New Sermon Series

I’m very excited about a brand-new sermon series we’re calling "Why We Believe, What We Believe." It begins this Sunday, October 4th. This doesn’t mean we are done with John, its just that we’ll be done with John until sometime next year. John is an awesome study and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed preaching through it. We’ll […]

On Moms and Mother’s Day

It was Mother’s Day last year that God brought me to Gages Lake Bible Church. I preached my candidating message and was blessed to have my mother and my mother-in-law (all the way from Texas–she refuses to miss a single big moment of our lives). I shared a message from the life of Hannah, whose […]

Let’s Remember That We Are Christians

Over the last few days I’ve received a plethora of emails and forwarded emails about President Obama and his policies. They are from friends who are rightly concerned with the direction our country is taking. Like many Christians, I’m concerned about his policies. I’m troubled by the excessive spending and what it means for future […]

Personal Project Updates

 Its been a while since I updated everyone on some projects I am working on, so here we go: Crash Course, Forming a Faith Foundation for Life – This is my second teen devotional. Like Teen People of the Bible, it will be a 100-day devotional. Crash Course is geared for jr high and high-school […]

Choosing Our Heroes

 There are a few stories swirling around in the culture, especially the Christian culture that raise a whole host of issues about who and how we as as evangelicals choose to represent our values. The stories about Sarah Palin’s family and the ever-shifting tempest over Miss California raise a whole host of issues. A few […]

Hang on a Second, Whoopi

Somehow I got suckered into viewing a small video clip of "The View," that famous forum for conversations centered around Biblical truth. I’m kidding. These women were discussing religion. Apparently the Vatican has released a list of new sins. Whoopi Goldberg started out by saying, "How can the Vatican decided what is a sin? How […]

The Church Is Not Lame

I just finished a powerful, powerful book by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. I read a ton of books. Sometimes I read books that I can’t wait to recommend. This is one. I am a big fan of the church, amidst a growing evangelical culture that is pooh-poohing the church. Every other day there is […]

Bulls-Celtics and Me

Okay, if you hate watching sports like my wife does, then you don’t have to keep reading. But I had to talk about the incredible first-round NBA series between the defending champion Boston Celtics and my hometown Chicago Bulls.  Now I have to say that the last time I enjoyed an NBA game this much, […]

Darwin and Lincoln and Faith

Today the world is celebrating two giants of history: Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. There have been many great commentaries on both men. I’ll start with Darwin. If you want a convenient excuse to ignore the truth claims of Jesus and render the Bible as nothing more significant and factual than The Canterbury Tales, then […]