Sermon Video: Paul's letter to the Church in Rome - Romans 1:1-7

Thus begins a long journey, a marathon not a sprint, of verse by verse preaching through the letter of Paul to the Church at Rome...In this introduction, Paul mentions some of the themes that he will soon delve deeply into: (1) that the Gospel is for all people, (2) That it requires obedience to the law of God (righteousness), (3) that such obedience is made possible by faith, (4) that the Gospel will glorify God, and finally that (5) those who become the people of God will have been 'called' by God.

The book of Romans is an intellectual and spiritual challenge, but also one that greatly rewards the effort.

Sermon Video: Jesus heals publicly, and prays privately - Mark 1:29-39

 The healing of one man on the Sabbath brings a vast crowd to see Jesus that evening when the Sabbath ended.  Having spent the evening healing many, Jesus gets up early the next morning to go out to a solitary place to pray.  Why?  For the same reasons we need to imitate him: (1) the physical/emotional need of every human being for rest and recuperation, (2) our need for ongoing perspective and balance, and (3) our need for communion with our Heavenly Father.  We, as Christians, need to regularly employ private prayer, hopefully with the bonus of solitude.  While public corporate prayer is a huge part of our worship and the life of the Church, that does not end our obligation.  Each Christian should approach the Father in prayer, unburdening our hearts and minds, seeking guidance and wisdom, and maintaining our sense of a family connection to God.  With the way that 2020 has gone thus far, don't you need some time for solitary prayer?

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Run to get the prize - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

There are few metaphors I feel more at home with in the Bible than when Paul compares our Christian journey to running a race.  What does it take to have a shot to win a race?  Certainly hard work, but also a plentiful measure of God-given talent.  In the spiritual realm, hard work and dedication are also required, but significantly, there can be many "winners" among those willing to serve the kingdom of God.  As a warning to finish out the metaphor, Paul reminds us that we cannot risk being "disqualified" from our race through immorality.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Good habits, running, and going to church

As a pastor, I have spoken with people more times than I can possibly remember about their need to regularly be a part of the services (on whatever day they are able to attend) of a local church where they can worship, pray, and hear from the Word of God along with fellow disciples of Jesus Christ.  I am, unabashedly, willing to encourage people to attend a church that is not my own church, nor even of my denomination, if it means they'll actually do it.  Long story short, I'm a fan of people being in church as often as possible (recognizing the difficulty of work schedules, family obligations, health, and mobility constraints).

Let me share an analogy that has been on my mind of late.  This past December I went for a short, 4 mile run prior to our Christmas Eve service.  During the course of 2018 I had completed my third Oil Creek 100 50k, had logged about 700 miles, and had achieved multiple PR's (personal records) since moving to PA in 2012 {in other words, ones that ignore my times as a runner in HS and college} in both the 10k and half-marathon distance.  It was a great year of running, my best since my early 20's, and it came to a close on Christmas Eve with sharp hip pain.  I had been experiencing hip discomfort for some time, but such things are a part of the runner's experience; this was different.  On Christmas day walking up and down the stairs of our home was rather painful.  I waited a week, tried to run about three miles, only to have the pain flair up again.  Another week resting the injury, another easy attempt to run, and the pain persisted.  January, from a training perspective, was a complete bust.  It ended with a trip to the doctor and a pair of shots (one in each hip, the left was the worst but the right was problematic too).  Now, as mid-February approaches, more than six weeks after having to bring my running to an abrupt halt, there may be light at the end of the tunnel, or I may be in for a longer period on the sidelines if the pain returns as I slowly bring running back into my routine.

What has this to do with attending church?  Running is good for my mental health.  It certainly boosts my physical health, no doubt about that, but when I don't get a chance to get outdoors (especially on our amazing local trails in Oil Creek State Park) and spend one to three hours (sometimes as many as five or six), two to three times per week, running, things start to get out of whack.  And while you might think the idea of spending a couple hours in the woods running 10-20 miles is crazy, to me it is awesome.  Not running, day after day, and now week after week, wears on me.

Here's the thing, as much as I love running (or basketball or hockey), they are nothing compared to the benefits to being among the people of God on a regular basis.  As much as I enjoy and need to exercise, I need to worship, pray, and study the Word of God among the people of God far more; and so do you.  We all need to be a part of the community of believers, we all need a chance to serve others, and a chance to receive the help of others in turn.  Christianity is not a solo pursuit, it is not the ER to be visited only in times of crisis.  Healthy habits are imperative, in the spiritual realm as much as the mental and physical.  "I spend time with God by myself" and "I pray" or "I read the Bible", while good and necessary things for those who would be called a disciple of Jesus, are not and cannot be the same as doing those same thing among a community of believers bond together by a common purpose and a common service to the Lord.

I have a 30k on the books for May, and a half-marathon the week after that.  I don't know how my training will go between now and then, but I do know that choosing to not run, if/when I can, is not an option.  Lord willing, I'll be back running the trails soon.


