Sermon Video: After the Flood - Genesis 8

 

The literary structure of the Flood narrative in Genesis draws the reader to 8:1 where we read, "But God remembered Noah." Just as the first half of the story highlighted God's provision for Noah, his family, and the animals during the coming and executing of his wrath, the second half highlights God's provision for them during the time of the waning of the effects of God's wrath. Through it all God cares for his people, for the righteous, and through it all Noah demonstrates tremendous patience and trust.

Sermon Video: A Zeal that imitates Jesus - Romans 12:11-12

The Church, in America at least, isn't suffering from a lack of zeal.  We have plenty of passionate intensity, much of it in the form of outrage, but we sorely lack zeal that looks like that which Jesus demonstrated.  We need Christ-like zeal, need it focused on doing God's will (which he alone can define for us) and we need it bolstered with hopeful joy, patience, and prayer.

Sermon Video: All Creation awaits the Redemption of God's people, Romans 818-25

We, as God's people redeemed by Jesus, are already saved, but not have not yet been fully transformed into what we will become (Christ-like).  We have begun a journey by faith, but are traveling there still, with hope to help us along the way.  In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us that all of Creation (personified for literary purposes) itself anticipates this transformation, it too suffers presently and looks forward to glory to come as God's redemptive plan reaches its glorious conclusion.

Sermon Video: Real Love - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Christians are supposed to be known for their love, love for each other, and love for even their enemies.  This, of itself, is beyond our capacity, but when viewed through the Apostle Paul's explanation in 1 Corinthians as to what constitutes real, genuine love, it would seem to make a difficult situation hopeless.  Thankfully, God has given his Spirit to his people, has empowered them to live like Jesus here in this world, because he has called us to embrace all 14 of the aspects of love that Paul highlighted (and perhaps others as well, it is not an exhaustive list, although it certainly is comprehensive).  What must our love be?  Patient and kind.  What must it be free of? Envy, boasting, pride, any willingness to dishonor others, selfishness, anger, and record keeping of the wrongs of others.  Give up yet?  In addition, love must rejoice in truth while rejecting the lure of utilizing evil (even thinking, 'that good may result', a false lie).  Love must always protect, trust, hope, and persevere. 
This is not a question of focus, willpower, or determination.  We cannot accomplish this on our own, not even close.  Once again, we must depend upon the transforming power of the Spirit of God, must embrace our role in the community of believers (for help, guidance, and support; mutually so), and must move forward, toward Christ-likeness, in faith because we all need real love.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Our warped definition of Christianity is disastrous

What, and how, we think is important; very important.  What we believe in, and what we believe about important topics and issues profoundly shapes who we are.  But there is more to it than what and how we think.  It is absolutely true that an individual cannot be a Christian if they do not believe in Jesus Christ, in other words, they believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and that he lived, died, and was raised to new life in order to set us free from sin (enslavement to, and debt because of).  {See John 3:16 as an example of this explained in one sentence}  Belief is not the end of the road.  Belief has to be accompanied by repentance {a turning away from sinful behavior} and has to lead to righteous living {by the power of the Holy Spirit} in order for belief to be effective.  In order for it to be real.  A belief in Jesus which does not change the trajectory of a person's life, in ways both small and great, is meaningless.  Herein lies the problem.  Consider the two passages of Scripture below which together illustrate the absolute necessity of "fruit" (ethical behavior) and give nine prime examples of what it looks like:

Matthew 7:16-20 New International Version (NIV)
16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Galatians 5:22-24 New International Version (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

To say, "I am a Christian" is not enough.  To have a particular political viewpoint is not enough (and often misleading).  To know the key words one should say in order to "sound like a Christian" is not enough.  To attend a church at Christmas and Easter, or even more often, is not enough.  To own a Bible, or even read it, is not enough.  To give money to Christian charities, or the Church itself, is not enough.  A person could have all of those things, and outwardly look the part, but without love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; they would have nothing. {See 1 Corinthians 11}  Don't get me wrong, someone who goes to church, reads a Bible, and gives money to Christian charities is better off than someone who doesn't; but only if those factors eventually lead to the radical change of mind and heart that gives evidence to the presence of the Holy Spirit and results in the outflow from that person's life of the fruit of the Spirit.  If a person remains "associated with" Christianity, but never moves forward, they will actually be worse off on the Day of Judgment for having known better without acting.  {See Hebrews 6:7-8}

