Calvary Bible Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan

Southern California is known for its sunny summer days, but my best memories growing up in Los Angeles are of its warm summer nights. It’s seldom humid there, so once the sun goes down the air cools to the perfect comfort level. The summer of 1989 stands out because that was the year my best friend had just gotten his driver’s license, opening all kinds of opportunities for us, good and bad.  read more »

From our earliest days, we are inclined to believe that if we just get everything we want we’ll be happy. Toddlers will beg, scream, hit, kick, and even hold their breath in their pursuit of happiness. I wish I could say that we all grow out of that, but I’m not sure that we do. We just learn to settle for partial happiness, because we don’t have the money or power to get everything we want.  read more »

Have you ever noticed that Father’s Day doesn’t get nearly as much publicity as Mother’s Day? Why is that? Are mothers more important? Moms certainly do work hard. Perhaps one reason is that without the reminders from all the advertisements, most men would probably forget Mother’s Day.  Women are well prepared for Father’s Day, but men have to rush out Saturday night and try to find a last minute gift. I speak from personal experience. A lot of us guys just aren’t the best when it comes to planning.  read more »

When I was growing up, my parents had a grandfather clock that stood just to your left as you came in the front door. You could hear the deep tick-tock of its pendulum from every corner of the house. Inscribed above the dial was a Latin phrase: Tempus Fugit. Time Flies. That expression didn’t mean much to me. Time couldn’t move fast enough back then, but now my perspective is different.  read more »

My family and I just returned from a trip out west. Originally our plan was to meet up with our families somewhere in the middle of the country, but for a number of reasons it became clear that this plan wasn’t going to work out. So we started checking out different modes of travel for getting to both Southern California and Oregon. The most affordable approach for our family of five was to travel by train. When we made that decision, I don’t think we realized what we were getting ourselves into.  read more »

On one occasion some people brought their children to Jesus. They wanted him to lay his hands on them and pray for them. Apparently, the disciples didn’t think this was a good use of Jesus’ time, so they began to rebuke the people. Jesus intervened, however, and made this statement: “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matt 19:14).

What is it about children that Jesus likes so much?  read more »

Have you ever met anyone famous?  Did they measure up to your impression of them?

I don’t know what it is about us as people, but we love to make people into heroes.  We idolize them, setting them on a pedestal apart from mere mortals. We love hearing details about their lives. And we act as if we know them personally, but the truth is that they seldom measure up to the idyllic picture we have in our minds. Reality can be disillusioning.  read more »

How many of you watched the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics Friday night?  What an amazing spectacle! There’s sure to be incredible stories that come out of this competition. It amazes me to think of all the effort and training that the athletes, many in their teens, have put into preparing for this event.  read more »

Since I was very young, I have always had an interest in all the news about space exploration. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where they build and control the space probes, is located in my home town. The parents of some of my school friends worked there, so they would bring pictures of the planets and the stars to our school.  They even had occasional Open Houses at the lab.  read more »

One of the first times I heard the gospel was in seventh grade. A friend invited me to a church outreach event that included a trip to Disneyland. I don’t remember much about what I heard that weekend. What I remember was arriving at Disneyland, and realizing that I had lost my wallet. This was the first time I had done anything like this without my parents, so I was pretty nervous. When my wallet was missing, I panicked. I called my parents and asked them to make the hour drive to pick me up early.  read more »

This morning our study of Philippians brings us to a passage of Scripture that I probably turn to more than any other. Not only do I turn to it for my own edification, but I find it to be one of the most practical and helpful passages to share with people in a variety of different circumstances. If we truly live out these words, our lives will be transformed. The lessons of these verses contain the basic solution to nearly every pastoral counseling scenario I have encountered in twelve years of ministry.  read more »

Have you ever heard the expression, “It’s the thought that counts”? That’s the kind of thing we say to our kids when some distant relative sends them a gift that they have no interest in—clothes they’ll never wear because they’re the wrong size or an outdated style or some obnoxious color—toys that are far too young for them. It’s the thought that counts. Then again, there are times when you’re discouraged that the thought behind even the simplest gift can be a huge encouragement.  read more »

Money is an integral part of life. Not a day goes by that we don’t use or at least think about it, particularly in the face of rising prices. Do you have financial concerns this morning?

