A couple of weekends ago Kevin and Taylor, my two oldest boys, and I were preparing to take our canoe for a trial run on nearby Marl Lake. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. Cool but not cold, breezy and clear blue skies. We had not been out with this canoe before and […]
Joy In the Midst of Difficulty – Philippians 1:12-14
In our study of Philippians we’ve been talking about how we can have true joy as followers of Jesus Christ. But when it comes to the times in our lives when we face troubles and trials how can we have joy then? How in the world are we to have joy in the midst of […]
In the Dark
I was feeling my way through the family room in the dark. It was pitch black as I walked through the room moving my arms in front of me in a crisscross pattern. I was trying to find the supporting pole in the middle of the room with my hands to avoid bumping into it. […]
The Joy of Praying – Philippians 1:9-11
A reader shared the following, which was published in the “Lite Fare” section of the Christian Reader. At our midweek prayer service, a member requested prayer for a neighbor woman who was having a difficult time and was feeling "just miserable." Volunteering to take the request, a man fervently prayed, "O God, bless this miserable […]
The Joy of a Tender Heart – Philippians 1:7-8
In a column written this week by Maggie Gallagher she states the following… This Father's Day, some 24 million American children will sleep in fatherless homes. So this Sunday, if you were lucky enough to know the love of a father, thank him. Oh, and if your kids wake up Sunday morning in the home […]
Keys to Joy – Philippians 1:3-6
D.L. Moody once said… Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling […]
True Joy – Philippians 1:1-2
What is authentic joy? What is true joy? Billy Graham said in the book The Secret Of Happiness, I once heard of a man who went to see a psychiatrist. He told the doctor that he was lonely, despondent, and miserable. He begged the doctor to help him. The psychiatrist suggested that he needed to […]
Loving God, Loving People – Part 9, Loving Your Enemies – Matthew 5:43-48
Kevin A. Pierpont Higgins Lake Baptist Church 5/23/04 In August 1983, Russell Stendal was taken hostage into the jungle of Columbia, South America, by a band of guerrilla soldiers. For nearly 5 months he learned what it really means to love one’s enemies. He wrote a letter home, saying, “I am in danger only of […]