The Church in America, in particular, has a self-identification problem.  We've allowed cultural distinctions and political viewpoints to more strongly define our view of what Christianity is than righteous living.  We've minimized our concern about the immorality that doesn't bother us: pride, lust, and greed in particular, and allowed ourselves to accept the delusion that anyone who looks the part and is on "our side" in the Culture War is Christian enough.  The Word of God says otherwise.  We will be known by God by our fruit, judged as genuine believers in Jesus, or not, by it. 

Those who mimic the look of being a Christian, without the heart-motivated acts of righteousness to go with it, are either self-deluded or charlatans, either a danger to themselves or to the church as a whole.  As long as we accept those who are "like us" as being good enough because we view Christianity as a cultural/political feud to be won, rather than a call to self-sacrificially serve the Kingdom of God that must be obeyed, we will continue to warp Christianity into something which is was never intended to be, with disastrous consequences.

Sermon Video: God's Chosen People: Bound together in love - Colossians 3:11-14

Having already told the people of the church at Colossae of the need to "put to death" their earthly nature with all of its vices, now Paul advocates for the virtues that the people of God must embrace as they disavow vice: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  As a precursor to this list, Paul reminds the church that "here", that is, in Christ, all of the distinctions and categories by which people divide themselves into subgroups no longer apply, for "Christ is all, and is in all."
In addition to the need to develop and employ the virtues listed by Paul, a significant challenge, but one God's people can achieve through the Spirit, we are also told of the need to pursue these virtues while at the same time forgiving each other when we fail.  Lastly, and most importantly, is the need to "put on" love over all of these efforts, binding them together and leading to harmony.

*As a bonus, this sermon begins with an illustration about brotherly love drawn from the experience of the 9 members of the Fellowship in Tolkien's LOTR.*

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Our Prayer - Live a Life worthy of the Lord, Colossians 1:9-11

Having already expressed his thanks to God for the good report of the faith, hope, and love evident at the church of Colossae, Paul goes on to share that because he has already heard of God's work among them, he has not stopped praying for them.  As they are people already saved from spiritual death by Christ, for what does Paul pray on their behalf?  That they might live lives worthy of the Lord.  I don't know about you, but that sounds like a monumental task.  And yet, it is within the ability of every disciple of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and as a matter of fact, expected of us.  What characterizes a Christian who pleases the Lord?  Paul lists four things: (1) Bearing fruit through every kind of good work, (2) growing in the knowledge of God, (3) being strengthened by God's power, and (4) having an attitude of gratitude {explained in vs. 12-14}.  We, as God's people, called to repentance by the Holy Spirit, CAN accomplish this by God's power; we can, and we must.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Remain where you are? 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

As a Christian, should you stay where and what you are, assuming it is God's will, or should you seek to change the life you're living to go along with the spiritual change God is working out in each of us?  While acknowledging that every situation is unique, in general Christians are called to be useful to the kingdom of God, where they are now, regardless if change is coming in the future.  God called us to salvation, where and what we were, no matter our background or abilities, teaching us that God saw value in us then, ensuring that we can be useful to God's kingdom right away.  How do I know this?  It took me twelve years to get to the place that I thought God's will was leading me when I graduated from Cornerstone University, through numerous setbacks and much heartache (for my wife Nicole as well), but God had a use for me, even then, teaching alternative education and then after a long wait, being the pastor of the small rural church, the First Baptist of Palo.  In the end, God brought us to Franklin, PA, not at all what I had expected, but clearly the right place for us.

