In Proverbs 29:18, the King James Version of the Bible reads, "Where there is no vision, the people perish ..." Everybody needs to have a living, breathing vision inside of them. Your kids need your help to see their own potential. Students need a teacher to birth a vision within them of what can be. Adults can navigate tremendous obstacles when compelled by a compelling vision. Helping people see God's vision for their lives is another reason I love preaching. As humans, we are confronted with the realities of living in a fallen world. It's not just "them" that need help; it's me. Long after he had penned the words to "Amazing Grace," John Newton reflected: "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.” While it's true that biblical preaching shines a light on our…
Read More
Before I preach a sermon to others, I preach it first to myself. It's another reason I love preaching. To fully understand this, you have to peek inside how I go about sermon preparation. And, no, it doesn't involve high speed downloads from Max Lucado or Mark Driscoll. The first thing I do is settle on a Biblical text. Here at Mountainview, we tend to preach thematic series and I will be assigned my topic and maybe a text to go with it. Back when I did more preaching, I would often preach through books of the Bible and those books would provide my text for the weekend. Once I have a text, I read it. I'm not kidding. I'll read it in several different translations. I'll look for key words, logical breaks, main ideas. Then I'll start a Word document with the verses serving as headlines. As I do…
Read More
When it comes to career advice, you've probably heard someone say: "Love what you do and do what you love." That's good advice. While there may be times that a job is difficult or unlovely, merely working for a paycheck is not enough to keep getting most of us out of bed every morning. I began preaching before I was old enough to drive. It's true. Several times I was asked to be a substitute preacher for a small church outside of Eureka, IL, and had to have an older friend drive me there. I went to college (and then seminary) to better prepare myself to be a preacher. Since the age of 15, preaching has been a part of my life. Outside of my wife, kids, and black coffee, preaching is one of the things I love most in life. So, let me share with you why I love…
Read More
This past weekend at Mountainview was a "tithing challenge" weekend. Depending on their situation, we challenged people to begin giving, to give ten percent, or to give more than ten percent. When it was time for communion, Mark Scott made this comment: "What if Jesus had only given ten percent?" In other words, what if he had only healed ten percent of the people who came to him for help? What if he had only taught one-tenth of what we have in the Gospels? What if he had only shed ten percent of his blood? Thankfully, Jesus gave one hundred percent. He gave it all. He held back nothing. Which brings me to the number one. You have one life. What will you do with it? You have one today. How will you spend it? You have one opportunity to leave a legacy. What will it be? In a casual round…
Read More
I love how the Internet has taken the six degrees of separation and shrunk them to one or two clicks. This morning I was ready my daily intake of Michael Hyatt's blog and it featured a guest post by Jeremy Statton. One more click and I'm at a blog I've never heard of but immediately enjoy. One post, in particular, caught my attention: Is Your Story Weird Enough? Here's just a small piece: Normal is Boring. Fitting in makes sense, if you want to tell a boring story. When you go to the movie theater, you aren’t hoping to watch something completely normal happen. When you open a book, you want anything but the usual day to day events to take place. The world needs you to live an incredibly weird story. We need for you to contribute through your own unique personality and set of gifts. We need you to…
Read More