Coming to the Still Waters

All of our possessions in the back of a 16ft moving truck gives us a little perspective on where we are at this stage of our lives.  In a few hours we will leave and head south into the "heat and hurricane" season of Florida.  I am always thankful for the hands to help us when we attempt these moves and especially with the piano!  It is well buried amongst the boxes and totes. Our time in Illinois has been good.  God has confirmed some things in my life that I need to go after.  I could have stayed but I think I would have been struggling against something in my soul.   I have been accepted into the online Masters of Biblical and Theological Program of Belhaven University of Jackson, Mississippi.  My first class starts in August and I am thankful for this opportunity to take some seminary classes long past due.  I will include a video of the announcement and a link to a video of the curriculum I will be covering called Third M...

I like to think of this created combination punctuation mark between an exclamation point and a question mark is a good representation of a rhetorical question.  We will see one in the passage today. Wednesday in the Word covers verses 21 through 30 of John chapter 8, which read, v.21 - Then He said again to them,  "I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come." With this passage I will try to switch back and forth to what Jesus is saying and what the crowd is saying.  Jesus is in the temple area and speaking to those who are gathered there.  He has made the statement that He is the Light of the world.  Jesus is also receiving some  "push back"  from His statements that connect Him to His Father, God. Jesus will go away.  He will be crucified; be buried in a grave for 3 days; rise again; and then ascend into heaven.  In the unbelieving state that they are in, they will not be...

This is a picture of the sun going down.  It is saying goodbye for a time.  Yesterday was the last Sunday of service to the congregation I have served for the last almost 5 years.  I started when an approval vote was taken in August of 2014 and I will send out a final email on Wednesday of this week, May 29, 2019.  Yesterday was a goodbye and there were many tears.  But amongst the tears... there were some really great things that made my yesterday a phenomenal day.  Let me give you 3. 1.  There was a high emphasis on evangelism/discipleship. The focus of the passage in Luke chapter 15 makes you ask the question, "Which son are you?"   We are like both of them in that we all are lost and need to be found by the Father.  Our lives tend to be described by one or the other like riotous or religious or a running away or a keeping with the routine.  But the runner's story ends with a celebration and we don't have the end of the story f...

These two rock mounds are called the "Two Brothers."   They are similar in size but as you study them you can pick out the differences.  This is very much like the two brothers spoken of in Luke chapter 15.  They are similar and yet they are not the same, especially in the end. I finish my service to the Oglesby Union Church this morning.  I will complete the 15th chapter of Luke after covering 23 books of the Bible in the almost 5 years I have spent here.  I am most thankful for this opportunity to dive into God's word.  We also will end the service with a baptism of a new brother in the faith.  PTL!!! I don't know when I will preach again but I think I will go back to this chapter to take a second run at it.  I learned so much from Jesus speaking to these two groups and ending with these two brothers. I hope you have a great Lord's day. Adam

The above picture is taken outside the Seattle Public Library in 1915 of the children gathered to hear a story from the librarian.  "Story-time"  is what we call these gatherings.  We find Jesus telling many stories in the Gospels.  Many times we are given who Jesus is directing the story to.  In the 15th chapter of Luke, Jesus is speaking to two groups of people and we assume His disciples are by His side also.  One group is the sinners and tax collectors who have come to listen and the other group is the scribes and Pharisees who have come to complain and catch Jesus is some type of wrong saying or wrong doing.   Jesus launches into the storytelling of the trilogy of the lost shepherd, the lost silver, and the lost son.  These stories called parables relate to all who are listening.  They are relatable, easy to understand, and applicable to life.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said of the Parable of the Lost Son said from t...

Let's get into the Word of God with our Wednesday in the Word and chapter 8 of John and verses 31 through 38, which read, v.31, 32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,  "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth,  and the truth will make you free." We ended last Wednesday with the statement in verse 30 -  As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.   There were Jews who were believing while there were other Jews that were determined to take Jesus out.  In the midst of this division Jesus continues to teach those who are believing.  This teaching is connected to His Word, the Bible.  Those who are truly disciples of His will be reading the Bible. Of course the Bible spoken of here at this time was the Old Testament.  It would later include the New Testament but what was available for them at the time of Jesus was the older section.  In ...

I love leftovers.  I go back to that magic white box and pull out some delights from meals gone past.  They are covered with plastic for just this moment or put in special containers like those pictured above.  Leftovers hit the spot and sometimes are more necessary or useful than the original meal.   The fact is, the original meal had to be prepared for there to be  leftovers.  The preparation of meal one provided for meal two.  There is not as much preparation needed for meal two.  Maybe it is transferred to a plate and popped in the microwave for a quick heat up.  In a few minutes what is on the table for meal two was just a fraction of the time and effort used to make meal one.   Let me transfer this thought to a second time to meet together with brothers and sisters in Christ on our worship day, the Lord's Day, Sunday.  There is a lot of preparation and effort that goes into that first service, meal one.  ...

