Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Those words were spoken by William Carey – the father of modern missions. Carey was a poor English shoemaker who was born again in 1779. Soon afterwards he began preaching in several small Baptist churches. Reading Captain Cook’s Voyages, he became convinced of the need to […]
Thank you. Thank you for the privilege to shepherd this flock. I would be remiss for not expressing my appreciation to you. A week ago, we had a wonderful service at Covenant Life in Lansing – our sister church which we’ve enjoyed mutual fellowship for a long time on Good Friday. This year we invited […]
When we were watching Trisha’s girls a few weeks ago Susan read a new Easter book to them entitled “Easter is Coming” by Tama Fortner. It was so cute because there’s a line repeated thru-out the book. Little Eliza and Abigail would say it out loud as Sue came to it each time. Let me quote it […]
Humans cry. Christians lament. The book, Dark Clouds – Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop has been a tremendous blessing to me. Mark is a pastor and writes with a shepherd’s heart. He himself has been subject to the vicious nature of tragic loss – the unwelcomed presence of pain. And he shares his grief – but more […]
Spoiler alert. We’ve all come across such warnings. We had some folks over after church one night for fellowship. One man said to everyone, “Don’t talk about the Lion’s today – I’m recording the game.” To which another guest blurted out, “Oh you don’t want to watch that – they got creamed.” Yikes. Maybe you […]
In three weeks one of holiest of celebrations for Christians will be observed. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. It is also a time where unbelievers are more open to come to church. We want to take advantage of that cultural tendency. Please use the enclosed card to invite someone to breakfast that Sunday and […]
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, Col 3:13. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message about forgiveness – we forgive as God forgave us. This corrects society’s idea that forgiveness is solely for us – it makes me feel good about myself. No, forgiveness isn’t […]
Elisha Hoffman was a pastor at a church in Vassar, MI in 1894. He visited an elderly lady who was facing severe difficulties. She shared her problems with him who in turn tried to comfort her pointing her to particular biblical texts. He urged her to pray and tell her problems to Jesus. Somehow that […]
“Just follow your heart.” Ever hear that advice? We hear it all the time. The secret to a fulfilling life is chasing after what your heart wants. Even the Christian community has bought into that counsel. But that is exactly what Eve did in Gen 3. She followed her heart. Gen 3:6, So when the woman […]
Do you know one of my dreams for HBC? Wayne Grudem, a favorite theologian of mine shares that vision. He writes, “One day by God’s grace we may have churches full of Christians who can discuss, apply and live the doctrinal teaching of the Bible as readily as they can discuss the details of their […]