Hebrews 10:23-25 New International Version (NIV)
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Sermon Video: Finish the Race - Acts 20:13-24

Of all of Paul's metaphors to describe what it is like to be a Christian, running a race is of course my favorite.  In his farewell address to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Paul speaks of his efforts as a missionary in Asia minor and Greece, recounting how he conducted himself with integrity, and carrying out his God-given mission of sharing the truth of the Gospel proclamation of the need of all mankind of repentance and faith.  Paul contends that he has finished his "race", and offers up to us the encouragement that we can likewise fulfill our role in the kingdom of God and finish our own race.

Throughout the message are sprinkled references to my running of the Oil Creek Trails 100's 50k race in October of 2015, a difficult 31 mile race that became brutal for me due to dehydration.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Josiah - Triumph and Tragedy - 2 Chronicles 35

Having come to the throne at the age of 8, King Josiah had already achieved what would for many people be a lifetime of accomplishments by the age of 26.  In the 18th year of his reign, having repaired the temple, Josiah imitated his great-grandfather Hezekiah by properly renewing the celebration of the Passover.  Through personal sacrifice and bold leadership, Josiah and the people of Judah (along with the remnant of Israel) celebrate the Passover with such vigor and zeal that it becomes the greatest such celebration since the days of the prophet Samuel.  For Josiah, this victory is yet another triumph.
The Chronicles doesn't mention any other events of Josiah's reign until the 31st year of his reign when Josiah is 39.  In that year, King Neco of Egypt seeks to bring his army north alongside/through the territory of Judah in order to attack the Babylonians.  The ongoing struggle between Egypt and the Assyrians/Babylonians/Persians was always something that threatened to engulf the Jewish kingdom(s) as they sat astride the north/south route.  As Neco's army approaches, Josiah has but two choices: (1) stay out of the fight and hope neutrality is respected, and (2) pick a side.  We're not told that Josiah consulted the LORD for advice, perhaps in his mind his duty was clear.  Josiah chooses to resist Neco and fights against him, but is mortally wounded in the battle and dies soon after.  In the end, Josiah lived an extremely faithful and purposeful life, but also one shortened by the tragedy of early death.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

A lesson learned from the victories and defeats of running

I'm sure I lost some potential readers already when they saw the title and realized this is about running, perhaps I gained a few to even them out who wouldn't have read this otherwise.  For those who don't know me personally, I was a competitive runner in high school, making it to the state finals my senior year with a best time of 16:54 (5k), and a somewhat competitive runner in college at Cornerstone University, where I was never quit able to make my goal of 28:30 (8k) in order to be an Academic All-American.  Having worn my knees down to a nub, running became an occasional thing for me after college until we moved here to Franklin, PA.  For fifteen years after college I had played basketball each week with the same group of guys, my primary exercise during that period.  When we moved here, I looked for a competitive and enjoyable basketball game to join, to no avail.  So I took up bike riding, knowing that it would be easier on my knees and knowing that we have excellent trails here along the river.  Unfortunately, my back was not a fan of this plan, it made a hard workout on a bike enough of a pain that it was no longer enjoyable.  Which brought back running.  About four years ago I received custom orthodics (would have saved me a ton of pain in HS and college) which alleviated much of my knee pain which I had for years endured as "normal".  Why not take up serious running again?
That first year I lost 20 pounds, almost down to my old college weight, the goal I'm inching closer to.  I also ran in the Applefest 5k, proving to myself that my old sub-20 times were going to be well out of reach without some serious hard work.  The second year of running saw my 5k time fall to 20:11, good enough for 1st place in my age division, which was (gulp) now 40-45.  I also tried something I had never attempted before, a 50k (that's 31 miles).  And not just any 50k, the OC100 held at Oil Creek State Park along the Gerrard Hiking Trail.  This "trail" is a rock and root strewn obstacle course with about a dozen significant hills along its huge loop amount to many, many feet of elevation gain during the race.  I had trained for the race, to an extent, and went out at a blistering 9:30 pace for the first 12 miles, good enough for 9th at that point (remember the hills, road race comparison times are not valid here).  And then the dehydration hit me, hard, I finished the race barely able to walk at 6 hours, 40 minutes, a brutally slow pace to finish the race, with about two dozen people passing me.  It was frustrating, a hard lesson learned about hydration.
Which brings me to the lesson I learned these past couple of weeks.  Beginning this past January I decided to run more than ever before, using my new Garmin watch to gauge my progress.  I ran while the snow was still on the ground, excited about trying the 50k again this year.  And then I didn't get in.  The available spots fill up very rapidly, dozens of people missing out on a spot.  So I decided to try to find my speed again and focus on my 5k goal this year.  I trained harder, and more consistently than even in my college days, confident that my sub 20 goal would be easily reached.  June brought a calf injury, slowing my progress.
When the Applefest 5k rolled around I had a plan, at the turn (1/2 point) I was at 10:05, only five seconds off my pace, well within striking distance.  But it didn't happen, my legs just didn't have more speed in them that day; I finished 2nd in my age group this time, a disappointing 21:07; slower, than last year, despite at least three times as much training and hard work.  I tried again at another race this the next weekend, only to turn in a 21:11.  It was frustrating to say the least.
I had set a goal, one that felt realistic, worked extremely diligently toward it, only to come up short.
What then is the lesson?  It could easily be that a 41 year old is not as fast as he was when he was 18, but we all new that already.  What I learned from running came during two of my training runs out at Oil Creek on those rugged trails.  I had missed out on the 50k this year, a real bummer, but still ran out there some because of the beauty of running through those rugged wooded hills.
The course I was running is an out and back from the bottom of the hill (a serious hill) at Petroleum Center to the campsite at Cow Run and back.  My previous best on that course, last year, had been about 1:39.  Last month I decided to see how fast I could do it, and went much harder than before, finishing at 1:29:40 (an 8:54 pace).  I was certainly happy with this significant improvement, but following my dual disappointments at the 5k distance, I gave it another shot two days ago, this time 1:26:03 (and 8:24 pace).  It was an amazing feeling, watching my old personal record fall by 10 minutes, and then taking another nearly 4 minutes off of that.  Next year, maybe I'll be able to get it down to 1:20.
What did I learn, something akin to that quote about the best laid plans of mice and men.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could be "fast" again, at least for 40+, no such luck.  But that didn't mean I couldn't achieve a goal, I just needed to search for another one, one without the crowds or awards of an official 5k, just me, the woods, and my Garmin.  Don't give up, even if your goal remains inches out of your reach; search for another.  Find something else you can achieve, keep trying.  God has given me some ability as a runner, I intend to continue to find ways to put it to productive use.

