to follow was dead. The miracle worker was gone. Their hopes were destroyed. Their hearts were broken.

Then the unthinkable happened. Jesus was alive! He had risen from the dead! The disciples had Jesus back. If that wasn't enough to bring eternal joy, they thought that they would be with Him forever. Yes, forever. The disciples thought that Jesus was going to set up His earthly kingdom and that they would be with Him forever. They would rule with Him, they thought. There could, in my mind, have been no greater joy than this. Forever... with Jesus. Their broken hearts, now overflowing with joy, would never again ache.

They were wrong.

It says in verse 10 that as Jesus disappeared into heaven the disciples stood gazing. Once again, I can only imagine, with broken hearts.

I cannot imagine how difficult it was to say goodbye, again. I've said goodbye to many friends in this life. I've cried almost every time. But none were Jesus. None had risen from the dead. None were the Savior of the world and healer of my heart.

It's never easy to say goodbye, but oh how I want to anticipate and long for Jesus' return like these brokenhearted disciples did.

Season end...

2007-07-01T19:29:00.000-05:00

Friday was Alden's last teeball game. Not just for the 2007 season, but forever. Next year he will move on to the bigger league of coach-pitch. Things move so quickly. Not in teeball, in life.

Alden had about 2 games a week for 6 weeks. Pretty busy schedule for a 6 year old and 34 and 33 year old parents. We realized that in 4 years, Silas will be old enough to start playing organized sports. 4 boys playing on 4 different teams. Help us, Lord.

Anyway, here's a picture a friend took during Alden's last game. Enjoy!

Love Your Neighbor

2007-06-26T07:42:00.000-05:00

I was sitting in panera reading and uploading this weeks sermon and started thinking about how we are commanded to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. I started thinking about it because I was thinking about the disciples.

We just started a sermon series through the book of Acts this weekend. I was thinking about how 12 guys were literally, physically close to Jesus. They lived the dream. I mean, how many of us have wanted to be there on the boat when Jesus comes walking out of the darkness... on the water. Who wouldn't want to see 5000 men plus wives and children feast on 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread (and then find baskets full of leftovers). Obviously that's not even mentioning dead people coming back to life and the healing of countless others. The disciples saw it all. They literally saw God. They walked with Him and learned from Him.

But one of them never got it. Can you imagine? I can't. I just don't get it.

Anyway, Judas is what is blowing me away with the "love your neighbor" command. Jesus knew that Judas would betray him (John 6:64, John 13:11). I have a hard enough time loving people who are good to me. Jesus loved this guy day in and day out and all the while knew that Judas would sell Him out.

Lord, help me to love. I don't even know if I understand what the word means.

A better place

2007-06-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

Shawna and I are away for a few days. 5 days, actually. It has been wonderful to spend time with each other with no interuptions. We are spending our days in Asheville, NC. It is beautiful.

I love Columbus. Believe me, I really love it. But this is a better place. I can't even count how many unbelieveble sites we've seen since we got here yesterday evening.

Today, we drove to Chimney Rock. It's where they filmed "The Last of the Mohicans." Here are a few pictures of our trip. A few are from the drive to Chimney Rock and 2 are during the hike. Once there (and I should say, once we had seen more beauty than I've seen in a few years combined), we hiked up to Chimney Rock, then up higher and around to the top of Hickory Nut Falls.

God gave us incredible weather. It was sandwiched between rain and storms last night and this afternoon. We considered not even going due to it being overcast and the weather people threatening of possible severe storms today. But we forged ahead and as we approached the park the clouds gave way and we enjoyed sunny weather for the entire hike.

Would have liked to have had the boys a few times... we saw some lizards and a snake that was sun bathing right next to the path we were on. I'm convincing myself it wasn't poisonous.

You're going to have to come sometime to see for yourself. If you do... get fit first. That hike was a killer on the way up!

Isaiah 26:3-4

2007-06-07T09:58:00.000-05:00

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

Lord, please help. Keep my mind to be stayed on You. Somehow. Let me trust in You, forever. You are an everlasting rock!

Practically Jesus

2007-05-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

I'm preparing for my message this weekend. I'm teaching through the purpose of our church right now. Our purpose is "pursuing God's fame". We try to live that out in 6 areas that make the acronym, PURSUE; Passionate worship, Unchurched people, Remaining faithful to God's Word, Stewardship, Understanding God's heart for the poor, and Equipping the church.

This week we're talking about pursuing God's fame by understanding God's heart for the poor. I love this topic, though I stand ashamed at how little I look like Jesus each time I study it.

One of the texts we're looking at is Isaiah 58:6-9. God is giving his people a picture of what real fasting looks like. It wasn't at all what they were doing, or what we do much of the time. The Israelites were actually praying things like, "God, don't you see what's going on? We're humbling ourselves. We're fasting. Are you noticing?" Here are some of the words God spoke in response to their hypocritical seeking of Him.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'"

That sure looks a lot like Jesus to me. That's how he lived. And it reminds me how far I am from practically living like Him. I've NEVER brought the homeless poor into my house. I've thought about it a lot. But I guess that classifies me with several of the Pharisees who probably went home fantasizing about the same thing, yet remaining hypocrites.

I'm praying with John the Baptist, "(Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease," (John 3:30). I wrote at the beginning that this is a topic that I love. My prayer is that it will no longer be a topic for me, but rather lived in such a way that when my sons come across the words of Isaiah 58 sometime in their life their response will be, "That sure looks a lot like my dad."

Rounding second...

2007-05-24T09:52:00.001-05:00

Okay, so the first teeball game is under Alden's belt. It's pretty exciting. He did well with just a little bit of nervous hesitancy. He had two good hits and fielded the ball really well, too.

I didn't really know the 'format' for a teeball game. As I've mentioned, it was our first, probably of hundreds. Anyway, they don't count outs, which admittedly was hard for my over-competitive nature to swallow at first, and there are only two innings. Each inning consists of every kid on the team batting once.

I see the gain that will come from this. Alden is already getting some instincts of what to do 'in the field'. It's exciting to watch, especially since he really, really enjoys the game... more than soccer.

Anyway, thought I'd let you know how it went and post a picture of Alden holding up at second.