Without a doubt, Psalm 23 is one of the best known and most beloved chapters in all the Bible. It’s memorized. It’s on our walls in our homes and church buildings. It’s read at funerals and gravesides. It is meditated on during dark and difficult and depressing days. David’s writing of the 23rd Psalm is a thing of literary and psychological and theological beauty. The Lord is my Shepherd. Yes. But have you ever thought about the first line of... Read more
West Franklin Family, If you could ask God for one thing what would it be? Seriously. Think about it for a moment. I’ll wait. If you could ask God to do ONE thing for you, what would that ONE THING be? If you are anything like me, a plethora of things come to mind. Everything ranging from my kids loving Jesus to a healthy marriage to healthy parents to a church that lives on mission with Jesus. The hard part... Read more
West Franklin Family, Tomorrow morning will be the last morning we worship in the sanctuary for a while. As you well know, renovations are coming. The last thing we will do together as a congregation in the pre-renovated room is observe the Lord’s Supper. We will observe in the room again one day – but after tomorrow, the next time we partake – the room will look and feel and sound different. One thing I have learned from talking with... Read more
West Franklin Family, He’s been a regular in my office recently. He’s struggling. In a good way, but it’s tough. After coming to the realization he had been lying to himself, to God, and everyone else – he recently trusted Christ for the first time. He, along with everybody around him, thought he was already a Christian. But he wasn’t. He’s been coming to my office with a passionate vigor to be sure. As I do most folks struggling with... Read more
West Franklin Family, I pray a lot. Without a doubt I need to pray more. Paul said to do it without stopping. There is a lot of growth that needs to happen for sure. But I do pray a lot. I don’t say this to brag. It’s in the occupational air that I breathe as a pastor. Let’s face it: I get paid to pray. I tell people all the time I will pray for them. People text me or... Read more
Second quarter. Down 13-0. Auburn had not won a football game in Baton Rouge since before Y2K. Fourth down and two. They go for it. Bo Nix takes the snap under center. Drops back, nothing. Runs to his right, nothing. Runs to his left, nearly tackled. Backs up to avoid pressure, nearly brought down again. Moves forward a few yards. As he is being sacked for a loss, Nix heaves a pass into the air. The ball lands beautifully into... Read more
West Franklin Family, She walked into her apartment after a relaxing vacation and something didn’t seem right. The floor her feet walked on felt different. Soft. Squishy. She didn’t see any water, but knew something was off. Over the next few minutes she discovered a leak in the bathroom. It wasn’t her fault, but it was bad. The leak had obviously sprung soon after she left town. Water had seeped into everything. She shared this with me the Sunday morning... Read more
Third quarter. The Auburn Tigers are getting embarrassed by the Georgia State Panthers. On Auburn’s homecoming. The chants emerge from the home crowd: “We want TJ!” “We want TJ!” It’s a desperate plea from the brutal Auburn fanbase to head coach Bryan Harsin: Replace starting quarterback Bo Nix with LSU transfer TJ Finley! Harsin surrenders to their cries. Finley takes Nix’s spot under center in the fourth quarter. Finley leads Auburn down the field in the waning minutes of the... Read more
West Franklin Family, I had an encounter with an eight year old boy this week I hope I remember for a long, long time. This young man was like the boy who gave his lunch to Jesus. His young words to me in my office have multiplied in my mind and heart a hundredfold. His parents set up a meeting because their son expressed interest in baptism. I love these conversations. I love hearing children explain the Gospel. I love... Read more
It’s a constant refrain. I see it all the time. It’s everywhere. It’s in me and it’s in you. I first noticed it last week when I took on childcare responsibilities for 9 (mostly) preschool age children. At one point during our time together one of them said to me, “Watch how fast I can run!” I did and followed up with, “Wow! You are super-duper fast! How can you go that fast?” I was immediately (a drastic understatement) surrounded... Read more
Churched
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