Run "the race marked out for us" - Hebrews 12:1

One of the first things that cross-country runners (both high school and college) do when they arrive at a meet is to run the course.  I know, some of you are thinking, "run BEFORE you race?"  I can't say that I was overly fond of these warm-up runs but they served an important purpose.  Not only did they get our bodies ready for the intensity of the race, but they allowed us to see the actual course itself.  It isn't that necessary to study the course if you plan on trailing the main pack, you can just follow them.  But, if you plan on trying to lead the pack you'd better know which way to go.  In most cases, there are clues already on the course (usually a white painted line in the grass and colored flags at corners and turns), and most of the time we were provided with crude maps detailing the course, but you don't want to come to a crossroad at full speed and have to decide which way to go on the fly.  When I was in H.S. it was customary for members of the home team to guide the visitors through the course and explain any unusual twists or turns.
How does any of this apply to what Hebrews is telling us about running the race of Christian faith?  We have a "great cloud of witnesses", the heroes of the faith from chapter 11, to show us the path that we should follow, and we have contemporary heroes in the faith who we can look to for inspiration and guidance (in my life, my grandmother, Pastor Frank, Andy Smith, Dr. Mayers, my dad, and many others).  We also have an amazing guidebook in God's Word to help us through the unexpected twists and turns of life.
This may all seem a bit dramatic but an example from my days in the middle school cross-country team applies here.  We were running at Central Montcalm (a big race where we ran only against our own grade instead of 7th and 8th together) and one of my teammates, now the wife of a good friend and fellow basketball player, shot out of the starting line to an early lead.  This was somewhat unusual for her, but on this day she was clearly leading the race.  There was only one problem with this scenario, she didn't know where she was going.  When she came to a crossroad in the course she went the wrong way and EVERYONE in the pack followed her.  The race officials scrambled to figure out where to direct the pack to try to get them to run a distance close to what was intended.  In the end her mistake was simply a humorous story because it was just a middle school race and not a life changing decision.

If you want to run the race of faith from the front of the pack, you'd better pay attention to course that has been marked out for you.

What I Learned from Running

There are always a few things that a married couple do not have in common. I've taken Nicole to the Opera, but I certainly don't share that interest. Nicole has taken me to sporting events (the Verlander no-hitter one Anniversary, and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals {Go Wings!!} this year), but she really isn't interested in sports. Another passion of mine that doesn't make any sense to Nicole is running. Her theory is, if something isn't chasing me, why am I running?

I started running when I was in the 7th grade; I played football in 5th and 6th grade; but I was one of the shortest, and easily the skinniest kid in my grade; naturally, I turned to cross-country. I eventually came to love the idea of competing man vs. man in a test of endurance and will. I know I wasn't the fastest guy on the course, but I also knew that it was entirely up to me how hard I was willing to run, whether or not I was willing to outwork the guy running next to me. There's just something about the purity of that sort of competition that appeals to me.

So why do I run now? After running for Cornerstone University my knees were more or less shot and I've never been able to run enough to compete at a high level since. So why do I keep running? Even without the competition against someone else, there's still the self-discipline that comes from pushing yourself against whatever you can achieve, pushing up that next hill, finishing a run with a solid kick at the end.

I never run in town; lots of people do, but I don't. I run out in nature, on grass or dirt, among the trees; that's another thing that running does for me, let's me reconnect with the peace and quiet that our world lacks these days.

Anyone else see how this applies to my blog on my ministry? That same self-discipline that I need and draw upon when I run is so very necessary in both my private and public life. Marriage is a test of running the race (not sprinting, putting in the miles), it's too easy to take
the easy way out, but that's why we need to discipline ourselves.

Is it any wonder that when Paul was seeking to justify his ministry he said, "I have run the race"; it's time we as Christians started running the race like people who want to win it.