Tuesday Notes

This past Sunday was a great morning of worship and prayer as we commissioned the young people of our church to “Walk in Love” (2 John 1:6) during the new school year. The Annual “Blessing of the Backpacks” is a great tradition of the church where we gather around the...

It wasn’t a competition. But if it was, I am pretty sure I lost. A couple weeks ago Chris Griggs gave his “Sex Talk” sermon. I imagine both the title and content received some serious, curious and yet, nuanced, attention. I was on vacation at that time, so I missed...

I am loving our summer study of the books of 1 & 2 Thessalonians. If you have missed either of the first two weeks of the series, you can get caught up here. Part of what I find so compelling about these letters is that the Apostle Paul is writing...

This week marks the summer solstice and the official beginning of summer. At First Pres Glen Ellyn the markers of our entrance into summer are all over the place.  Literally, all over the place. 270-some kiddos are running around campus this week having a blast, learning about God’s amazing love...

I’ve been thinking a lot this week of how often I have found myself in the Jonah story as we’ve worked our way through the book on Sunday mornings this spring. Runner from God at times? Check. Desperate prayer in desperate circumstances? Check. More concerned with my own comfort than...

In chapter four of the Old Testament book of Jonah, the prophet and God are having an argument. Maybe you have had an argument with God at some point in your faith journey; I know I have. If you missed the sermon on Sunday, you can listen to it here....

Jonah is one of the least read books in the Bible. (At least according to handy analysis of what people access electronically.) I was quite surprised to see this. Surprised because it is short and easy to read; surprised because it is an engaging story; surprised because there are an...

On Sunday morning at First Pres we began a new sermon series studying the Old Testament book of Jonah. In addition to getting all of the fish puns out of the way in week 1, we also had a chance to think about how we respond when God leads us...

It is not often that a pastor connects the resurrection of the Lord Jesus to the movie Talladega Nights, but buckle up, ‘cause it’s about to happen.  The colloquial expression, “That. Just. Happened.” entered into modern diction about a decade ago after being popularized by Will Ferrell’s character in a...

I loved the contributions of the children to the worship celebration this past Sunday morning. As we remembered together the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem at the beginning of what is often called “Holy Week,” the children of the congregation led us in song, scripture readings and a...