What is God's exact will for your life?  Don't ask me, other than the answer that is the same for us all, making you Christ-like, I don't know.  But I do know this, God wants you to be useful to his kingdom, to serve, here and now.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: The Patience of the Prophets, the Perseverance of Job - James 5:10-11

Suffering and difficulties of every sort are inevitable in this world.  We will all go through them, and those who live by faith will also potentially face persecution because of it.  What then is the response that God requires of his people?  To explain our obligation in the face of suffering, James illustrates the two character qualities we need to develop and employ, patience and perseverance, through the actions of the prophets and Job.  The prophets were given their occupation by God, to be his messengers and speak his words to his people, but were not generally rewarded for being honored by God in this way.  Instead, the prophets were mistreated including imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom.  And yet they employed patience to continue, for decades, to fulfill their obligation to God's people, preaching his message no matter the cost.  This then is our example.  We too must have patience, responding to persecution by continuing in the fruit of the Spirit, not responding to hate with hate, but with love.
Some will endure greater difficulties than others, few will be able to stand alongside Job.  Job lost everything: wealth, family, and health, but steadfastly refused to blame God for his loss.  He persevered, despite the insistence of his friends that his troubles were his own fault, and maintained his character through the worst of times.  And so must we, whatever comes our way we must persevere, holding fast to our faith and maintaining our commitment to righteous living in every circumstance.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Be Patient, until the Lord's Coming - James 5:7-9

In light of the corruption and vice caused by the pursuit of, and attainment of, wealth outlined by James in verses 1-6, he now calls for patience on the part of the people of God.  These injustices will of course be ended when Christ returns, for his disciples the task then is to persevere in faithfulness until that day.  How long must we wait?  The answer is unknowable, Abraham's promise that all nations would be blessed through him was about 2,000 years in its fulfillment through Jesus, the return of Christ could be tomorrow or it could be 10,000 years from now.  When he will return is not our concern, we know that he will.  We also know that it is the mercy and love of God which delays this promised return, allowing more time for the ranks of those redeemed by the blood of the lamb to swell ever more full.
In the end, we must simply stand firm, fulfill our mission as a Church, working together for the sake of the Gospel.  He will one day return, for now, we need to be about his business, patiently.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Always pray and don't give up - Luke 18:1-8

In this passage, Jesus utilizes a parable about a widow seeking justice from a corrupt judge to illustrate the value of persistence and the need for ongoing prayer by comparing her difficult journey to finding justice to our close relationship with him who is our Judge, our Heavenly Father.  The widow struggled to find justice and only found it by wearing the corrupt judge down, but our Father is eager to send mercy and justice to his people, his "chosen ones", which transforms our prayers from acts of badgering to acts of obedience.  God is not pestered by our persistence in prayer, he is pleased by it.  When we pray, we take yet another small step of faith, certainly not a leap, for we know of God's goodness and mercy and every reason to expect that he will answer.
So we must continue to pray, and we must remain faithful.  That requirement does not belittle the pain and suffering of those who must wait for an answer to prayer, nor those for whom the answer from God turns our to be "no".

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Clash of Clans, sub-prime mortgages, and Dave Ramsey

Stay with me for a minute as I explain why a game that I play on my iphone is connected in my mind to the financial meltdown that happened in America nearly a decade ago and the financial guy from the radio.  For most of the free apps that people play on phones or tablets, the way in which they make money is to get you to purchase the ability to speed things up.  Clash of Clans is much the same, in it you build castle walls to defend your settlement and raise armies to attack the castles of other players.  Each task has a countdown timer ranging from a few seconds for small tasks to several days for the large ones.  If you have the patience to wait for the timer to run its course, the game is entirely free, but if you can't wait that long and want to speed it up, the game makers are more than happy to sell you that ability.
I was re-reading Niall Ferguson's The Ascent of Money this week, it is a brilliant primer on the history of finance, much like all of his books, and it contains a chapter on home ownership that among other things, explains the debacle of the sub-prime mortgage crisis that engulfed the American housing market during the mid 2000's.  That crisis was, in part, the result of people not being willing to wait until they were financially sound enough to afford a traditional long-term fixed mortgage, or not being willing to wait to save up money for other purposes but instead choosing to utilize the equity in their home by re-financing to give themselves money but at the cost of taking on a mortgage whose terms were certainly not sound in the long-term.
Both of these situations revolve around patience, a virtue that I'm sure has been in short supply throughout history, but also one that seems to be more difficult to uphold in a society that offers so many ways to try to get around having to develop patience.  All of this reminds me of the mantra repeated over and over by Dave Ramsey on his radio program that debt is the enemy and to be avoided at all cost.  Ramsey often tells people, for example, not to take out a loan for a car but instead to save up the cash needed to pay for it outright.  This sort of delayed gratification is of course hard to do, ensuring that short-term gain will always look good to those unwilling to invest in their own future.
This same discussion about patience could be applied to how we take care of ourselves, how we eat and whether or not we regularly exercise, and certainly it applies to our political choices because politicians are consistently going to tell the public what they want to hear now in order to get elected instead of what they need to hear about the future.
As we begin Holy Week, the virtue of patience and long-term investment is necessary for all those who plan on attending church on Easter to fulfill their Christmas-Easter twice a year obligation.  Being a Christian is hard work, it takes dedication and commitment, it takes regular participation, it takes more than being in the house of God twice a year.
If you want to spend $5 to speed up that game on your tablet, go ahead, but when it comes to the important things in life, there's a reason why patience is a virtue.

