How in the world is it possible that my next sermon in the book of Romans arrives right on the week of the public hearings for the impeachment of a sitting president? I can only explain it as one of those things that I see as the hand of God. Some people believe in coincidence.…
DetailsThis week, I am preaching a text that contains over 31 commands! Yes, it is firehose of instruction that intentionally was written by the apostle Paul to overwhelm us with a portrait of genuine love for one another in the church. By the end of Romans 12:9-21 we have a pretty amazing picture of what…
DetailsTen years ago when ReCAST church was just a baby church, we started with a pretty low view of membership. In my idealistic and poorly informed view of church membership, I brashly stated to many people that church membership is not something that we see in the Bible. And so it was de-emphasized for the…
DetailsMan, oh man, did John MacArthur irresponsibly back his way into a hornets nest! He apparently told Beth Moore (an evangelical author and bible study leader) to, “go home!” when asked to give the first thing that came to his head when her name was mentioned. First of all, let me just start by tackling…
DetailsI don’t care for you to know my personal opinions about global warming. They are a hodge-podge of theories and unsubstantiated feelings that come from reading various articles and opinion pieces based on little to no research. I do not know who to trust on the subject. But I do want to be clear that…
DetailsSince that first meeting in a basement 10 years ago, ReCAST Church has experienced waves of growth. It has been God’s Grace that the waves have been spaced out to allow for acclimation each step of the way. This is not a minor thing. It would be problematic for a church to experience little…
DetailsI have dropped many things in my life. One time many years ago, while living in an apartment shortly after Adam (my first born) was born, I opened a fresh two liter of Orange Fanta, and proceeded to drop it from cupboard height right onto the linoleum floor. The resulting fountain was so impressive…
DetailsI was a lifeguard in my youth. I served at Camp Barakel as a lifeguard, a head lifeguard, and I even worked at the Y as a paid lifeguard when I was newly married and trying to work as much as possible to make ends meet. And one lesson that I learned as a…
DetailsPeople have strong opinions about money. As a matter of fact, I believe that many people actually love money. But when money and faith or money and the church combine in discussion, I have found over the years that people get nervous, angry, or opinionated. Personally, I have have intentionally worked to make sure…
DetailsReCAST Church has submitted paperwork to apply to become a member church of Camp Barakel in northern Michigan. They will be discussing and voting on our application at their annual meeting in October. On a personal note, this is the camp where I met my wife. This is the camp where I asked her to…
DetailsThe waters are rising. West Michigan has been experiencing a very wet Spring. This would not be anything new, except that a couple of watersheds in our area have experienced unprecedented elevation in the water table. Pine Island Lake, Bankson Lake, and Crooked Lake are at record levels. And many people have found their…
DetailsI recently heard that Facebook is going to be getting a new overhaul. I have personally noticed that Facebook has been on the decline and there are fewer friends on there now than there were even a couple of years ago. In a culture of over-sharing, maybe there is a corrective movement toward more…
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