Message Series’

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Freedom, fireworks, and following Jesus

I got in some trouble last night - celebrating my freedom. There’s been a tradition at our house since the year we moved in, we invite friends over for the fourth of July and have a grill out and shoot off some fireworks. Seems like that’s what it means to be an American, right? I thought so too. Or perhaps I even still think so.  Only once (until last night) has this annual occasion proved dangerous, as a firework shot…

Giving up on getting even

There’s this thing about baseball that I think is pretty cool. They have what are considered to be “unwritten” rules. These are guidelines that apply to situations where there is no actual rule in the rulebook, but it is understood that there are certain things that everyone does or does not do. The unwritten rules also apply in such a manner that, if A happens, then B is likely to also occur.  For example, there is a very exciting scenario…

A simple step of faith

Peter is my favorite disciple. I know we aren’t supposed to pick favorites (that’s something people say, right?), but he absolutely one hundred percent is mine. If you scroll back through the pages of this blog, you might find me saying that one of the reasons is because I so identify with him, and I guess that would be true. He often speaks or acts before he thinks, he leads with his heart, and he many times finds himself in…

Disciplined disciples

I read the Bible almost every single day. At least five out of seven days, and usually it’s more like seven days a week. It’s a fun thing to say, and it sounds good coming out of my mouth - but the truth is, I am kind of a cheater. My job requires me to be in God’s Word; reading it, interpreting it, discerning what it teaches, and relaying that information to a world that is in desperate need of…

Parenting on purpose

“Hello, Grandma.” Those were the first words I said to anyone other than my wife the day I officially became a father. It seemed like a fitting way to tell my mom that there was now another generation of our family. On June 9th, 2012, my wife gave birth to a wonderful little guy that we named Ezekiel. He’s pretty rad. Always has been. But from that day on - as every parent knows - my life has never been…

Laying down for love

The room had pink carpet. Not just any kind of pink either, but in-your-face, highlighter, abrasive, pink carpet. Not that you really ever saw it - the room was filled with rubbermaid bins, mostly filled with fabric and stamps, stacked 3 or 4 high - but it had been my wife’s childhood bedroom for a time, and her father had made the egregious mistake of telling her that she could pick out WHICHEVER carpet she wanted. He was a man…

Intentional Church

Hudson Wisconsin didn’t need another church. There were already 15 of them in April of 2013 - and many of them were functioning well and growing. But what Hudson was looking for, perhaps even asking for - was our church. Let me explain a little bit more… I grew up in Hudson. Some people would call me a lifer. A guy I went to high school with recently called us “townies.” I guess I would just say I never left.…

Restored and redeemed

I REALLY like sports. Like, a lot. On my phone, I have approximately 3 pages of apps, which I believe to be fewer than most people, but more than my mom. A few of them are on there, simply because I cannot delete them (Apple says so). Some of them are used for my biking adventures. Quite a few of them appear on there to help me manage the needs of HILLCITY. And the rest, they are there so that…

The answer of opportunity

I’ve been pretty open on this forum about my struggles with anxiety and unwanted thoughts. It is not a fate I would wish on my worst enemy, and it has greatly raised my awareness of, and empathy level for, those who struggle along with me. Over the past ten years, I have had WAY too many experiences and exchanges to share here - with people a lot like me - that have been uplifting, impactful, and inspiring, and have changed…

The WHOLE story

Sometimes people tell you that when you’re feeling down, you should read the Bible. I think it seems like a good enough strategy at first glance - but I also think that HOW you choose to do it is important. For example - there is a well known strategy, used by many over the course of time, where the reader decides to open their Bible to a random page and allow God to speak to them through the words of…