A marriage built on ecumenical goodwill - Our marriage highlighted in local newspaper article.

I was asked by our local religion reporter for the combined newspaper, The Derrick & The News Herald, Curtis Hanna, if he could write a story about my marriage as a Baptist pastor to my wife Nicole, a devout Roman Catholic.  Because ecumenism is such a big part of my ministry here, I was happy to have this part of our life known.  The resulting story is linked in pdf form to this posting, thanks to all the people who have supported us over the years, and glory to God for his goodness to us.

Article page 1

Article page 2

Article page 3

Article page 4

I've written about my marriage to Nicole in lots of other posts, simply click on the tag "my wife Nicole" in the tag list at the right of the homepage of my blog to view them all.  I've also written often about the experience of this ministry, under the tag "being a pastor".

When God's "No" is a lot smarter than your "yes"

I'm working on part 2 of the Hannah 3 part sermon series that started last week and I just asked the question, "Could God have answered Hannah's prayer even if the answer was 'no'?"  The question came to me in the writing process, so I went with it, and came up with a clear yes to my own question.  God often times answers our prayers by not answering them.  That may seem like a paradox, but it isn't.  The truth is that we often times have very little perspective about our own lives; we can't see the future, we don't know the consequences of our decisions.  As such, how could a loving God who does know these things, give us what we pray for when the result would make things worse? 
That may not make your heartache our worry go away as you continue to pray about something that seems like a no-brainer, but perhaps it will comfort you a little to know that God does indeed hear your prayer, even if the answer is "no" or "not now".
This principle has proven itself numerous times in my life.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait during several rough years of hoping for the help-mate that I wanted in life; it wasn't until several years later that I met my Nicole.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait, again for several years, as I hoped for a ministry opportunity.  He first answered that prayer with the people of Palo, and then, in good time, moved us here to Franklin.  In both cases, I would have wanted to move faster, God wanted me to be useful when I got where I was going.  If I had gotten my way in either case, where would I be now?  I don't know, but I'm here now, doing the will of God and continuing to rely upon the power of prayer.
So why did God answer Hannah's prayer?  For the same reason that he closed her womb in the first place: to bring glory to him name and to bless his people.  You see, Hannah's son, who by her own desperate vow, would spend his life in service to the LORD, would go on to become one of the nation's most important prophets/judges.  How did Samuel end up as a hero of the faith?  God told his mother "not yet".
The next time you feel like giving up on your prayers, like God isn't listening or just doesn't care, consider this: God knows the end from the beginning, he loves the whole world, and he is answering your prayer even if the answer isn't what you want to hear.

