What a weekend! It’s Tuesday, and I still feel like I can barely catch my breath. Holy Week is hopping for pastors. But, what a joy to come together and celebrate the vast realities we are focused on.

For Good Friday 2023 at Crestview, I spoke on Psalm 22. It was a short homily/sermon/teaching that dug into how Jesus gets all the dark emotions we think don’t belong in church settings (at least, that’s the traditional stereotype). Jesus is way better at redeeming, though, than we are at hiding. And my talk, Why Has God Forsaken Us? dug into this.

On Easter 2023, my sermon was on Resurrection Power from Philippians 3:8-11. Most people understand that resurrection affects something when we physically die. In this sermon, I was trying to show the relevance of the resurrection in how we live in the here and now.

I hope you had a grand celebration of Jesus this past week. Blessings.

On 3/19/23, I preached the final sermon in our Job series at Crestview – God’s Gracious Promises to Sufferers (Job 40:6-42:17). This passage of Scripture is “infamous” for mentioning Behemoth and Leviathan. So, I tried to deal with these descriptions and connect them to Job’s experience at the end of the book. I hope it encourages you.

This weekend, my sermon at Crestview was from Job 19, Questions in Suffering. Job 19 is best known for its “I know that my Redeemer lives” section. I tried to show how Job’s answer to Bildad’s accusation in chapter 18 opened the door for some questions we face in suffering. We dug into many applications related to suffering, the church, and Jesus. I hope it encourages you.

My 2/5/23 sermon, Problems in Suffering (Job 9), is online. It got into some hairy parts of the question of suffering, like God being in control, ways we try to escape, and even ways we fail to understand what God might be up to. But, as always, I hope it exudes mercy and serves to encourage you.

My 1/22/23 sermon at Crestview, Job’s Journey Begins (Job 1-2), is online. My first sermon was more of a pastoral explanation as to why this study was needed for us. This sermon got us into the actual text of Job and helped us have some considerations to weigh when we find ourselves suffering. I hope it encourages you.

On January 15, 2023, I preached my first sermon in a shortish series on the book of Job (pronounced with the long ō (not like your work kind of job). This opening sermon, Introducing Job, used James 5:11 as a springboard for our study and gave my pastoral heart to studying such a book. I hope this sermon and subsequent weeks help encourage you.

We had a fantastic day at Crestview Bible Church on Sunday, December 18, 2022. So many people came together to contribute to this morning of worship through music. Mandy previewed this on our Flipside Podcast episode On the 2022 Children’s Christmas Program. And we had instrumental numbers, memorable songs, the use of many different instruments, congregational singing, and a program presented with excellence and selflessness.

My short sermon sought to continue our series on O Come, O Come Emmanuel using a verse as a springboard.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

https://hymnary.org/text/o_come_o_come_emmanuel_and_ransom

I did a quick teaching piece on Acts 10:34-43 (the first time the Gospel is proclaimed to the Gentiles) to connect Emmanuel and the Good News. This passage showed that what Peter declared was the same message angels gave to shepherds appearing in the fields. If you have the time, I’d go back and watch the entire program. I hope the morning encouraged you.

My second installment in Crestview’s 2022 Advent series, Emmanuel and Us, is online. I was using the verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel that discuss a longing for the Dayspring and Wisdom to come to draw our heart into our need for Jesus to give glorious brightness and a way to live. This direction got us into Luke 1:76-79, Isaiah 11:1-2, and Hebrews 1:3. The significant point is that Emmanuel’s coming changes us. I hope the sermon encourages you.

On Sunday, 11/20/22, we wrapped up a short series to orient the people of Crestview around our purpose to know Jesus and make Him known. The fourth installment in this series was yesterday’s focus and what this looks like for us as a corporate people to live this out. Jesus Project 4 is online and ready for your engagement. I hope it encourages you.