“Out with the old, in with the new” is the cry I’ve heard on December 31 for as long as I can remember.
Today, it makes a lot of sense to me.  In fact, I’m convinced that GOD intended to give us these natural ‘breaks’ (He may not have invented our modern calendar, but He had [...]

I really do appreciate all the prayers that went up for my daughter’s surgery this morning (I’m also blown-away by the effectiveness of social networking – I posted on my Facebook page as well, and I heard from people in India, Kenya, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Washington, Indiana, and Illinois within minutes – wow!) – Jen is now [...]

I was up at 5am today to drive my daughter, Jen to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, where she is undergoing surgery this morning to remove a herniated disc in her back.  That’s a little disconcerting for her, but for Chris and me as well – so if you read this on Monday morning, say [...]

Sitting here on the couch nursing a headace and a sore throat from yelling so much today, I’m still thankful for the last Sunday of 2008:

attendance was waaaay up from the previous few ‘holiday’ weekends, with standing-room-only at our 10am service in Tinley Park!
Pastor Dan reports another great day at our Shorewood campus with good [...]

The last of our family gatherings for Christmas 2008 is now history (there were 3 of them, but who’s counting?)….all the beautiful wrappings are now in the trash….the sumptuous meals (in our case, turkey, ham, lasagna, and Italian sausage) have been reduced to leftovers….and the female members of the household are out buying Christmas wrap [...]

Jeff from our South Bend campus asked about the account in Judges 11:30-40 , specifically, ‘did Jephthah offer his own daughter as a sacrifice to the Lord?’
This is one of those oft-asked questions that probably can never be settled this side of heaven, but you asked, so I’ll give my humble opinion.  I will admit [...]

It seems like a blur of activity to get here, but before it’s over, I want to wish each CLCer (and my readers) a very blessed relational Christmas!
Jen & I drove more than 7 hours (instead of the usual 4h, 15m) through the snow to get to ‘Gramma’s house’ near Detroit, but we arrived safely [...]

I’ve been working on the next series for the last several days, and I’ve got to tell you: I really believe the Lord has given me a ‘rhema’ word for this time!
I’m not trying to hype you; I believe this next month can truly make a difference in the lives of many people, both here [...]

One of the things I love most about Scripture is that it is a living book – no matter how many times you read it, there’s always something new!  That was my experience in my devotions this morning when I read Acts 24:25-27.  It’s a familar story to Bible readers, and we’ve probably all heard [...]

Today was one of the coldest Sundays I ever remember as a pastor, and one of the easiest, since I only preached one time, instead of my usual three!  (Hardly feel I earned my salary today).  Here’s my thoughts:

The subzero temps combined with the Christmas vacation to make attendance less-than-memorable, especially at our Tinley Park [...]