August 7

125 years is a long time for anything to exist.  But for a church, it is almost unheard of in today’s culture.  But as I mentioned, it was not because it had a large population to draw on or a populous attraction or the publicity of a famous individual.  It was because God knew that the people who started this church would win life after life after life for the kingdom of heaven.  Countless individuals can trace their spiritual journey to this church.  Over a half a dozen churches were started and are still reaching out to their cities and towns.  Several dozens of people have be sent out and/or supported by this church in works and ministries around the world.  And I did not even get a chance on Sunday to mention the acorn banks, or the sundresses made, or the children supported through World Vision, or the many pastors who went on from this church to other places to preach and teach.  Plus I was told after church that Dale was a pastor of the Eden Missionary church just a few years after Rev. Birkey started it.  All because God led just a few people to be faithful to him.
  And God still is not yet done with this church.  We too can live the kind of lives that our founding members lived.  Lives willing to reach out and touch those around us with the hope of Jesus.  Lives that touch other lives that touch other lives . . . And if we do, this church will last another 125 years, if the Lord does not return before that time.  But think about all those who we will see one day in heaven that made it their because of your testimony and mine.  May all who come behind us find us faithful.


July 31

Those three Hebrew children were able so stand up under the pressure of a mighty King and his huge statue because they knew that their God was much bigger and mightier than any earthly king or giant statue.  How big is your God when faced with the pressure to conform?  He too can deliver you from the fiery trials.



July 24

What is a Christian in your definition?  That is a tougher question than you might initially think and you cannot find it defined in the Bible.  However, the words disciple and servant are defined and have clearer meanings.  So maybe the better question is what is a disciple in your definition?



July 3

My family and I are taking today to spend at the Ark Encounter in KY.  It is a life size replica of Noah’s ark from Gen 6.  It is a wonderful experience and I would encourage everyone to take a day to go and see it.  It is part of an organization called Answers in Genesis and more information about them and the ark (as well as the Creation Museum (also in KY)) can be found on their website www.answersingeneis.org



June 26

Going to be another short post this week.  I am just going to ask one question about Jesus being the king of kings in your life.  It is not is he.  But how is he king in your life?  How are you letting him reign in your heart?



June 12

I do not like preaching sermons like yesterday which details the pain and suffering Jesus went through to be crucified for us.  I know that it happened and that it is an important concept to remember. It pains me to recall the horrors that Jesus willing took on so that I may have life.  And yet, it was because of his love for me that he sacrificed himself in such a way.  And every time I sin, it is like crucifying him again and again.  It is a reminder that I should live my life for him so that his sacrifice was not in vain, but gives me the free gift he offered.



June 4

I hope that I sounded excited yesterday preaching on the Jesus our Redeemer.  I do not know how else to preach a message like that.  When I think about what it means to be set free from the power of sin and no longer being a slave to my guilty past, I just need to shout and sing.  And I hope that you are not far behind me.  It is a message that brings joy to my heart whenever I think about it.  So sing and shout today for you have been redeemed!!



May 29

Memorial Day is a day we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and liberties.  And so I simply want to take a brief pause in this post for us to do this.  Thank you to all who gave their lives for me.



May 22

I am not going to post much today because it is later on in the week already, but I just want to give a brief shout out to my middle son who graduated this week on to high school and my youngest son who will be going to middle school next year.  They are growing fast.



May 15

Again, this post is a few days late because I went to a conference for our region of the Missionary Church.  For those unfamiliar with our denomination, the Missionary Church is divided into several regions around the USA geographically.  Our region covers churches in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  We met in Gurnee for two days to conduct business, to hear reports from various churches and from the national office as well as plan and cast vision for the coming year.  I love attending these conferences mainly because of the fellowship and interaction I get from meeting and fellowshipping with various pastors.  Some of these pastors are of larger churches, but many of them are churches like Groveland which are a bit smaller in attendance.  I do not know if you know the experience of learning and helping peers in your fields of business but I love hearing from pastors who are going through the same struggles and experiencing areas of praise as well.  Pastoring can sometimes be a lonely adventure, but knowing there are others who are like me encourages me to remain faithful to the call of God on my life.  And I hope that I intern can inspire or help others by sharing my experiences as well.
That is why in-person worship experiences are so important as well.  I know you can hear great sermons online (I heard one great one traveling up to Gurnee) and praise music is available everywhere, but when you gather together as a church of like-minded people who worship the same God and have some of the same problems/joys you have, is just one reason why you cannot “phone-in” church.  Literally rubbing elbows with someone in the pew with you and sharing our lives together as we serve and worship Jesus cannot be done via computers or zoom calls.  So take a couple of hours each week to go and worship in a church building.  I can almost guarantee that your Christian walk will grow stronger and you will be encouraged.