Monthly Archives: November 2018

For the last five years Fred had been running the family business he and his twin sister inherited from their father. Frankly, the business was doing okay but, no matter what Fred tried, it seemed to be stalled and he wasn’t able to move the store to the next level. His co-owner twin sister Betty helped in the story every day, assisting Fred in whatever he asked. Because their father had made them co-owners, Betty shared equally in the profits…..

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Linda could listen to Pastor Ryan O’Rourke’s Irish brogue all day. “It gives him an advantage over other preachers,” she mused.  The Pastor’s parents brought him from Ireland to the States when he was eight years old so his Dublin accent was still easily recognized. But this morning it wasn’t the pastor’s brogue, but the question he asked that grabbed her attention: “How many of you believe that the New Testament approves of the institution of slavery? Raise your hands…..

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Gloria watched “White Christmas” earlier this week–a family favorite this time of year. Fred Astaire is legendary for his astonishing dancing skills. One of his most frequent dance partners was Ginger Rogers. Someone observed: “When Ginger Rogers danced with Fred Astaire, she did everything he did except backwards and on high heels.” Sometimes we men fail to recognize how amazing women are when functioning as the full and equal partners God made them to be (Genesis 1, 2; Galatians 3:28)……

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As a pastor who has walked through the funeral process with hundreds of families, I have listened scores of times as grief-filled people asked, “WHY?” The question seems to burst from broken hearts as naturally as breathing. Death seems unnatural . . . like it’s an enemy who invades our world and life but isn’t supposed to be here at all. Stay with me now . . . Why is work often filled with frustration and exhaustion rather than always…..

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“Okay, Jesus, how many suitcases can I bring?” “None.” “None? You’ve got to be kidding. Not even a carry on?” “No. Not even a carry on. None.” I can imagine this conversation when Jesus sent the twelve on a missions trip to heal and preach (Mark 6:6-13): “Take nothing for the journey except a staff–no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.” That gives new definition to the idea of “traveling light.” Gloria and I don’t do well with…..

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3-4 years is the average tenure of a pastor in a church. Knowing how many stay for 10, 20, or 30 years, there must be an awful lot of 1 and 2 year stays to create that average! Many analyses suggest that the most productive years for a pastor are AFTER 3-4 years. In other words, many pastors never get to experience “the sweet spot” of pastoral ministry and the opportunity to keep growing in the same vineyard. Of course…..

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The father in Jesus’ amazing story of the two prodigal sons (Luke 15) is a great illustration of our grace-filled Heavenly Father. The story reminds us of God’s outrageous, relentless, illogical goodness when we deserved the opposite. Jesus was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). If a person is becoming more like the Father and Jesus, how will it show? A Jesus-like, grace-filled person gives people (even their enemies) what they need rather than what they deserve. A grace-filled…..

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A grace-filled church is filled with people who (1) are gratefully astounded by God’s undeserved goodness to them; (2) are outrageously good to others even to those who deserve the opposite; (3) are passionately involved in telling the story of God’s outrageous grace to those who have not yet experienced it. In Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Sons (Luke 15), the father (representing God) is outrageously gracious and good to a son who was lost in his sin and to…..

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Chad and Trina Tolbert and their teenage son Zach lived in a rather ordinary Mid-Western town.  Many of their friends envied their loving marriage as well as how close they were to Zach.   Last winter their neighbor, Meg, came over to tell them that her 17-year old nephew, Jordon, had gotten in some trouble and was going to come to live with her for a while to see if she could get him straightened out.   Chad and Trina…..

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What does it mean to be a “grace-filled” church? That was my assignment to preach at Calvary Church today as part of a series on the church’s DNA. I hope to post some things about being “grace-filled” over the next day or two. One of my assertions was that “a grace-filled church is filled with people who are outrageously good to others, especially those who don’t deserve it.” As I prepared the sermon, one challenge I didn’t have time to…..

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