Many blessings to you and yours this Thanksgiving and Christmas season! The first Sunday of Advent is traditionally a celebration of hope. Matthew 1.20-21 | Hope Revealed But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call... Read more
People will always have various definitions of addiction and the appropriate modality/ies of treatment. There are two major study guides I have compiled on the topic. If combined, the study guides would easily be a workbook of nearly 100 pages, probably not of interest in the long haul for the people who read my blog/vlog.[1] Such is the life of any thoughtful student. At what point do we consider people to be scholars? At what point do we find ourselves... Read more
There will be no Sunday service for the next 3 weeks. Quick note: I start by saying it’s December 18th, but anyone who watches will see it’s actually November 🙂 I received a call from Shannon and Bev. They’ll be making calls and putting a sign on the door. All the Elders have talked. We’ll be cancelling our Sunday services for the next three weeks. No Sunday Service Nov. 22nd, 29th & Dec. 6th We do have a lot of... Read more
Have you heard of any great moves of God lately? Isaiah 43.22-24 Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the... Read more
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and… (Mark vi.31.a, ESV). Now, I really don’t like it when we try to read our cultural experience back into a First Century hermeneutical endeavor, neither with Biblical hermeneutics nor with social science hermeneutics. Mark vi.31.b …they had no leisure even to eat. Compare Mark vi.31.a to Mark iii.20: Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so... Read more
There are 2 themes in this sermon, Accept the Challenge and GO BIG!. If you watch, I also include a William Taylor story and some practical applications. In this article, I share a portion of the 2 themes, and please . . . I know there are different ways to use this terminology. THEME 1: get small Mark 4.10-12, 33-34 In the video, I’m reading from the NIV 1984 Accept the Challenge & GO BIG! Mentor & Disciple | Jesus calls, or... Read more
Today in our worship setting, I intentionally took time to follow the themes of faith, hope, love, and baptism in our initial set. Love The call to worship was “One Thing Remains.” As far as I know, the song was first released by Jesus Culture, Bethel Redding. Chris Quilala sings: CLICK HERE The chorus builds, with His love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Hope The second song is “Good to Me,” highlighting the steadfast hope that... Read more
Aircraft Carrier vs. Destroyer | maneuvers & precautions of a small congregation. This is a Facebook Live reminder about our Prayer Vigil, running from 3-9 pm. We’ll have 3 prayer stations, including 1 for the election. It’s also an opportunity for you to get acquainted with the precautions we’re taking as a church (due diligence). We want to welcome you, but rest assured a lot of thought has gone into our preparations, because your safety comes first. Watch for the “Aircraft... Read more
We have been speaking into other circles this last week. Last Sunday, we filmed the Layreading and Sermon on Facebook Live. That’s all I knew we were going to film. I didn’t realize this, but we also filmed communion, and our communion video started getting a lot of views. In communion, I talked about unity, not only for us and our families, but unity for Michigan. We prayed for unity between some of our offices. All three Branches have been involved. ... Read more
I was actually honored to be interviewed by an emerging pacesetter in mental wellness supplements. This is from our informal Facebook Live. 3 Mental wellness Recommendations from a Therapist My wife Crystal is doing fantastic in her fairly new mental wellness venture, to the point of catching the eye of the executives. She is part of an integrative, supplements company that is truly unique, and is raising the bar. She primarily advertises through Facebook (F.B.). Jared & Crystal Ingle 3... Read more
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