It’s the first day of May today and as I woke, the first thought that came to my mind where: Why do I pray? For a few months now our church family has been using the first and the fifteenth of each month as a reminder to pray for the work the God is doing […]
The Joyful Prayer of Jesus – John 17:1-5
As we enter chapter 17 of John’s Gospel we come to what has been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is a great prayer — a wonderful prayer of our Lord’s. It is in fact the longest prayer of Christ’s we have recorded for us in God’s Word.
No One Can Steal Your Peace – John 16:25-33
For a few weeks now we’ve been examining the teaching of Christ to the disciples and we’ve noted often their confusion and failure to understand all that Christ taught them. We arrive at the closing verses of chapter 16 today and with them we find encouraging promises from Christ given to His disciples and given […]
No One Can Steal Your Joy – John 16:16-24
I have some good news and I have some bad news. Which would you like to hear first? Good news and bad news. Don’t you love it when someone says that? A look at the text here in John 16 reveals that Jesus has some good news and some bad news. Let’s look and see […]
How Does God Convict the World? – John 16:8-15
We heard last week here in John 16 of the warning Jesus gave His disciples, that they would be persecuted and some of them even put to death for following Christ and preaching the Gospel. And he had told them these things so that when it all happened they would not be shocked or dismayed […]
Have You Counted the Cost of Following Christ? – John 16:1-7
Have you ever considered what it could cost you to wholeheartedly follow Christ? On the morning of July 15th 1555 at 9am, two men were led to their execution at London’s Smithfield in the reign of “bloody Queen Mary”. They were condemned to be burnt alive as heretics. One was a young man of 19 […]
Busy Beavers and Lost Connections
It’s a privilege living in northern Michigan. We enjoy beautiful scenery everywhere we look. Opportunities are numerous for outdoor activities like biking, hiking, swimming and more. We also enjoy several beautiful state parks nearby. There’s also Higgins Lake, which is the best place we know of for swimming and boating. We try to enjoy the […]
Meatloaf and Ten Other Favorite Things
The older I get the more I enjoy meatloaf. My wife says it’s the simple things. I agree. Sometimes life can get pretty complicated. But meatloaf is pretty simple. It reminds me of some of the simple things I enjoy most.