Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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In the book "Blue like Jazz," the author points something out that I had never thought about. He made a comment to the extent that it is ridiculous that we consider Noah a children’s story. The fact that thousands and thousands of people drowned is central to the whole story, and yet, we teach the story to children. Even in the Hollywood flop “Noah” movie, there is at least one shot where the people notice the flood waters and rush to Noah’s boat, only to be turned away. I imagine that “as the rains came down and the floods came up” there...
Some time ago, as a I prepared an Easter sermon, I learned something new. Well, to be fair to my college professors, I actually relearned something that I had forgotten since my college days. As I worked through John 20, I realized that there were funny notations connected with many of the verbs in the chapter. I looked into it, and discovered that this was the translator’s way of conveying that while the verbs translate accurately into the English past tense, in the Greek they are actually in a rare tense called "historical present tense." T...
I love dogs. Someone doesn’t have to spend much time around me to realize that not only am I a dog person as opposed to a cat person, but I simply enjoy being around dogs. I’ve appreciated just about every dog I’ve ever met. I prefer big, furry hunting dogs, but little dogs are amusing to me also. A few years ago, I had a 50 lb coonhound/terrier cross named Ed. He looked quite a bit like a skinny Labrador retriever, but relates to people completely differently. I found this out when I was training him as a puppy. See, Ed proved to be difficult...
Some time ago, the New Rockford Evangelical Free Church was working its way through the gospel of John. Eventually, we arrived at arguably the most famous verse of the Bible: John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NIV In my experience, this verse is the most memorized and well-known verse of 21st century American Christianity. From camp, to Sunday School, to bible studies, it seems everybody who has ever been in a church has thi...
I really enjoy writing these sermonettes. I know that may seem odd, especially considering that this September I’ve had to prepare four different lessons each week. Despite how overwhelmed I’ve been, I still enjoy writing these sermonettes, even if no one reads them. This form of teaching allows me a great deal of freedom to spend as much or as little time as I want on ideas and thoughts I have. These short, written lessons work especially well when dealing with a new (to me at least) idea that I’ve found in my Bible studies. This week, I’ve...
So, this week I read a short passage that I had never before realized existed in the Bible. I was reading the parable of the "unmerciful servant" in Matthew 18. Summarized quickly, the story begins with a king summoning a servant who owes the king a ridiculous amount of money. Once in his chambers, the king threatens to jail the servant and his family if he doesn’t pay up. The servant, who could never pay off the debt, pleads for grace, which, surprisingly, the king gives him. The forgiven servant then goes out of the king’s presence, whe...
Sometimes life is hard. Last week we took a look at Jeremiah 15. In that passage, Jeremiah complains at God for how difficult his life was due to following God’s calling upon him. However, the book of Jeremiah isn’t entirely about Jeremiah. Jeremiah may have delivered the messages, but his messages endure today due to his scribe, Baruch. Baruch is very quiet through the 52 chapters of Jeremiah, but in Chapter 45, he vents his frustration at God. Just as Jeremiah was rejected by his people, Baruch was as well. He was hated by his friends and...
Sometimes, life is hard. Part I of II Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes, life is really really hard. Somedays it’s hard to get out of bed, hard to have joy, hard to have any confidence that the life you’re living is the life God wants you to live. You wake up in the morning, and if you had one wish, it would be to start clean somewhere different. In these times, there are many passages that can give comfort. Famous passages like Psalms, Jesus in Gethsemane or Job. But this week and next week, I want to look instead at Jeremiah, and God’s respo...
Recently, as part of my study at the New Rockford E-Free Church, I took a look at James 2. For those who aren’t familiar with James, this is the chapter where he talks about faith and actions. James’ basic argument is that if a Christian truly has faith in Jesus, it will be obvious in the way they act. It is impossible for a Christian to have saving faith, and not have it be obvious in the way they act. To show this, James makes three arguments to back this up. First, James points out the obvious fact that if we have faith, but don’t actua...
A couple of months ago, I was working through Esther for Sunday School when I discovered an extremely powerful verse I didn’t know existed. The passage occurs at the most important point of the entire story. Esther, a Jewish woman, has risen to be the brand new queen of Persia, and her uncle/adopted father Mordecai has discovered a plot to wipe out all the Jews in the Persian empire. He comes to her and begs that she intercede on behalf of her people. Esther is, unsurprisingly, hesitant. The previous queen was disposed of for merely d...
At church and among fellow church people, there are a lot of discussion circles around what our favorite books of the Bible are. What books of the Bible do we find easy and fulfilling to read or have spoken to us? We like to compare and contrast our favorite list with other Christians, and see what other people think. Along with this, however, many of us avid Bible readers have a list of our least favorite books of the Bible. These are the books that we don’t like to read, and we don’t get excited about when the pastor chooses to preach fro...
You might find this strange, but I don’t have a favorite passage of scripture. I know this is kind of odd, especially coming from a pastor, but my favorite parts of the Bible aren’t specific verses; rather I enjoy a certain type of passage. Instead of having favorite memory verses, I particularly enjoy any passage of scripture where a human has a discussion with God. Adam and Eve, Moses, Job, the entire book of Habakkuk, and even when Jesus debates with the Jews. I find so much depth and truth reading examples where man has shaken his fist at...
