My dear Chapel Hill family: Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy! I am grieved by the unrest that is rending our country as we speak and feel compelled to reach out to you again, twice in one morning. One of the challenges of our present digital reality is that we are working […]
Encouragement!
This weekend I will be preaching on the topic of encouragement. Did you know that encouragement is a spiritual gift? It is also called “exhortation.” But “encouragement” is less inscrutable! And even if you don’t have to have the spiritual gift of encouragement, you can hone that skill. All you need do is practice! I […]
Sleep on This: Come Holy Spirit
Good evening, friend! Do you remember the Inauguration Day windstorm? January 20, 1993. At the time, we lived on a one-acre parcel of land with beautiful Doug Firs on the back property. By the end of the day, we had 22 fewer Doug Firs…and a slightly smaller garage on one side! If you’ve ever lived […]
Sleep on This: Mixed emotions (May 28)
Good evening, friend: In 586 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army conquered the people of Israel, sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed Solomon’s beautiful temple. As was their custom, they led masses of the vanquished Jews back to Babylon where they would be held in exile and assimilated into their culture. But fifty years later, the Babylonians were […]
Sleep on This: Inured (May 27)
Good evening, friend! I suffered a head injury in an ice-skating accident in 2003. One enduring consequence is tinnitus; a constant ringing in my ears. Actually, it’s more like white noise than ringing. The fall broke “hair cells” in my ear, resulting in this constant auditory reminder that I should have worn a helmet […]
Sleep on This: The welfare of the city (May 26)
Good evening, friend! Cyndi and I were walking in Gig Harbor the other day, one of our favorite things to do. As we passed one of the many little shops that is shuttered, we lamented anew our concern for those business owners and, frankly, for the economic welfare of our town. It grieves us to […]
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Sleep on This: Memory Day (May 25)
Good evening, friend! As I stirred from sleep early this Memorial Day morning, this thought popped into my mind: “How can I remember what I never knew?” On a day devoted to memories, how can I remember something I never experienced? The Old Testament is replete with verses that urge the people of Israel to […]
On sacrifice
Let’s talk about sacrifice. There is something about being human that seeks out relatability. We want to share in the experience of others, practice that empathy emotion. But when I think of the idea of sacrifice, real sacrifice, I have a hard time finding where I can relate. Sure, we all make little sacrifices here […]
Four steps to re-open Chapel Hill
Since COVID-19 made it impossible for all of us to meet together for worship, you have taken the words “beyond these walls” literally and embraced this moment by worshipping in your homes, gathering in LifeGroups over Zoom, praying for one another virtually, and even changing the way you give money to Chapel Hill so that […]
Sleep on This: Shiny (May 15)
Good evening, friend: It’s the sort of story that deserves to be repeated…because it is such a great story. And because it puts my daughter, one of my favorite persons, in such a great light…literally. So, I repeat! My in-laws were visiting and my father-in-law, Boyd, announced he had lost a large diamond off of […]