You may be thinking, “Yes, thank you, but I came to church this morning to put those thoughts aside. I want to lift my thoughts to heavenly things.” That’s certainly a worthwhile goal, but I have news for you. Jesus himself spoke often about money.  read more »

I’ve titled this morning’s message, “Investing.” Typically, when we think of investing, we think of Wall Street. This has been a roller-coaster week in the financial world with major drops over fears of a crash and major intervention by the U.S. government. I don’t know if all of that means anything to you. Honestly, I struggle to understand what it means myself.  read more »

October 29, 1929 is known in history as Black Tuesday. It was the day that the stock market crashed. Some investors were so devastated by their financial losses leading up to the crash that they committed suicide—eleven men on October 24 alone. The crash coincided with a number of other tragic events. In 1926 the Gulf States had been struck by a category 4 hurricane that all but destroyed Miami. In the 1930s the Midwest entered a time of drought that led to incredible dust storms known as the Dust Bowl.   read more »

With money being tight, all of us are looking for good bargains. When we hear the word “bargain,” most of us probably think of finding a good sale price. We are used to walking into a store, seeing a price, and simply deciding whether or not to pay it. The only time we really engage in active bargaining may be at a garage sale or when we go to purchase a car. In many other parts of the world that kind of active bargaining is a part of normal everyday life.  read more »

Each day as we watch the news we hear some new piece of bad financial news. We wait and watch and wonder what it will all mean for us in coming months. As you hear about all of this, do you ever wonder why God would allow the entire world to go into financially hard times? Is this even a fair question to ask?  Does God have direct control over the economy?  Yes and no.  read more »

In all the political hype leading up to the presidential election, we are hearing quite a bit about taxes. If you listen carefully to all the rhetoric, you’ll find that the candidates’ views on taxes are flow out of some very different ways of thinking about work. The Republicans seem to think of work primarily as a way of earning money. The more responsibility and burden involved in the job, the more you should earn. The Democrats seem to think of work as a way of providing for society.  read more »

What’s the hardest job that you’ve ever had? The hardest job I ever had was one year during seminary when I got hired on at one of the big home improvement stores. It was November and the store was getting ready for Christmas. They were hiring extra people to sell Christmas trees. You know that wonderful smell of fresh pine, it gets old very quickly.
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With all of the election news over the past few weeks, other news stories have been passed over. There was one story from the country of Argentina in South America that caught my attention. This financial crisis we’ve seen unfolding this fall is affecting countries worldwide including Argentina. As the country struggles to generate money, its president has proposed a solution—the government is preparing to nationalize $30 billion from private pension funds.
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One of the fascinating things to watch when any President is elected is whether or not he actually follows through on his campaign promises regarding taxes.  Someone has said, “America is the land of opportunity. Everybody can become a taxpayer.” It’s true.  We have laws and organizations to combat illegal immigration. At the same time, the IRS assigns tax ID numbers to illegal immigrants so that they can have income tax deducted. Banks are even helping illegal immigrants purchase homes, so they get to pay property taxes too.
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Is anyone planning any air travel over the holiday season? I came across an article a while back about new security technology being tested in some airports. You know how they have the metal detectors and pull people out of line to pat them down. Has that ever happened to you? Instead of patting people down, some airports are testing full body scanners that actually see through your clothing. The article I read called it a virtual strip search. It reminds me of the old X-ray glasses that they sell along with other gags at magic shops.  read more »

People have always been fascinated by stories of a superior race of beings that watch over us yet remain for the most part invisible to us. The Ancient Greeks called them gods and built elaborate temples to worship them. Native Americans and other tribal groups around the world have called them spirits and sought to appease them through various rituals. Some who claim to be atheistic have called them extraterrestrials and have sought to establish contact with them through space exploration. Many people, however, refer to such beings as angels.  read more »

When was the last time you wrote someone a letter?  Not just a card, but an actual letter of some length?
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In 1 Timothy 2:4, the Apostle Paul tells us that God our Savior “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Suppose God chose you to be His communication consultant. What kind of plan would you design for Him to announce the gospel? Suppose He offered to send one of His angels to speak to anyone in the world. Whom would you choose to receive that revelation from God?
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