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 […]
Last Sunday at the annual meeting we distributed the brochure outlining our new strategic plan. Copies can be found at the kiosk. Special thanks to Heather Anderson for her design. May I encourage you to use this to give to someone? In the past we’ve had folks join the church because we had such a […]
I believe most of us wouldn’t consider ourselves plagued by the sin of envy. That word sounds so revolting. And yet envy is simply focusing more on what others have than on what I have, ie, what God has graciously provided for me. Envy causes me to question the goodness of God. With that definition […]
Susan and I recently watched the movie, “Boys in the Boat” (rated PG13 for language). I few years ago I read the book and wrote a “pastor’s pen” on it. Once again I share the redemptive qualities gleaned. Out of the depth of the Great Depression comes the story of 9 working-class boys, the sons of […]