We venture further into the greatest short story ever told, as commented by Dickens and Emerson, Luke chapter 15.  Jesus has prepped the two groups listening to Him with the first two of the trilogy, the lost sheep and the lost coin.  He leaves the best for last as He unfolds the parable of the lost son. I am taking this and next week's broadcast to cover the whole story.  We will see that not one son is lost but actually both of them.  One is just far away and the other is near.  Physical distance does not increase the distance you are from God.   We are praying about an opportunity that has been presented to us for our possible first interim assignment.  Would you pray with us too and also for the leadership team of the church as they seek God about this arrangement?  Thank you and may God's blessings fall upon you as you live your life to the glory of Him. Adam

This is a famous picture of "waving goodbye."  The sailors are waving goodbye from Elephant Island in Antartica to the party in the small boat to seek rescue for them.  They were part of the Endurance Expedition of 1916 led by Captain Shackleton.  The sad part of the picture is that this final physical wave was the last type of contact with those on the boat this side of heaven, Lord willing. It is different today.  As Stephanie and I go through some possible final physical goodbyes with those dear to us, we have the opportunity to keep in touch through a phone call, text, social media, and video calls.  Even though we are not in the same room with the person or on the same island, to go with the above picture, we can still communicate in some shape or form.  Our world has truly changed since 1916. As parents and grandparents, we have used this digital technology to communicate since our children started heading off to college.  How precious it...

Our Wednesday in the Word is John chapter 8 and verses 12 through 20, which read, v.12 - Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,  "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." Jesus has come off of the Festival of Booths and crying out that He was the source of living water.  Back in chapter 6 and verses 35, 48, and 51, Jesus responded that He was the bread of life.  Jesus will end up giving 7  "I AM"  statements in the book of John.  The definite article is used for emphasis that Jesus is not just "a" light in this world but that He is  "the"  Light of the world.  Jesus is not  "a"  light of life but  "the"  Light of life.   We speak of the  "thousand points of light"  but Jesus is calling for those to follow  the  only Light of the world that is  the  Light of life.  To follow means to give ...

There we are again.  It was time to take off the facial hair (talking about me of course) and see what was happening under the beard.  Stephanie is as beautiful as ever.  Another Sunday has rolled by and it leads into another Monday and thoughts already about the next passage to be covered.  We are in Luke chapter 15 and I presented the first 10 verses on Sunday. We looked at the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin.  Even though we have 2 groups in the presence of Jesus, the sinners there to listen and the scribes there to complain, we tend to think of ourselves as the hero of any story.  We become the shepherd looking for the lost sheep or the woman looking for the lost coin.  We are the ones who are bringing them to the celebration. If we hold that thought pattern then the next story puts us as the father receiving home his lost younger son.  Maybe we go from it being obvious to look for the sheep and the coin but not so obviou...

Happy Mother's Day 2019.  My mom has been gone from us since November of 2008 but I think of her often.  I am thankful that her image is still etched in my mind.  I see her leading the Sunday School department.  I am carrying her bucket in the acre pickle patch we planted each summer for extra money for new school clothes for the fall.  She is in her kitchen with the pressure cooker going and putting up preserves for the winter months.  She is coming home from teaching for 37 years and spending that last part of her tenure with 60 kindergartners a day!  I loved my mom and her favorite flower were the glads! The radio broadcast is of a couple bookends of my life last Sunday.  I wrote of it last Monday but thought I would put it on the air so listen in about Gabby and Vickie.  I am still working on the EQ of my recording equipment so hopefully it will be sounding better in the next few weeks as I go more mobile with my operation. Ha...

As we prepare for our departure from Oglesby, Illinois to Zephyrhills, Florida, we have been spending our time saying some goodbyes to those we have come to love.  The boxes are set aside so that we can give some last hugs to some special people.  Let me take some time to mention a few this morning. The first is a man, a minister, named Ron who is pictured above.  Ron has become my coach and mentor for the last 2+ years.  I have watched this man disciple pastors to greater effectiveness in their own personal witness of Christ to the unsaved.  He has put valuable resources into my hands that were easily transferred into the training of the church.  Ron also allowed me to lead alongside of him.  How important it is to give space for those you are discipling to experience discipling others.  Ron's example helped me take this step of faith. This photo is of a lady named Nancy and she is pictured here with her husband Vaughn.  Nancy is ...

Our Wednesday in the Word today deals with John chapter 8 and verses 1 through 11, which read, v.1, 2 - But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.   Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The Festival of Booths is over and hopefully this Jesus will leave for good is probably the thoughts of the Pharisees and the scribes.  Jesus goes out of town for the night but then is back the next morning.  He is in the temple where He cried out that He was the living water.  The people are coming to Him to hear more of His teachings.  Jesus is in the  "rabbi position"  of sitting down which is a position of authority so His disciples and  "would be"  disciples could take in what he was saying.   I can't help but think of seeing my mother sitting down on one of those little wooden chairs and reading a story to her kindergarteners ...