Pastors, let us remember that the grift from the right and from left are equally damaging. Both promise us large crowds by leveraging politics at the expense of grace centered faithfulness.
May we be faithful, whatever the cost.
Currently reading: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter A Cosmere Novel by Brandon Sanderson 📚
Starting the next read. I am enjoying Sanderson so much!
That moment when you realize that you didn’t turn on the mic for your last recording and got a cruddy phone recording instead.
Also? That moment when you realize you need to be sure to do post production on your audio recording.
Pastor life is not always what I thought it would be. 😅
The defense being played by Team USA in the WBC is unreal.
These guys are laying out for everything.
Goodness. ⚾️
Finished reading: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson 📚
Another fun read from Sanderson. It’s not a Cosmere novel. It’s lighthearted and has a bit of a Terry Pratchett feel to it. I really enjoyed it!
I am very excited about this addition to the micro.blog suite! The potential is pretty great.
Inkwell the RSS app from Micro.blog
Great work, @manton@manton.org
I am preparing to preach Amos after Easter. I’ve never more excited or intimidated to preach a text.
The Loving Father's Wide Grace
To hear the full unabridged message listen here: Parables for the Long Way Home - The Loving Father’s Wide Grace
As we continue our journey through Lent, wandering toward the resurrection, there is one story I haven’t been able to escape. It’s a parable that seems to creep into almost every sermon I preach, regardless of the text. It’s the story many of us know as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son," but the more I sit with it, the more I’ve fallen in love with a different title: The Parable of the Loving Father.
Found in Luke 15:11-32, this story is a cornerstone of our cultural consciousness. We use the word “prodigal” to describe anyone who wanders away and eventually returns with their tail between their legs. But if we look closer at the cultural context and the second half of the story, we find that Jesus wasn’t just talking about reckless rebels—He was talking to the “good people” standing in the room.
Amy and I are enjoying our brief get away to Iowa City to spend some time with Ethan. We hiked Indiana State Dunes yesterday and Lake MacBride North Shore today.
1.4 Flexibility - Faith that Bends Without Breaking
About This Episode
In this episode, I’m digging into something I’ve been thinking a lot about in my own physical fitness: flexibility. We often talk about building “strength” in our faith, but strength without the ability to bend leads to injury. If our spiritual muscles are rigid, they’re going to tear when life gets heavy.
I want to talk to you about the difference between a rigid faith and a resilient one. Whether you’re wrestling with questions, feeling the weight of “certainty,” or unlearning things you were taught as a child, I want you to know that a faith that stretches isn’t a faith that’s failing—it’s a faith that’s growing.
I’ve preached the Parable of the Sower more times than I can count.
Turns out I’d been getting it wrong. 😬
Parables for the Long Way Home - Mow the Yard, Miss the Point
For the full unabridged audio: Mow the Yard, Miss the Point
A couple of years ago, I made a commitment — at the very least, I would go for an intentional walk for 15 minutes a day. Not much, but I needed it. I had reached that place in life where I knew I had to start moving, or I was going to lose the ability to. Surely I could walk out my door and around my block. I could do that.
Oh man, @manton, I am loving Inkwell!
Psalm 120 really speaks today.
I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.
Save me, LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush.
Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
Did you know that as an adult you can choose to have breakfast food for any meal of the day?
Wild right?!
#TIL