Check out this gem of a verse I noticed the other day. In his 2nd letter to Timothy, Paul warns Timothy of how people will be in the last days. There’s a lot to this verse, but focus on the penultimate phrase in the list. "For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance o...
Currently in Sunday school at my church, we are working through the Book of Acts. This week, we arrived at Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders in chapter 20. In verse 24, Paul states that his entire difficult life will be worth it if only he can finish the race. This struck me because I am a runner. I did a quick word search and found that Paul talks about his run and/or race nine separate times across eight different letters! This was surprising to me that Paul uses the reference so many different places. Obviously, the ‘running the rac...
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” That is how God is often referred to. He is the God that Jewish forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob called upon. The God who promised Abraham he’d be a great nation – despite Abraham only having one son of the promise. The God who promised Isaac he’d be a great nation – despite again, only one son of the promise. It’s Jacob where God finally begins to make a nation with Abraham’s family through the 12 sons of Jacob. But have you ever read the chapter when the first 11 sons are born? It’s chapter 30 of Gen...
When I was younger, I used to be blown away by the complexity of the Bible. This is a book that covers thousands of years of history, contains hundreds if not thousands of prominent characters, and explains the roots of two of the world’s largest religions. It is also written in three different languages and many different writing styles. Everything from the stories of Genesis, the commands of Leviticus, the prophecies of Ezekiel, the poetry of Psalms, the short sayings of Proverbs and the letters of Paul. Then, three years ago, I became a p...
Read the Book of Job. Seriously, if you haven’t read that book of the Bible yet, go read it. Leave my sermonette, read the book and come back. I won’t promise it’s easy or short, but I will promise that it’s got some great truths in it. You won’t regret it. The main character of the book of Job is, unsurprisingly, Job! Job is a good man, and not “humangood” – Job is regarded as righteous in God’s eyes. However, one day he loses everything. All his animals, all his servants, all his children and even his health. One day he has everything, the n...
So, here’s a hypothetical situation for you. Imagine the researchers at NDSU came up with a new type of corn seed. We’ll call it corn seed X. Now, what makes corn seed X so incredible is that it can survive the frigid North Dakota winters. Not only survive, but be able to produce. Instead of planting in the spring, and getting a harvest in the fall; one can plant corn seed X in the spring, get an average harvest in the fall, and then it will also produce all the way through the next year. And all the years that follow. Plant once, and then harv...
Recently, I was studying Jesus’ use of prayer and I came across a very intriguing verse that I’ve probably read a million times, but never noticed before: Luke 6:12. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (NIV) Now what makes this verse significant to me is the context. Luke is perfectly clear that the very morning after Jesus’ marathon prayer he selected his 12 disciples. Prior to this, there was probably a small crowd following Jesus around, but afterward there was “the 12” and eve...
This week as I was reading 2 Timothy, I came across a strange passage. For those who don’t know, this book and its companion 1 Timothy are letters from Paul to young Timothy and a must-read for all young pastors. As I read 2 Timothy 1, I arrived at verse 5: “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” This verse struck a chord in me because it hits a very dangerous and emotional issue in rural America today: our youth are leavi...
I wrote this sermonette years ago; but in memory of Gary Mackrill who passed away last week, I’m sharing it again. This week I was reading 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. For those who don’t have this passage memorized, this is where Paul talks about Christians having the "ministry of reconciliation." Now I won’t lie, I was a bit intimidated by this phrase. It sounds extremely burdensome and religious. "Ministry of reconciliation." Then, I look at the passage, and that didn’t help my fear. The passage is a mess. Paul’s words spin around, and back and...
E-Free Church How big is your faith? This is the question I feel like Jesus has asked every last human in their heart of hearts. How big is your faith? Is it big enough to believe in Jesus? Is it big enough to move mountains? Is it big enough to believe in the Twins this year? (Just kidding.) This is “the” question of all existence that even the people of the Bible had to face. Often times, I feel like the only reason some people are even mentioned in the Bible is to show how they responded to this question. One of these sorts of cha...
Acts 2 If I were to say the word "church," what would you think? I’m guessing you might think of big brick buildings. Maybe some preaching. I think many of us would probably imagine an organ or piano. When we hear the word "church," we think about popes and pastors, dressed up people and the dreaded offering plates. We think about hymns and singing, Sunday mornings, and potlucks. The word "church" is an extremely loaded term, connected to dozens of thoughts, memories and feelings. Some of these are good, but many of them are at best not h...
'Come and see' Once upon a time, my wife and I were resident assistants at our college. As resident assistants, our job was two-fold. First, we were responsible for the physical life in our respective dorms. Maintain the rules; make sure no one burned the place down, etc. Second, we were also responsible for the emotional needs of the students; make sure freshman weren’t crying their way through first semester, keeping the sophomores off each other, checking on juniors to make sure they were still sleeping occasionally between finals. D...
Have you ever had someone drop a verbal bombshell in the middle of a conversation? You know, you’re talking to someone and they’ll off-handedly mention “oh, that was when I almost died.” Or “that was right around when the car exploded.” Or “oh, yeah, I had a tumor once. It was the size of a watermelon.” Those sorts of comments that bring a conversation to a screeching halt as you respond with “wait, what?!?!?” As frequently as people do this by accident, the Bible seems to do it even more often on purpose. I found one this morning in James. ...
