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!
We have a saying around my house that is often said and little applied, “if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” We say that a lot. My family is verbal and loud and I’m not sure where they got it because my wife wasn’t raised that way . . . After…
This week I will be preaching on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. In this text God calls his people to a theological sexual ethic that is meant to be a stable call to holiness for his church in a world with a sexual ethic that is always shifting. The apostle Paul is clear in this text that…
Prayer can be tough. I have not yet met a person who would tell me that they are totally nailing prayer, have it all figured out, and are on top of their prayer game. So I set out to make this year a personal journey into prayer and it has been challenging. Several years ago…
I have been away this week in Chicago at a Pastor’s Conference. There is something refreshing about getting away and hearing from speakers instead of being the speaker. It is doubly encouraging to hear from men who understand the office, understand the stresses, and understand the temptations that come with the territory of leading a…
There was a time when I had not lived long enough to know that life is not a straight line. A younger me, assumed that life was defined by setting a dream and then striving for it. I really believed that things pretty much progressed in that direction with some hurdles to overcome and a…
Have you ever noticed how quickly we give God credit for the timing of something that works out to our advantage? Don’t get me wrong, I would always encourage giving God credit for good things in our lives, but over and opposed to ONLY ever giving him credit when it goes well is something I…
Baby dedication. Parent dedication. Words matter. Even if the difference in wording only subtly changes the perspective it can signal a significant difference in intentions. At ReCAST we prefer to have a parent dedication service rather than baby or infant dedication services. When parents come to this service in two weeks, it is important to…
I was not made for rhythm. I can’t clap and sing at the same time. I have never played a musical instrument. For a very brief time in college I tried to teach myself guitar, but I quit when I realized that you need to have rhythm in order to strum. And apparently dancing requires…
I have this sneaking suspicion that I will not be the same person in two weeks. I do not know what I will be, but I will have experienced some unique experiences that I am praying will be formative in my life. On Monday, I will depart from Chicago O’Hare Airport and about 24 hours…
Christian Chicken is what we call it around our house. And it tastes better than all other chicken sandwiches. Maybe it is the prayer, maybe it is some secret process, maybe it is the nostalgia of my few years living in the south where it was readily available. But now a Chick-Fil-A has opened in…
It is pretty rare for a Facebook post to turn into a blog for me, but after posting an article by Tim Challies regarding the upcoming movie that follows the best selling book, “The Shack” I determined a blog may be a good way to follow up. I wrote a review of this book way…
It has been so exciting to see the process of a church building go up on our property in Mattawan. I have watched the process of the clearing of the land, I have watched the dump trucks bring in the gravel to level the base for the parking lot, I have watched them pour footers…
