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Easter Weekend 2024

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I enjoyed an amazing (and exhausting) Easter weekend.

We began with a Good Friday Service at Crestview. I showed this video:

On Holy Saturday, here are some graphics I put forward with lyrics from O Praise the Name:

His body bound and drenched in tears
They laid Him down in Joseph’s tomb
The entrance sealed by heavy stone
Messiah still and all alone

Easter Sunday featured a church-wide brunch followed by service. I continued my series in Luke’s Gospel because the text I landed on was exquisitely all about Jesus and His resurrection. The sermon, Easter’s Appeal (Luke 9:18-27), showed how the good news of Easter appeals to us and invites us into new life. I hope this weekend encouraged you.

Weekend Recap – Hearing Jesus

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My 3/17/24 sermon at Crestview, Hearing Jesus (Luke 8:22-56), is online. This sermon discussed the effects of hearing Jesus and recapped the four stories at the end of Luke 8: calming the storm, freeing the demon-possessed man, healing the woman with the issue of blood, and raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead. In each of these stories, Jesus speaks for effect: to move us in faith or to move us on the mission. I hope the sermon encourages you.

Weekend Recap – Hearing and Jesus

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My 3/10/24 sermon at Crestview Bible is online. It was entitled Hearing and Jesus (Luke 8:1-21). This passage contains the parable of the sower, which also includes part of what Jesus is up to when He teaches using parables. I tried to show connections between our hearing and Jesus Himself in this sermon. To put it simply, how we hear is tied to the relationship we have with Him. I hope the sermon encourages you.

Weekend Recap – Jesus Comes Near

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My 2/25/24 sermon at Crestview Bible Church, Jesus Comes Near (Luke 7:1-35), is online. In the sermon, I unpacked all the different types of people to whom Jesus draws near and apply them to us.

I also discussed how Jesus is way closer than any of us would dare imagine. I hope the sermon encourages you.

Life in Luke’s Gospel

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It’s been a good while since I updated things here. I enjoyed family vacation time in Chicago, took some college students to the Cross Conference, and executed a Youth Retreat for our church’s middle and high school students.

I’ve continued preaching in Luke’s Gospel. Here are some sermons:

12/17/23 – Jesus Brings Saving Certainty (Simeon/Anna)

12/31/23 – Growing Strong (Luke 2:39-52)

1/14/24 – Jesus Passes the Tests (Luke 3:21-4:13)

1/21/24 – The Mission of Jesus (Luke 4:14-30)

1/28/24 – Jesus Is Unique (Luke 4:31-5:16)

2/11/24 – Questions for Jesus (Luke 5:17-6:11)

2/18/24 – Jesus Calls Followers (Luke 6:12-49)

I hope the new year finds you well. I hope you grow closer to Jesus in any sermons you engage with.

Children’s Christmas Program 2023

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2023 Children’s Christmas Program

We enjoyed a fantastic weekend at Crestview. Like many other churches, we had children serving by providing a program. They did a great job showing how all creation sings praise to God. I had the chance to wrap up the program and connect the morning to the Christmas story, so I unpacked Luke 2:22-38 with a short sermon called Jesus Brings Saving Certainty. Simeon’s blessing (known as the Nunc Dimittis) showcased all that God was up to in sending Jesus to earth for us. I hope this sermon encourages you and that you have a wonderful holiday season.

(Oh, and if you follow the link for the sermon, you can watch the entire service, including the Christmas program, online.)

Weekend Recap – Breaking Good

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My 12/10/23 sermon at Crestview Bible, Breaking Good (Luke 2:1-21), is now online. Chapter 2 flows out of Chapter 1 (obviously), where Luke is helping to give us certainty and confidence about what we have learned about Jesus. A rhythm has emerged where a promise is made, fulfillment is seen, and praise has resulted. In this sermon, I tease out some more effects of God’s promises breaking into our world for the good of humanity. I hope the sermon encourages you.

Weekend Recap – Good News, Good Effects

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My 12/3/23 sermon at Crestview, to kick off the first Sunday of Advent, was entitled Good News, Good Effects from Luke 1:57-80. This narrative includes the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s Benedictus. My sermon dug into the effects of God’s promises breaking into our world and what we can expect when He moves in this way. I hope the sermon encourages you.

It was a fantastic day at our gathering. We enjoyed communion together, thinking about what it looks like to rejoice in Christ for what He’s done. People were hopping with energy after the big snowstorm the previous weekend. So, I hope you were encouraged. Have a great week.

Weekend Recap – Snow, Starts, and Selebration!

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I intentionally messed up the spelling so I could all “S”s in my title. We had a fantastic weekend in South Central Kansas. Saturday brought Hutchinson 9.5 inches of snow. It was lovely as a cold weather lover, with Winter as my favorite season and Christmas as my favorite holiday. I recognize it’s not enjoyable for many, so I will stop with my verbal excitement. I know you’ve all seen snow before, but here’s how it piled up on my back deck around 4:45 PM.

The church I pastor has a policy that we rarely cancel (like if it was overly icy or the power was out, we might) so snow didn’t keep us from gathering to worship. We encourage people nervous about getting out or needing to stay in to enjoy our livestream. We began our service with three teenagers sharing their testimony of coming to faith in Jesus and publicly announcing their allegiance to Jesus through baptism. We were “selebrating” with them. Here’s a pic we put on our church website as our students were bouncing after the service.

Finally, on top of this, I began a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke. My first sermon dug into Luke’s purpose in compiling this Gospel account and contrasting two different responses we see in the opening narratives. The sermon, Responding to God’s Certainty (Luke 1:1-56), is now online. I hope you enjoy it. And, if you follow the link, baptisms were at the start of the service.

I hope you have a great week.

Thanksgiving Sunday Recap 2023

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My 11/19/23 sermon, The Gospel Works (2 Corinthians 13:11-15), is online. The sermon not only wrapped up our 19-sermon series in 2 Corinthians, but it also helped propel us into Thanksgiving week. The idea behind the sermon was that the Gospel works; that is, when it moves into someone’s life, it affects change. So, we teased out how this was seen in the final benediction of the book. I hope it encourages you.

In the evening, our church enjoyed its annual Thanksgiving dinner together, where we eat, talk, and have a share time where people can share what they are thankful for. Luke and I recorded a Flipside podcast on this very thing, so I’d love for you to engage in that, as well: On Giving Thanks 2023.

I hope you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving week.