O By The Way

This past week I wrestled with the character of Gideon in Judges 6 for a sermon I preached last Sunday.  I knew of him before, but never spent much time in his realm.  Here in the sixth chapter we find him just as an ordinary fellow, really no one significant, especially in his own mind, [...]

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I have been preaching through a series of sermons each Sunday on the names of God. Summer is cool because it gives us a chance to pursue some off center topics that can be quite helpful. The names Scripture uses to describe God in the Hebrew language are intentionally descriptive of God and the way [...]

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I have been preaching over the past several weeks on the Beatitudes of Jesus, one version of which is found in Matthew 5.   They are the opening introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, either one teaching he presented on one day or, more likely, a compendium of many messages he proclaimed over his three [...]

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There is something to be said about periodically getting some time aside (and away) to get caught up on reading and gather new material for the ministry of preaching.  I suppose it is the same in any line of work, but I think especially so for anyone who is called on the make presentations frequently [...]

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One of the most awkward things I have faced in a ministry as pastor and preacher is to preach and be working through rugged terrain personally.  It is not unusual, as many of my colleagues will attest, but it is nonetheless one of most trying.  I keep recalling M. Scott Peck’s first line in his [...]

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