pastor's blog

The Bread of Life

Dear Church Family, Over the years, I have received questions about the kind of bread that ought to be used in communion. Specifically, should the bread that we use be leavened or unleavened? By way of a brief explanation, it should be noted that whether the bread in the Lord’s

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I Observe that You are Religious in All Respects

Dear Church Family, In Sunday school this past week, we were discussing how pagans have sought to divine the will of God as recorded in Scripture. One of those uses was “teraphim.” This Hebrew word is usually translated in the Bible as “household idols” or “household gods” (e.g., Genesis 31:19; 2

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Remembering 9/11 & the Sovereignty of God

Dear Church Family, Dear Church Family, Remembering 9/11 This past weekend marked the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It’s one of those days in the history of our country of which people ask, “Where were you when it happened?” For me, I was a chaplain

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Seeking Wisdom: God’s Program of Guidance

Dear Church Family, This coming Sunday, September 12th, at 9:15 am, we begin a new Sunday school series entitled, “Seeking Wisdom: God’s Program of Guidance.” I hope you will join us for this informative study as we learn important principles for biblical decision-making. This study will be of benefit to

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Phase Two: Building Infrastructure

Dear Church Family, Earlier this year, I shared with you the general framework for our church-planting strategy at Hill Country Church (PCA). Basically, this strategy is a plan for a path to move from a “mission church” to a “particularized church” and is comprised of three phases: establishing membership, building

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The Spittle of Christ

Dear Church Family, Earlier this week, elders of our church visited an ill member of our congregation, anointing him with oil and praying that the Lord would heal him. Some may wonder about this practice. What’s the purpose? Is it biblical? How is this practice different from the Roman Catholic

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Seed, Land, and the Gospel

Dear Church Family, In our last two sermons from Genesis, chapter 21, we examined how the New Testament interprets and applies God’s promises to Abraham concerning seed (to make him into a great nation) and land (to bring him into the promised land). With respect to the promise of seed

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Cultural Commonality & Spiritual Antithesis

In our most recent sermon this past Sunday from Genesis 20:1-18, we observed how the Abimelech, the pagan king of Gerar had a healthy fear of God. Conversely – and ironically – Abraham, the blessing-bearer, did not fear God; he feared men. In the sermon, I sought to explain how Abraham and Abimelech

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Christian Movie Recommendation: In His Image

Dear Church Family, Today marks three weeks week since I arrived at Fort Knox, KY. As I may have mentioned, my responsibilities include being a chaplain for about 650 ROTC cadets while they are here for their “cadet summer training” between their junior and senior years of college. I am

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A Grief Traversed

Dear Church Family, On this Memorial Day, I want to share with you a book recommendation, written by the fiancé of a friend of mine who was killed in Iraq in 2003. When I first received my copy of Letters to Ernie by Michelle Blanco (published in 2016), I began to read

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