A Saint Goes Home
Yesterday the Lord brought home a saint named Howard Hendricks at the age of 88. Howard was a longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and a popular speaker at events like Promise Keepers. He...
View ArticleSeven “I am’s” in John: A Responsive Reading
Every so often we do a responsive reading in the worship gatherings at our church. This week we will recite the following reading which I wrote for our series called, ‘Come and See’ from the Gospel of...
View ArticleMeet my Favorite Writer
Every now and then someone will ask me about my favorite writers. Almost always, the first name that comes to mind is Wendell Berry. And most of the time, when I say his name I get a look of confusion,...
View ArticleIs Retirement in the Bible?
I have often heard that retirement isn’t in the Bible. I agree with that insofar as we should all press on to serve Christ until the very end. I love what the Apostle Paul said about this. In the very...
View ArticleRaising up Preachers Through the Multi-Site Model
For the past five years, the church in which I serve as Lead Pastor on the San Francisco Peninsula has adopted a multi-site model. Being a church of almost 3,000 people with only 2 acres in Foster...
View ArticleBlessed Bankruptcy
Jesus begins the Beatitudes saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” That sounds like nonsense to most of us. We live in a society where leadership, success and fulfillment have nothing to do with...
View ArticleA Legacy of Mercy
Is the legacy of Christianity merciful or merciless? Yesterday I preached on 1 John 3:11-24. The message was called, “Love Life” because at the heart of the message was the idea that those who claim to...
View ArticleWhere in the World is Rwanda?
Ten years ago a movie came out that many of us saw called, Hotel Rwanda. Do you remember? It was about the genocidal mass slaughter of ethnic Tutsis by ethnic Hutus that took place in 1994 in Rwanda....
View ArticleThe Case for Expository Preaching
For the past three decades I’ve been committed to expositional preaching. Expository preaching is committed to explaining and applying a Biblical text to the audience. It begins with the conviction...
View ArticleMentoring Young Pastors
men·tor ˈmenˌtôr,-tər/ an experienced and trusted adviser. “he was her friend and mentor until his death” synonyms: advisor, guide, guru, counselor, consultant Many people are talking about mentoring...
View ArticleISRAEL BOUND!
As you read my Monday morning blog today, I will be arriving in Israel with 20 friends, most of whom are part of our staff at Central Peninsula Church, along with their spouses. For a long time I’ve...
View ArticleRemembering Haddon Robinson
I have been blessed with a handful of wonderful mentors in my life. One of them was Haddon Robinson. On July 22, 2017, Haddon “fell asleep” in the Lord after battling Parkinson’s Disease for about...
View ArticleKnowing and Doing God’s Will
Yesterday I preached at New North Church on the subject of knowing God’s will. My sermon big idea was that God is more concerned with who you are than where you are. Thus, God doesn’t always tell us...
View ArticleExcel Still More
This past weekend my church celebrated 50 years of God’s faithfulness. On Saturday night over 700 people gathered to remember all that God has done, and on Sunday morning we focused on what God might...
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