"Giving Our Thanks: Is That Sacrificial?"
/Before I forget, let me make sure that I begin this Update by thanking all those who have put on a uniform and stood in the gap for our freedom: Happy Veterans Day!
Read MoreBefore I forget, let me make sure that I begin this Update by thanking all those who have put on a uniform and stood in the gap for our freedom: Happy Veterans Day!
Read MoreOkay, our Youth Group took judging our 4th, Annual Chili Cook-Off this weekend far more seriously (and less seriously) than we ever would have dreamed. I mean, they carefully tasted every one of the 14 pots of chili that people brought in, filled out judging forms and explained their criteria, and took an extended time doing it…
Read MoreWhat a fun day at First Covenant Church we had this week! First off, we finished off our Adult Sunday School class on Paul’s letter to the Philippians (the studies are all online through our website), and it was a wonderfully uplifting experience to go through the book together. I’d tell you what we’re starting next week, but where’s the fun in that?
Read MoreThank you to all of you who have been in prayer for our church family members who were going through so much, particularly over this past week.
Read MoreThis was a week of all kinds of emotional ups and downs here at First Covenant Church. On the one hand, we showed the commercial for our annual Chili Cook-Off coming up on November 4, complete with cowboy music, whip-crack sounds, and a rogues’ gallery of Youth kids to serve as judges for the event…
Read MoreAs I looked out at the sea of people in our service on Sunday morning, I noticed that there seemed to be two kinds of people most prevalent amongst our FCCers this week -- those who were excited and enthusiastic and greeting one another with warm hugs and huge smiles, and those who looked like they hadn’t slept since the Carter administration…
Read MoreWhat a beautiful morning we spent together with the Lord this week! We had a great discussion in Sunday School -- which meant that I only got through literally half of the material that I’d planned to cover. But as I’ve said so often over the years, I learn more through teaching than I ever do in my own personal study, and a large part of that is due to the wisdom that everyone else brings into our interactive discussions over the text…
Read MoreFirst things first -- thank you to all of you who prayed for our “Back to School Bonanza” that we hosted on Saturday. It was a solid kick-off to our new Kids Club ministry (focusing on younger, elementary-school children), and both the children and the parents that we ministered to this weekend were genuinely blessed…
Read MoreThere are times when life feels really, really nice. Wendy and I helped introduce roughly 197 InterVarsity students to the Morton Pumpkin Festival when Megan and Alex brought them in on Friday night to experience the wonder, and that’s always fun (though I never did get to drive my bumper car this year). Then we had more fun the next morning with the kids (and our godchildren Olivia and Philip) grabbing tons of candy and catching my annual Frisbee from Keith Sommer at the parade…
Read MoreI love those weeks where unintended themes just run straight through everything that we do…
Read MoreWell, we’re ramping up into the Fall here at First Covenant -- I even preached for the first time in over a month!
Read MoreIn the service this week, we announced the upcoming “Growing Older Well Retreat” coming up in September, and encouraged every FCCer over the age of 50 to sign up and take part. In fact, I encourage anyone reading this to consider joining us for a refreshing time of personal reflection and healthy interaction about staying evergreen, even as life’s seasons carry on…
Read MoreLet me begin with a heartfelt “Thank you!” for the nice vacation that we were able to spend as a family together over the past couple of weeks. It was great to be able to come back and reconnect with the larger FCC family this weekend, but it was a refreshing and joyful blessing to be able to spend those two weeks with my wife and children…
Read MoreGweneth was charged to bring us the Worship through the Word, titled: God’s Second Wonderful Gift to Us. We pondered God’s heaping pile of gifts to us. The gift we focused on today, the Sabbath, can be thought of as unnatural and radical…
Read MoreThere were several announcements, thankful praises, and requests:
- Our Pastor Kevin & family are rejuvenating and we’re calling to love them by not calling on them
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