Below is Pastor Don’s blog, where Pastor Don shares his thoughts on Scripture, current events, and more. Make sure to check back here frequently to read more about topics we may even discuss when we meet!
I’m preaching through Nehemiah right now, and I came across a passage this week that shows the will of the world to lie about the people of God to intimidate them to stop their work. In that time, it was an attempt to get them to “drop their hands from the work” of rebuilding the…
People have been talking a lot about Israel. For obvious reasons they have been in the news, and opinions swirl. And everyone is ready with an opinion. But as a pastor, I find that Christians seem to be the most easily roped into extreme opinions when it comes to the nation of Israel. Some will…
This past week I spent over six hours listening to podcasts that different people wanted me to check out. They were fairly popular podcasts by men I had heard of before. But I had never listened. The reason they wanted me to listen had to do with their guest, and indeed the guest speaker was…
I was suddenly made aware from multiple directions that there is a new solution to children’s discipleship that is going to fix the next generation and be sure to keep them in the faith. While other kids are growing up to question their faith and leave the church in their 20s, your kids or grandkids…
More Than Entertainment I am currently preaching through the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. And this week is chapter 3. It is comprised of 32 verses listing out all the ‘contractors’ who completed sections of the walls around Jerusalem. It doesn’t contain the intrigue of broken relationships, like the book of Genesis. None…
December 23rd marked 30 years of marriage for Linda and me. And I’ve blogged before about the naivety in which we married. We were young. We didn’t know how important this decision was. And further, we didn’t know as much about each other as we thought we did. Fast forward 30 years, and I am…
Remember the joy of a snow day. When I was a kid, a snow day was a double blessing. NO SCHOOL. AND enough snow to sled, build a snow fort, and have snowball fights in the neighborhood. When I was a child, it was fun. When my kids were young, it was fun to watch…
As I get older, I have increasingly adopted Benjamin Franklin’s advice to read “much, but not too many books”. There was a time when I was concerned about how many books I read in a year. But this year, I read more repeat books than ever in a calendar year. Reading good books for understanding…
I don’t even know when it happened. Sometime in my youth, I decided to cheer for the University of Michigan. I didn’t know anyone that attended there when I was young. I had never set foot on the campus, and yet I went all in with my support. The years piled up, and the ups…
I have often joked that my taste in music doesn’t suddenly change because it is Christmas. I’ve never been a Christmas music person, and to be honest, some of the songs I enjoy the LEAST are Christmas songs. ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ by Paul McCartney ranks right up there with ‘Hippopotamus for Christmas’ and ‘The Little Drummer…
When we started ReCAST Church back in 2009, we had no employees. Technically, I was paid full-time as the church planter/pastor, but I was paid fully by another church that entire first year. Berean Baptist Church in Portage, MI, was generous and gracious to give us a great financial start! But now, fast forward to…
I am preaching on a passage in the gospel of Luke this week, where it is recorded that Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue in Capernaum. It doesn’t happen in the Upside-Down. It doesn’t happen in the ‘spiritual realm’. It happens on planet Earth. In Galilee, in the town of…
