My dear Chapel Hill family:‚Ä®‚Ä® I have often been asked by pastoral colleagues how it was possible for me to have remained in one church for more than 30 years. Of course, my first response is always, “They are a Sweetheart Church.” A close second is, “Have you ever BEEN to Gig Harbor?” But here’s […]
Old news—new news—and Seahawk news
Last weekend we launched a sermon series on Nehemiah called For the City. (What a blast it was!) We are spending the next few weeks asking, “What would it look like for the people of Chapel Hill to REALLY be for the city? To not just live here; but to champion the place in which […]
What does it mean to be “for the city”?
I’ve got to tell you, there are few things more encouraging (or slightly suffocating) than receiving a bear hug from a joyful big guy who has been baptized! We just celebrated Baptism Weekend and I had the privilege of introducing eight new folks into God’s family through baptism. And some of them were “surprises”; only […]
Take the plunge
In the ancient city of Ephesus, one of my favorite places in the world, you will find the Basilica of St. John. Here the “beloved apostle” John, the author of his eponymous gospel, is buried. One of the highlights of that historical site is the baptistery. As you can see from the picture, it is […]
Yearning for the one who heals
You would think, on the face of it, that a sermon series on healing might be met with a collective shrug. We live in an age where mortality rates are plummeting lower and lower and life expectancy climbs higher and higher as medicine advances. And those medical advances can be astounding, verging on the miraculous. […]
The power of persistent prayer
In our journey through the Gospel of Mark, we’ve become familiar with a certain adverb: immediately. The word is used about 40 times in the shortest gospel. There is a sense of urgency and action as we watch Jesus and his disciples move throughout the region. Immediately they went here, immediately they went there, immediately […]
What God says about mental illness
What is mental health? Where does mental illness even come from? What are Christians supposed to do about it? If you’re a Christian living in the United States, you can’t help but ask these questions. Around 47 million Americans suffer from some kind of mental illness—that’s one out of every five people. These are real people who are struggling with real […]
Is God really good? Because this is awful.
Twenty people came into a video booth after the worship services this past weekend and shared their stories of being in need of healing. They shared why they reached out to Jesus and how they were healed, just like the woman in Mark 5:24-34. I didn’t realize how much I needed these stories until I […]
Crazy hope amidst difficulty
More than four years ago now we shared with Chapel Hill about suffering with infertility. It was one of those moments on which our life has hinged. Our seminary professors advised to keep some parts of our lives to ourselves—some are just too vulnerable for the pulpit and recording. But I felt compelled, truly, by […]
LifeGroup Questions: July 20-21
LIFEGROUP QUESTIONS The Healer (Week 1) These discussion questions pair with the sermon preached July 20 and 21, 2019. Read The Doubtful Mark 9:14-29 Faith plays a role in healing Head Who is the “faithless generation” in this story? Who is Jesus speaking to? Why is prayer important in this story? What is the connection […]