Journey through the Psalms 4: God Restores Us

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!" (Psalm 30.11-12) Much of the Psalms move from an ordered world to a … Read more

Journey through the Psalms 3: How Long?

Today, Joleen and I traded places for the day. It’s the second time we’ve done a pulpit exchange, but the first in about 54 weeks. In my place, Joleen preached the sermon on Psalm 13: How Long?, an example of a personal lament. I encourage you to check that out! We both repeated the sermons … Read more

Journey Through the Psalms: How Long?

Psalm 13 A Personal Story of DisorientationI want to share a little of my story this morning. While at seminary, my local  church affirmed my call and the leaders of the church in a formal setting affirmed my call. They would ask me different questions regarding ministry. One of their questions regarded marriage and ministry. … Read more

Journey through the Psalms 2: Psalm 137

Last week, we began a series from the Psalms, one of my favorite sections of Scripture. In the Psalms, we learn about the spiritual life from these incredible conversations with God. BTW, the Psalms are commonly referred to as the Psalms of David. It’s true that David was the most prolific writer of the Psalms, … Read more

Journey Through the Psalms: A Well-Ordered World

Psalm 19 Getting RealOur young people today long for authenticity. If you are around them much you hear them voice, they want things to be real. When I pastored in Williamsburg, we began a time-release program for high school students and it was named, “Get Real.” It was a time for real life people to … Read more

Journey through the Psalms 1: Psalm 19

Today, we begin a series from one of my favorite sections of Scripture, the Psalms. Although we will only be able to scratch the surface, I hope we all will get a sense of the depth of the spirituality in the Psalms. The Psalms are replete with passionate conversations between people of faith and God. … Read more

Transformation Wrap-up

I just re-read my posts from Asbury and re-lived part of the experience. I continue to be grateful to God for the incredible experience. One of the things you may have noticed is the lack of time and energy I had to spend writing (which accounts for some typos). It’s true that this week was … Read more