Joseph: The all grown-up version

The story of Joseph is one of those that kids raised in the Church learned about early on.  We were told about his coat, his dreams, his brother's jealousy, his time in prison, and his eventual triumph and reunion with his family.  What strikes me as I prepare a series of sermons on Joseph is how brutal the life he lived must have been at times.  Not only was he betrayed by his own brothers and nearly killed, but he spent YEARS as a slave.  When things finally looked like they were turning for the better, Joseph found himself in prison for YEARS.  I don't know about you, but suddenly Joseph doesn't seem like a safe Sunday school story anymore.  There must have been huge swings in his emotions, from fear to rage, from fragile hope to crushing doubt.  How on earth did Joseph remain a man who followed the LORD through all of this?  My faith is strong, but is it that strong?  How would I react to betrayal by my own family, to loss of my freedom, and to years of waiting for things to get better?  The Old Testament saints may make for interesting Disney-style stories for children, but I have to look long and hard to find one of them I'd switch places with.  The next time you feel like looking down at the mistakes of the men and women of Scripture (and there certainly are plenty to point out), make sure you real the whole story with your eyes open first.

"In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD." I Samuel 1:10

If you're like me, you love verses like this.  That the Bible contains such revealing texts makes it all the more of a blessing.  It is obvious that the Bible wasn't written by people who were trying to put God in a positive light because it contains so many hard truths and candid moments.
What was the reason for Hannah's bitter weeping?  The LORD had closed her womb and prevented her from having children (a serious shame in her society).  Our Bible study group was studying James this past week and talking about the difference between a test that comes from the Lord and a temptation that does not (it comes from ourselves; see James 1:2 and 1:13-14).  This is clearly an instance where God put Hannah to the test and she passes with flying colors.
Wait a minute, Hannah was bitter when she prayed to God, doesn't that show that she failed to trust in him??  Not at all, Hannah is a great example to us all because she earnestly prayed to the LORD despite her prior disappointments and bitterness.  Even though her prayers had gone seemingly unanswered for "year after year" (1:3), she simply continued to pray to the Lord.
Does that mean that our prayers will always be answered the way we want them to be if we keep on nagging God with prayer?  Of course not, but our willingness to continue to pray even when things are not going our way is how our faith develops and becomes perseverance and wisdom.  We may never receive the answer to prayer that we want, but God will certainly hear us when our hearts honestly pour out to him, as Hannah told Eli, "I was pouring out my soul to the LORD." (1:15).
Why did God put Hannah to the test?  Not to try to uncover the mind of God, but two reasons seem be clear enough.  #1, God knew that Hannah was capable of passing the test and #2 God knew how important the child she would dedicate to serve the LORD, Samuel, would later become.  By the way, God blessed Hannah over and above the maturity that she received through her patience and persistence (2:21); that's just the way God is, he loves giving gifts to those who serve him.

Praise to God, gratitude to many others.

As he would have even if the answer from Franklin has been "no", God deserves my praise.  Job knew that the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; in my years of waiting the same lesson has been learned.  Not that my situation compares in any way to the suffering of Job.  I've had two jobs during this waiting period and a loving, if weary of waiting, wife at my side (instead of Job's less than helpful grief stricken wife).  In the end, God deserves praise because the will of the Lord is that we prosper and grow in our spiritual transformation process of becoming Christ-like.  For some, God blesses them to cause growth, for others, he sends trials and tribulations, and for a few, he simply tells them to wait.
Now that our prayers for direction have been answered (and a new avenue of prayer for this new ministry begins), Nicole and I have a mountain of thanks to spread out to our supporters that begins with our families, extends to our friends and my former church family at Galilee, and ends with my church family at Palo.  All have been what we needed from time to time.  Some have offered regular prayer, even on days that I found it hard to pray.  Some have offered words of encouragement, even on days when I felt stuck in a rut. 
From the beginning, the wonderful people at Palo have been understanding of my search process.  I came to them out of the blue, as it were, five years ago and grew to love the people, the old stone building, and the chance to preach God's Word each week.  I'll take with me my fond memories of Sunday school with Marjorie, Joy, Linda, and Jimmie; I'll chuckle at memories of Tony telling me whether or not a new iworship song was a keeper, and Wilma interrupting the service anytime she needed to let everyone know about the news from Camp Lake Louise.  I'll remember the quiet way in which Bruce was the board chairman, and the diligent way in which Sue kept the bulletin and newsletter in shape.  I'll miss Marion telling me thank you for helping her up off of the chair lift, and Sue's infectious enthusiasm for the school at Palo.  That's the tip of the iceberg.
Lastly, I need to thank my wife.  I promised her before we were married ten and a half years ago that I would support her and ease the burden she was lifting when I was able to secure a full-time job.  I imagined as a worse case scenario that it would take two years.  When I began teaching at Portland I thought it would only add a year to her wait, it ended up being nine.  There were plenty of times that all the words I had to offer her rang hollow, times that all I could do was hold her as she wept and express my regret.  What can a husband say when he sees his wife's health deteriorate through over-work and he is powerless to work more because the job offers aren't coming?  The one thing that I could say, the same thing I've told her every day of our marriage, I love you Nicole; always and forever.
Thank you Lord for answering our prayers, thank you all for helping lift them up to his throne, thank you Nicole for believing in me.

