3×3 Prayer
Prayer and evangelism are inseparable. Imagine what might happen if you got together regularly with two of your other Christian friends and pray for your unsaved friends. Here’s a suggestion for you… Each of you writes down three unsaved friends. If you each are praying for three unsaved friends then you will be praying for a total of nine people!...
Seek What First?
I’ve been fighting a fever and headaches on and off for the last two weeks. With over 100 hours of laying flat on my back, I’ve had a lot of time to think. By having my health taken from me, and forced down time, I started to evaluate some fundamentals in my life. The core of all my thoughts...
Installing an Elder, 1 Timothy 5:17-23
When I was a beginning my role as senior pastor the elders asked me what I was excepting out of the "laying on of the hands of the Elders" to install me into the office of pastor and Elder. I said, "My main expectation is that is done biblically." I said this because the act is not just an element...
Write What You Read
I’ve been reading more than usual lately. This is most likely because my current sermon series is demanding a lot more of my time in the books. I’ve also read from a few other guys who talk about the importance of reading – such as C.J. Mahaney, Mark Driscoll and Michael Hyatt (to name a few). All this has...
Smell Like Sheep
A man once told me that I smelled like sheep. At first I really didn’t know what he meant; all that could come to my mind was visions of the many smelly shepherds that I saw in India out with their flocks on back country roads. I didn’t even have to get close to those wretched men to know they...
Lessons from First Q & A Sermon
This week has been crazy. The Q&A series got off to a strong start and I’ve had to do some rethinking and strategizing about the series after last Sunday. I’ve learned sometimes you can repair a plane while it is still flying, but other times you just need to return to the hanger and fix the plane on solid...
A Decade of Dating
Over a decade ago I started dating my best friend. This past weekend we celebrated 5 years of marriage. Yes, after only knowing each other for four days (though we had know of each other longer), Molly and I began our relationship on September 9th, 2000. I was only eighteen at the time, but I was as sure I had...
Asaph’s Honesty
Do you know about the guy named Asaph in the Old Testament who truly shared with God what was on his mind? Asaph was a temple worship leader. He must have had a great voice in addition to his good lineage because he was elected to the lead-singer position. He did his job well and was influential. Some of the...
Society of Secrets
We are a society of secrets We say things we do not mean We think things we do not say We are a society of secrets We wear honesty as a neck tie We act out lies that end up our noose We are a society of secrets We front load our words with kindness We back stab our friends with bitterness We are a society of secrets We...
One Another Series
In this series I went through 61 passages in the New Testament that had the phrase "One Another" in them. My purpose for the series was to expose the body of Creekside to the mutual submission commands of the New Testament in order to help the be the church Christ desires them to be. Originally I only planned on this...
Meet Christ at the Rock: Learning to Pray for God’s Will Over Mine
Remember these words – “Not my will.” It was a simple prayer and a hurting cry from a torn soul. Jesus prayed it on the night before His death, and it is a prayer that is important for us to copy ourselves. I am sure it was not the pain of the nails or thrashing of the whip that Jesus feared the...
Biblical Qualifications for Elders
We take Eldership very seriously – because the Bible takes it very seriously. Following the example we see in scripture, our church is led by a group of qualified men. Together they make decisions for the body that will honor the Lord and look out for the betterment of all the individuals involved. The plurality of leaders insures the highest...