It seems that tornadoes are just part of living in Alabama. I have lived in Alabama my entire life and can remember practicing tornado drills at school and home from the time I was very young. A few weeks ago another potentially tornado-producing line of storms swept through our state. And so our family did as we always do in those times: we faithfully stayed tuned in to the world’s greatest wea...  Read More

One of my greatest joys in ministry is working with our Deacons at Grace! You talk about some servant-minded people! Not only are they servant-minded, but they serve a specific purpose in the organizational structure of Grace.Our “one-pager” or “job description” for Deacons includes the following sentences: Deacons are servants and leaders of ministries who support the work of the church and the E...  Read More

The last recorded event of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry in the Gospel of John is a conversation between Jesus and Peter. After Peter has just been restored from his three-fold denial of Jesus he immediately turns the conversation toward another disciple (presumably John). John 21:20-22 records what happens next:“Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who als...  Read More

In my preparation for my sermon on pride I came across a verse from the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” with which I was unfamiliar. Its focus points forward to what followers of Christ can anticipate upon crossing over into eternity:On that day when free from sinning, I shall see thy lovely face!Full arrayed in blood-washed linen, how I’ll sing they sovereign grace!Come, my Lord! No long...  Read More

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” – Hebr...  Read More

I recently watched the old movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with my kids. In case you’ve never seen it, the kids in the movie have a wacky scientist dad whose latest invention accidentally shrinks them down to microscopic size. When they are unintentionally thrown out with the trash and must navigate their way across the yard, they encounter all sorts of “trials of various kinds” (cf. James 1:2), fr...  Read More