Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Sarah will be baptized in a service tonight at West Side. I wrote the following prayer in my journal this morning. Precious Lord, you are so abundantly good to us! Today is Sarah’s baptism and we have looked forward to this day and planned for this day and rejoice in this day. And we give … Read more
Desperate preachers pray. Desperate preachers pray a lot. But what do desperate preachers pray? I once posed a question in an online pastor’s forum/community, asking what they tended to pray in the minutes/hours before preaching. I don’t remember getting a lot of response, so perhaps this topic only interests me. 🙂 But it’s an opportunity … Read more
My sermon last Sunday focused on Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane (“olive press”) found in Mark 14.32-42. In the midst of the agony Jesus was feeling, he was also greatly concerned for Peter, James, and John, who were supposed to “keep watch” with Jesus. I love the question Jesus asked his friends when … Read more
When I was a (20 year-old) kid, trying to figure out what God was doing in my life as I sensed a call to ministry/leadership, I tried to learn as much as I could from others in ministry. I talked to the Christ-following leaders I knew or came in touch with while in college. In … Read more
Iwrote a prayer for the Clearfield County Fair Vespers services, which took place this evening. The prayer was a response to Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Here’s the prayer, along with words from John 17 that I was specifically responding to (the parenthetical statement, “Make us one,” was a response by the congregation) …. Quotes … Read more
Each week, United Methodists in more than 950 churches in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania pray for 10 randomly selected churches (listed on the conference website). The whole process should take about a year and a half. Centre Grove is on the list for the coming week, starting tomorrow, July 26, 2009, going through Saturday, August … Read more
Tonight, I participated in the Clearfield observance of the National Day of Prayer. I was asked to lead in prayer for “personal revival.” I don’t normally write out my comments/prayers, but I wanted to for this event, so here it is. My Prayer for Revival There aren’t many things more dangerous to life–to spiritual life–than … Read more
One week from today is Inauguration Day when our new president will be sworn into office. Max Lucado (pastor and author) is leading an effort calling people to pray for President-Elect Barack Obama on Inauguration Day (January 20, 2009). As the site points out, 1 Timothy 2.2 says … Pray for rulers and for all … Read more
When I was beginning my journey as a Christ-follower and responding to God’s call to leadership in ministry, I often prayed bold, brash (naive?) prayers. I remember praying, while I was in college and contemplating my future in ministry, that God would “send me to the most difficult place.” While I don’t necessarily pray that … Read more
That’s a question that seems to keep coming up wherever I go in the last couple of weeks — a Sunday school class, a gathering of pastors in my district, an online community for pastors, and even in one of my sermons. That’s probably not a coincidence, but something I need to process. As my … Read more