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#EndofYearThoughts#Warnings

Wednesday, December 30th, 2020

If you read my other blog-Living in the Shadow-you know I said I would be taking a break from my blog until next Monday, January 4th. But every year on this blog I feature some items that have caught my eye; a warning or two I might issue; and I always…ALWAYS…include a song. So here is my end of the year post with a random inclusion of ideas.

I read something this morning from 40 Days of Grace by Paul David Tripp that set my mind for an end of the year reckoning. These are all from Day 12-pages 30-31.

“We don’t grieve our sin because we don’t see it. It is ironic that we tend to see the righteousness we don’t and we fail to see the stains every day of our lives.

Here’s how confession works.  You cannot confess what you haven’t grieved, you cannot grieve what you do not see, and you cannot repent of what you have not confessed.

So cry out today for eyes to see, that is, for accurate personal insight…Because of him, you don’t need to be afraid of your unrighteousness; no, it is your delusions of unrighteousness that are the grave danger.” {End quotes}

There is always reflection that takes place at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. But the reflection is worthless if honest stock is not taken at the time of introspection. As Tripp implies we often get enamored by our own unrighteousness and don’t see the unrighteousness in us. Sort of like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. They were so blinded by their own self-righteousness they couldn’t see past the log in their eye.

And Tripp was so right! How can I truly confess my sin if I have not grieved over that sin. And how can I grieve over that sin unless I see it? Real, honesty confession requires, no demands, complete honesty in seeing my sin for what it is.

May the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 bring a new honesty to me.

So…there is my spiritual thought for the end of the year.

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One of the things “I predict” for 2021 is a greater assault on historic, orthodox Christianity. I once thought the old Emergent heresy/tripe/garbage had died an inglorious death. I could have only wished. My reading this past year has shown me that it is alive and well in “spiritual thought leaders” like Brian McClaren, William Paul Young, Richard Rohr, Tony Jones, Michael Gungor, Jen Hatmaker, the late Rachel Held Evans, and others. (Rob Bell used to be a big one also).  It has a new handle called “Progressive Christianity.” If you question my thoughts on its devastation to historic Christianity then you need to read Alisa Childer’s book, Another Gospel?I reviewed it here.  And may I also suggest you listen to Alisa’s podcast? She is engaging and has guests who study so-called Progressive Christianity. In fact, she went through a faith struggle of her own.

When it comes to reading material I am all for learning. But we also need to be careful what we feed our minds. GIGO was a famous moniker back in the early computer age. I propose that same thing applies to our reading. Filling our mind with garbage; books about mediation by Deepak and others; filling our minds with books like mentioned above are dangerous to our souls. I don’t always agree with what I read but I work hard at filtering out what shouldn’t be there. I am on a mission in 2021 to read those books which enrich me with spiritual knowledge, knowledge gleaned from a proper view of God and Scripture.

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Finally, I know I’ve gone on long. But I have to include a song. One is an end of the year song. One is a song for 2021.  First the end of the year song. I know it probably not your cup of tea but the 80s never died. They are sleeping. 🙂  And have they aged? You tell me. The voice has definitely lowered (as expected).

I have renewed my “love affair” with my all-time favorite band, DeGarmo & Key. This is absolutely my favorite song by them. It shows its late 70s vibe but the lyrics are what I expect for 2021. Please give it a listen.

Have a great end of the year and a good start to the new one.  See you in 2021.

#Monday#StartoffRight!

Monday, June 15th, 2020

“Rainy days and Mondays always get me down” is what the Carpenters sang back in the Dark Ages.  That’s circa early 1970s for you young ones. 🙂

Monday often sets the pace for the rest of the week.  It is “Back to work” time.  The attitude we have will set the tone for our day and our week.  Our Worship Team led us in worship this past Sunday with the following song. I’m not going to say much more about it.  The first time I heard it I was driving and Jo put her phone on YouTube and we listened to it in my truck. I was blown away by the sound and the lyrics.  I am starting your week off with that song. I guarantee that once you hear it, it will stay with you.

Here is the song.

He’s Alive!

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is not quite the Resurrection Sunday celebration we were anticipating that’s for sure.  The past few years we have had one service at a local venue (Abram Farm) that allowed us to be all together as one church family. This year was already going to be different due to the company that normally did our sound having to beg off this year. So, in spite of the graciousness of Bill & Suzie Abram, the owners of the venue, we were going to have two services at our building.

Then COVID-19 happened. Suddenly, we went from Abram Farm to our church building to a virtual celebration. But there is a great lesson here! The grave could not contain Him. What in the world would make us think a virus could? So we celebrate anyway. Virtually.

