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This is perhaps an odd pivot from the downhome title of this blog, but I’d like to talk a little bit about a Catholic saint, Francis de Sales. He lived during the tumultuous time of the Protestant Reformation, which feels relevant already, but his spiritual formation is what is of interest for me. When he…

Submitting to God’s will and living our lives accordingly, which in turn produces the fruits of the Spirit, is the life that God intends for us.  Pastor Mark kicked off our next eight weeks of study around the fruits of the Spirit noted in Galatians 5:22-23 this past Sunday, using the fruit of patience as…

These are two words that do not seem to go together AT ALL. In this election year, many of us rather feel more like Habakkuk: “How long, Lord, must I call for help,    but you do not listen?Or cry out to you, “Violence!”    but you do not save? Why do you make me…

Living with joy should be a discipline we seek to employ in our everyday lives, just as is praying and meditating on Scripture.  God has enabled us, through Christ, to live this way.  In Nehemiah 8:10 the prophet says the joy of the Lord is our strength.  In his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted,…

There is sometimes confusion in Christian circles when we talk about “fruit.” You may hear the term applied to pastors whose churches are growing. People may say that they are bearing “fruit.” But Galatians 5:22 makes it clear that the fruits we are to bear are of the Spirit, and that they are love, joy,…

From his psychological clinical practice of over twenty years, Larry Crabb, the author of the book Inside Out, found that people live their lives in an attempt to satisfy basic longings, which he sorts into three categories, which are (1) making/spending money/achievements, (2) relationships, and (3) God.  If we are living our lives the way…

Joy…as Pastor Lawrence reminded us Sunday, it is not circumstantial, but from the Lord. And Paul exhorts us in the imperative to “rejoice” multiple times throughout the New Testament. It is something we know we should do, and have, but how to actually obtain it? As per usual, I find a quote from C.S. Lewis…

A good friend and former pastor, Robert Francis, had a heart for God.  He epitomized the two basic tenets I’ve tried to follow in my life:  (1) Be filled with the Spirit and (2) have a childlike faith.  One of Robert’s most meaningful questions to me as I grew as a Christ-follower was, “If you…

In Acts Chapter 1, Jesus promises His apostles a baptizing with the Holy Spirit.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells the believers that they were all baptized by the Spirit.   What happened between Acts 1 and 1 Corinthians?  Acts 2!  It’s noted there that the Holy Spirit comes to indwell all believers and at that…

Most of us have flown. We all know there are good stewards/stewardesses and bad ones. At the bare minimum stewards take care of their guests. Good ones go above and beyond. This past Sunday, Pastor Lawrence gave us much to think about as he reviewed areas in our lives that need stewarding. For most of…