A new ministry, a new beginning

On December 4th of this year, Nicole and I will be in Franlin PA where I will be preaching at the First Baptist Church of Franklin.  After the service the members of the church will be voting on whether or not to call me as their next pastor.  As many of you know, Nicole and I have been looking for a full-time ministry position for several years.  I love my church at Palo, and have had a wonderful ministry experience there, but in the end, I need to be a full-time minister.  For the past nine years I've been teaching alternative education in Porltand, but it is time to move on.  Earlier this year it was hoped that I could become a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Army and stay with my current ministry.  When that fell through, another path was needed.  We've had several churches that I've talked to that seemed to be the proper fit, only to have them choose someone else.  Finally, after speaking with members of the search committee in Franklin, and going down there to preach at a nearby church last weekend, it appears that our prayers (and those of many others to whom I owe a debt of gratitude) have been answered.
It is not a move without its challenges.  It will pain us to leave the family and friends that we've found at First Baptist of Palo, the Cathedral of St. Andrew, and here in Saranac as well.  It will be difficult to be a sizeable distance away from our families, and I will certainly miss the weekly basketball game that has been a part of my life for the past twenty years (that leaves you, Russ, as the only one of us left from those youthful days).  I will be accepting a major responsibility and a significant task in the ministry in Franklin, but for the first time in my life, I will be able to concentrate all of my working time and effort in one place.  For that reason, and many others as well, it is time for me to move on to a new challenge in my calling as a minister of the Word of God.
This blog will continue, as will Nicole's, and we'll continue to return to Michigan on a regular basis for holidays and vacations.  Our hearts will remain here, at least in part.
God bless you all for your support, it has meant so much to me when disappointments have wrecked so many of the plans I had hoped to lay out.  In the end, God is good, he had a plan for us, and we will continue to serve him who saved us from darkness and brought us into his wonderful light.

Sermon Video: "clothe yourselves with compassion" Colossians 3:12-14

How does a Christian become Christ-like?  What do we need to do to imitate our Savior and set our minds on 'things above"?  Paul offers us the strategy of developing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  As we work on building these character traits, we also need to learn to forgive each other as God forgave us.  In addition, the glue that holds this process together is love.  Love binds us together and love makes our transformation into a holy people possible.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

The real reason why writing a sermon each week is hard.

Some of you may think that writing a sermon each week would be hard because you find writing to be a difficult process.  For some people it certainly is, but that isn't what trips me up.  For others, it could be the prospect of having something fresh and insightful to say each week, but God's Word has so much more to say than I can possibly fit into a weekly sermon that it isn't really hard to find enough to say each week.  The reason why writing and delivering a sermon each week is difficult is because you need to have your mind/heart/spirit in the right place in order to do the work.  I can mow the lawn when I'm distracted or even upset, but I can't write what God has for his people from Scripture if I'm either of those.  A lot of the things that I have to do each week can be done regardless of what else is going on, but writing a sermon isn't one of them.  There have been times when I simply have to walk away from the effort for the rest of a day in order to come back again when things are sorted out.  Today I wrote the first page of my message for this week, but when I got to the phrase, "set your hearts on things above" (Colossians 3:1), I had to admit to myself that there were too many other things intruding on my thoughts to continue.  I'll come back and write some more of it tomorrow; hopefully.  As always, the hardest thing about writing a sermon each week is being ready in your own mind/heart/spirit to hear it from God's Word.