More could be said. But I’m not going to belabor the point. So I say, “Celebrate! Jesus is alive in our hearts. He is alive in our worship. He is alive seated at the right hand of His Father. Celebrate!”  I’d like ask you to listen to an old song. In my mind, one of the best Easter songs you don’t even know by my favorite Christian group of all time.

#Lent#14

Sunday, March 15th, 2020

For your enjoyment a song I played this morning following my sermon Colossians 1:15-18.

Here is the song. A song for the sermon.  A song for today.

#Hangover#GoodOne

Sunday, February 23rd, 2020

Every Sunday I go through it. I call it a hangover. I’ve never had the other kind.  Kind of hard to do that when you don’t take a drink to start with. 🙂

I had one yesterday. I went to the Y early (8:00) to work out and when I was done I had the hangover. It was the good kind. You know…the adrenaline is pumping and you feel like something good happened.  I even joked with someone who was just getting there about feeling good I was done. I had reached my limit physically for that workout and there was a settled feeling that came over me. Shower. Eat. Study. Nap. Oops where did that come in? 🙂

I’ve have one when my bike ride is finished. An a-a-a-a-a-h feeling.  A sense of accomplishment. An adrenaline rush from having spent myself. Shower. Eat. Work. Nap. Again, where did that come from?  🙂

I get one every Sunday. I expend myself emotionally. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Eat. (No shower needed). Study. Nap. Well, sometimes but not today.

I’m a bit melancholy right now. I’m not sad from any event. I’m not down from life. I expended a lot of spiritual energy this morning after preaching twice and I think I know what it is.

The subject matter. Heaven is fine to preach on. I’m not a fan of preaching on Hell. It isn’t because I pound the pulpit and scream and froth at the mouth. I don’t. But I’m melancholy because I have this sneaking suspicion there were some there today who needed to come to Christ but will keep putting it off.  It’s days like today that I wish I was like the Hulk when he grabbed Loki,  slammed him back and forth a few times, and then said, “Puny god.” Loki just whimpered. That was after Loki tried to tell the Hulk he was a god.

There are people I just want to grab and say, “What are you waiting for? Don’t you realize you are playing with your life, taking a risk that you really don’t want to gamble on?”

When I feel like this I can only imagine what God must be feeling after waiting and waiting.  The Bible says that God desires all men to repent and to come to a knowledge of the truth. His heart must break when time after time people reject Him.

I’m not concerned about my eternity. I know where I will be. I do get melancholy over others. May I never lose that fire for the lost. May I never lose that desire to see people come to Jesus. May I never lose that hunger to feel God’s pain.

I closed the sermon with this song. Hope you enjoy it.

#AnnualSong#Countdown

Tuesday, December 31st, 2019

Ever since I started this blog back in 2008 I have concluded the year and begun the new year with a song.  I know. I know. I should find a new one.  I had planned on doing that this year but you know what they say: “time flies when you are having fun.” Well…time flew. Like a supersonic airliner. Probably in the next post or two I will do a little wrap up of my year.

BUT UNTIL THEN!!!

Enjoy this one from 2011.

Enjoy this one from their heyday when big hair was king and tenor voices were all the rage.

And here is one from a few years ago. Man, the dude still has the pipes. But he sure isn’t as high as he used to be. Very few can keep that range as they age. Michael Sweet from Stryper comes awful close with more depth to his voice.

Okay, so call me a heathen. I have wide shoulders. 🙂 🙂  I also like 80s rock and big hair. My favorite? Stryper. Maybe I’ll find something by them for my next post.

We know the final countdown officially began when Jesus ascended.  But who knows when the bell will ring (or is it that shout will come?)  Have a safe beginning to 2020.

#ClosingChallenge#2020

Sunday, December 29th, 2019

Jo and I are leaving right after worship today for Sandusky, Ohio. Her sister has a procedure tomorrow in Lorain, OH (near Cleveland) on her eyes that she must have. Unfortunately, there were no openings in Sandusky this time so she has to be taken to Lorain. Also unfortunately, the woman who would have taken her is out of the country right now so it is up to Jo to get her there. She is unsure about driving to Lorain and asked (tears were involved… 🙂 ) if I would go. So we leave today and will be return home Tuesday before the crazies get out on the road.

I will be out of commission for writing a blog so I thought I would post one early and then another for Tuesday/Wednesday. I can approve your comments and even comment but writing a blog on my phone is another matter and I don’t want to drag the computer around.

You can go to my other blog to see my thoughts about the year end challenge I gave today. I’ll not do a double take on that. But I would like to encourage you to listen to an old song that still challenges me today.  I can’t say it any clearer than Dana Key sings it.

