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The King We Need

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Listen to the unabridged sermon here: Believing is Seeing and Believing is Life - The King We Need

Have you ever listened to a song or hymn that ends on an unresolved note? Unlike many traditional hymns that finish on a bright, major chord leaving you with a sense of simple happiness, certain songs refuse to resolve so easily. There is something profoundly honest about that. While the sacrifice of Christ is finished—once and for all—our daily walk in response to that salvation is ongoing, calling us into something deeper.

That unresolved tension is precisely what we encounter in John 18 and 19. As we trace the events of Jesus’ final night—from his betrayal in the garden to his trial and eventual execution—we come face-to-face with a stark reality: the King we need is rarely the King we want.

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This morning we get to hear from Pastor Joyce Weekly reminding us of the necessity to hold on to our first love through grace, truth, and time. I needed this, this morning.

I’m so grateful that the Midwest Presbytery is taking on pastoral burnout head on. Sean Nemecek of Anchor Ministries is here providing important insight into how to protect against burnout and identify it.

There they are. There we are-the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace. - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?”
  • bell hooks, essayist / critic

This really hits.

As I prepare to preach John 18 & 19 this Sunday, I am blown away by how timely it is for our moment. Particularly, the parallel of the religious leaders in the first century and the religious leaders of today.

“We have no king but Caesar!”

Whew.

Coffee and a laptop at Black Iron Coffee, what kind of trouble can I get up to? Probably more than I should.

I think one of the easiest things to do is critique. It’s a low bar. In what I write, preach, and record I endeavor to state what I am for. When critique is required in that context, I don’t shy away.

I got weary of many who simply complain.

Chart the path forward. Give us a vision of what it looks like for all things to be made new.

2.6 A Faith to Carry Forward

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What does faith look like on the other side of deconstruction? In the season finale of The Pastor Next Door, we explore the characteristics of a mature, resilient faith—one defined not by rigid certainty or heroic arrogance, but by humility, deep love, and a steady hope that holds room for mystery and doubt.

When we let go of the need for easy answers, we discover that what truly survives deconstruction is Christ at the center.

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I know it’s officially fall when I’m in the gym instead of the golf course first thing in the morning. 😂

Unveiled Glory

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For the full unabridged audio listen here: Believing is Seeing and Believing is Life - Unveiled Glory

The world has a pretty fixed idea of what glory looks like. Glory is wealth. Glory is crowns. Glory is military power and self-promotion. We glorify ourselves.

But when Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven in John 17, he pulls back the curtain on the true heart of God. He unveils a glory revealed not in a palace but on a cross — not in self-preservation but in self-giving love, not in worldly dominance but in a united, protected church that reflects the eternal love of the Father and the Son.

Glory, from the perspective of Jesus, is so different from how we think of glory in the world. So let me try to give you a snapshot of what it actually looks like.

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Apparently, I was dreaming about Sunday worship. Woke up thinking it was Sunday. Turned on the coffee pot and was getting ready to do Sunday stuff and then realized today is Saturday. #PastorLife

Watched: The Transformers: The Movie 🍿

Seeing this in the theater again at 50 after seeing it when I was 10 was remarkable. The emotions still hit. The soundtrack still hit.

The Prologue with Peter Cullen? 🔥

The Epilogue? Man. That was redemptive for 10 year old me.