Coming to the Still Waters

  This is a sermon that I have given about 5 times and I keep tweaking it.  I am so thankful for the worship director at the church I am serving who helped me to bring the congregation along with singing the different types of songs we have and putting them side by side to hear the differences.  The internet connection was not optimum this week so the recording is just in audio form and it a little distorted but not beyond the listening ability.   My prayer is always that two points would come across beyond the understanding of these musical terms that Paul gives us in the Scriptures.   The first would be that we would speak, teach, and encourage each other in the contexts of these types of songs.  We would speak psalms to each other with using God's words rather than our own; we would speaks hymns to each other by reminding each other of God's greatness; and we would speak spiritual songs as we convey how our great God has touched our lives.  As we sing, we would also interact

  I love roads like this that have an ample shoulder for the cyclist.  I also like it when the wind is at my back and I am heading home.  The roads of central Wisconsin have been beautiful this summer and I look for windows in my schedule to strap on the helmet and hit the road to a new location to explore.  I know this will end sometime soon but I'm going to enjoy watching the colors change this fall as I ride the road and trails of Waushara County. We finished chapter 2 of 1 Peter this Sunday.  That means that this coming Sunday will be a stand-alone sermon.  I will be doing another the next Sunday and then a Sunday off to get Stephanie and Buddy and then back to chapter 3 which starts with, "Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands,..." (1 Peter 3:1a, ESV).  I figure I needed my wife here when I speak on such things. What is the report or rumor if you do wrong and get just punishment and remain versus the report or rumor if you do right and get unjust punishmen

  This is a good reminder.  The Lord has set for us definitions, roles, instructions and boundaries for His created institutions of marriage/family, governing authorities and His church.  Each one of these institutions can go awry when it veers from God's blueprint.  The message this Sunday was dealing with one of those God created institutions, the governing authorities as Paul mentions in Romans 13:1-7 and the human institutions as Peter mentions in 1 Peter 2:13-17.  This was a challenging message so the congregation received a booklet of my notes to keep us on point through the sermon.   (P.S. - Do you see the field of sunflowers in the background of the picture?  It is amazing how they turn their faces to the sun.  Another good example for us a God's children to keep our faces toward His Son.) One big point from the message (which was another pre-recorded session) were the two sides of the coin of God's given responsibilities to governing authorities.  They are "to

  I am so thankful for good friends along the way who have had such an impact upon my life.  I received this great green t-shirt from friends in Ohio that we rode the rail trails with many times while we were there.  It reminded me of another friend many years earlier in Michigan who rode the trails with me as we shared life together.  I ride alone at this point but I am looking for those who I can draw close to here in Wisconsin.  Maybe we won't ride bikes together but we will get on a schedule to have coffee and meaningful conversations about our great God. We have an identity as the people of God described as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people of His own possession.  Out of our identity we proclaim who He is who brought us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.  Because of this transformation from Group #2, those who do not believe, to Group #1, those who believe, we abstain from practices of our old life and keep a conduct in front of Group #2

  I'm always on the look out for these places to frequent when on my bike rides.  What a relaxing coffee shop to stop at in downtown Wautoma, WI that serves some great lunch options.  This was some fantastic pesto and I say " was " because it was gone when I devoured every bit of it.  A couple of the young ladies who work the counter go to the church I am assigned at and it was refreshing to my soul as they talked about being excited about learning from God's word as we go through the book of 1st Peter.  Expository preaching, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, is making a comeback in our churches to cover the whole counsel of God. We have ventured into chapter 2 and Peter gives us two pictures to ponder and uses the Old Testament scriptures to establish our actions as born again believers.  Peter's fourth command to them was to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart."  We get some practical instruction on what we need to "put away"