#ChristmasChallenge#Post18

Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

There is no question to the “longer” readers of my blog that I like Tommy James.  He was my favorite when I was growing up and Crystal Blue Persuasion would be my #1 song of all time. (Jo knows if we are ever in a trivia game she has to answer this one right! 🙂   #2 would be Long Distance Runner by DeGarmo & Key and #3 would be Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli.  Call me old.  🙂  But I also like rock music-the 70s/80s/hair band kind. And I like what is called Melodic Metal. But I digress…like way off.

Every year I break out my I Love Christmas by Tommy James and will listen to it on repeat.  One of my favorite songs on the CD is this one.  All I have read and heard is that Tommy has come to embrace Jesus as his Savior many years ago and this song is meaningful to him.

So enjoy this divergent path for “ChristmasChallenge#Post18.

And while you are at it check out Diane’s newest post here.

#Servant#Don’tForget#3Essentials

Friday, November 1st, 2019

Ever since 2009 the church I pastor has had a Day of Service (DoS). It is a day where we serve the community.  Our first one was humble in its efforts but very successful. We changed oil and did some light mechanical work as well as help people who were unable to get things done to their houses (prepare for winter, clean up after the flood, and more). We missed a year or two as we found our footing at our newly purchased building but eventually we “got it going” again. Then we saw the need to do two a year. We invited another church to join us and then two others. They fizzled out before they started but the first invite (The Connection) formed a great working relationship with us. The Spring DoS was cleaning up after winter’s havoc, preparing flowerbeds, and general maintenance. The Fall DoS involved the mechanical work on vehicles, cleaning gutters, as well as getting ready for winter. This year (2019) we had one in the Spring but had some unfinished work so OVCF took it upon ourselves to finish the two jobs that needed done.  Our last 2-3 efforts also involved the Owen County Chamber of Commerce.

All things change. After the two very tedious jobs this year which required a lot of man hours, I started feeling unsettled about asking our people to go to the well one more time. Then I studied for the first letter in Revelation-the letter to the church at Ephesus- where Jesus commended them for their hard work and service, but had one thing against them: they had left their first love. So I started praying and meditating on that and realized those words were very relevant to us. So during that sermon I told them my thoughts and that I was calling off the DoS (It was considered “my baby” by the others) for the Fall. I “felt” God was saying, “Bill, you guys have been so busy doing for Me, it is time to just be with me.”  So this Sunday we are having an afternoon of a Guided Prayer Time through different “stations” in our building. From 1-3:30 this place will truly be a Holy Place. My next post will tell you more about it.

But I decided to carry on with my initial sermon for that Sunday and to develop a whole month of sermons. My theme is “Servants” and my Scripture this Sunday is from Micah 6:6-8.  The Scripture tells us three items every follower of Christ (a servant) needs to have:

  • Do justice
  • Love mercy
  • Walk humbly with God

I would appreciate your prayers for me this weekend. I would especially love it if you would pray for the church as we meet. Learning to be a servant who does those three acts is absolutely essential.

I will be closing the sermon with this song.  Hope you enjoy it.

#LoveLost#FirstLove

Saturday, September 14th, 2019

My sincere apologies for not getting this posted sooner. As many of you know we spent September 2-10 on our trip to Alaska. We arrived home after midnight on the 10th and I played catch-up the rest of the week. But tomorrow is Sunday and I have to be ready to go! I am…in principle. Now all I have to do is get my head and heart in the game. 🙂

I start a new series this week which I am calling Postcards. It will be a seven week series on the 7 churches of Revelation and the letters, i.e. postcards Jesus sent to each of them. Ryan did a great job of introducing God’s idea of the church last week as a lead-in to this series. I’m glad I have someone like him who is so dependable and able to present God’s Word. He’s a good one. 🙂

This week I have titled the sermon “To the Loveless Church.” The city of Ephesus had so much going for it as being one of the greatest cities to live in at that time. Economically. Culturally. Historically. Religiously (even though it was pagan).

The church at Ephesus had a lot going for it also. As you read Revelation 2:1-7 you can’t help but be struck by the commendation heaped upon them: their work, toil and patient endurance; they didn’t tolerate evil men; they hated the works of the Nicolaitans; and their motivation was spot on.

B…..U……T…..

The condemnation far outweighed the commendation. It is very clear. They left their first love. While they had all the outward show of being alive, they were dead inside. Their love for Jesus had grown cold. Their motivation should have been what Paul wrote: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one died for all, therefore all have died.” (2 Corinthians 5:14). It wasn’t, and therefore they were told in no uncertain terms “to repent or else.” Unfortunately, the “or else” happened and there is no longer a church in Ephesus.

Fighting this battle for “first place” is an ongoing one.  I hope to challenge all of us to renew our first love for Jesus.  I plan to play this song to help emphasize my point.