“Proverbs 25:25 “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.”

So, why would I start out this blog posting with this verse? Well, life and ministry have been QUITE full these past two weeks. There have been a lot of extra preparations for additional ministry opportunities that have turned out to be a great blessing and encouragement. No complaints. It’s been a blessing, but life has been beyond full. Well, anyway, I just had a moment to slip out of the office in between meetings to grab something to eat at WAWA. I bumped in to Sam Harbin in the parking lot and we had an impromptu “touch base” meeting on some things. Then he mentioned that his nephew, Nathan Branine, who was a teacher here in our school before moving into the city for a different ministry, has met a girl and is planning on getting married.

That’s great, but it’s not the best part. It turns out that the father of Nathan’s fiancé, a pastor in Massachusetts, told Sam that he’s from Lansdale, of all places, and knew me in high school. Sam remembered the guy’s last name and I guessed the first…this guy was one of the very few committed Christians that had an clear and bold witness for Christ at North Penn back in the day. He and I were quite different in style, since he was one the Jesus People, or as some people called them “Jesus Freeks” and I an independent fundamental Baptist, BUT we both loved the Lord, His Word, and were committed to sharing the gospel. He was a very kind and courageous guy. This all brought back very pleasant memories of us praying together, studying together, and sharing the gospel together in the same fairly hostile environment. I haven’t seen him in what seems like forever, actually 40 yrs. since graduation. So, it was “Like cold water to a weary soul…good news from a distant land.”

See you Sunday, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but I do remember it was sometime in my early elementary school years. I don’t remember the exact occasion, but what I do remember is we were showing a movie in church that was an explicit documentary about the Holocaust. It was titled “Let My People Go.” I really don’t know why I was allowed to watch it, but I still can’t forget those horrifying images of the torture, murder, and suffering of the Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis. It has fascinated and moved me ever since. I have visited the Holocaust museums both in Israel and in Washington D.C. I have regularly recommended with enthusiasm to people to visit the museum in Washington. It is an incredibly powerful experience.

So, why all of this Holocaust talk today? I just finished previewing a DVD titled “180″, narrated by Ray Comfort. It is an amazingly powerful presentation connecting the Nazi extermination of Jews, Gypsies, certain Christians, or any type of person they classified as mentally deficient, to the present day “holocaust” of abortion, exterminating children in the womb. It is graphic and powerful. It is clear, direct, honest, compelling, and compassionate. It will rock your world. It rocked mine. It also clearly presents the gospel, as the narrator challenges the people he interviews not only to change their heart and minds about abortion, but also about Christ. I say all that to say this, January 22 is National Right to Life Sunday. I am planning to show this 33 minute presentation in our evening service. You won’t want to miss it. You might want to invite someone to come with you. We won’t have children in the service, but teens on up will be welcome.

Well, I’m going to get back to my studying now, even though I’m still reeling a bit from the DVD. See you Sunday, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

It has been a bit too long since my last entry. While schedules do tend to free up a bit over the holidays, the deadlines and demands of January and February in the life of the church, school, camp and seminary require investing much of the “down time” to catch up and get ready for all that hits right after the holiday. The Lord did give us a sweet time of fellowship with the church family and great times with our own family as well. We got to put some deer in the freezer (although we’re still hunting for a few more!) It was very refreshing and encouraging…but now, back at it with enthusiasm!

So, what will this year bring? Not to sound negative, but most likely almost the same that it brought us last year. The world will continue its course. People, leaders, and nations will do what they’ve always done. AND (I know you’re not supposed to start a sentence with an “and”) God will continue to do, to advance, to accomplish His work in His world, in His church, and in the individual lives of each of His children. WHICH, frankly makes tolerating all of the non-sense, lies, game playing, and all the other delightful things in the news, quite a bit easier to take. There is increasing comfort and encouragement in the truth that “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

In Him,

P. Tim

I’m sure your week has been packed full with activities, deadlines, tasks, meetings, and a party or two. Right now I’m sitting in my office before our Christmas Eve service. Right now everything is quiet and mostly dark. Soon the place will fill with a lot of people, noise, light, excitement, and anticipation for tomorrow. What a great joy it will be to meet together as a church family with many guests from our community, to sing carols, to hear glorious and passionate Christmas music, to focus our attention on the gospel, and to joy in our fellowship around the gospel. Just like Mary “pondered” and “treasured up” all that she saw and heard that first Christmas, we all should take some time to think, really think about God’s great gift to us, to all. Please take some time, even if just a few moments, to stop and consider what Christ has done for you and for your family. Certainly, He will count it precious.

Merry Christmas,

P. Tim

Last week I suggested that you consider the gift of “time” this Christmas season, (It’s actually a great “gift” for every season!) Today I wanted to take that a bit further and make more specific recommendations. One specific gift or use of time that would be a real difference maker (in a positive way) would be setting time aside before the holiday…very soon…to sit with your wife/husband and then your children, or as a single person with your intimate group of friends and share and compare your expectations for the holiday, your concerns about the holiday, and suggestions to make this year’s observance of Christmas better. Doing this first with your spouse without the kids is essential (with the kids is a separate step). Doing this ahead of time when plans are being formed and can be adjusted is essential. Doing this with the permission to be truly honest and candid is essential. Doing this at a time and in a place that encourages conversation is essential.

This may mean you have this conversation over a cup of coffee at Starbucks, soon. It may mean you dedicate a “date night” to talking through these things, before things get moving too quickly, when adjustments to your plans can actually be made. It may mean an extended meal with the whole family to talk about what they liked/didn’t like about last Christmas and how things might be improved this year. It’s not rocket science…You and the people you love finding/taking time in a place and at a time that permits honest conversation about this coming Christmas holiday…soon. It will probably be a little “messy”, but will go a long way to avoid a bigger and hurtful “mess” later.

To our church family…just a reminder that the special service times over the holidays are printed in the bulletin and on that special “Hope has Come” invitation card. I would also encourage each of you to think and pray specifically about how you will give to God during this season. There are many ways, some financial, some in service, but it certainly is something we all should pray about, think about, and plan on doing. It is HIS birth that we are celebrating.

See you Sunday for the all church Christmas program at 10am…Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

As you think about giving appropriate and meaningful gifts to your family and friends, let me suggest one that we tend to forget…the gift of time. Personal, unhurried, uninterrupted, time with your spouse, your children, or your friend. While it wasn’t a Christmas gift, it was a gift that Jesus gave to His disciples.

Mark 6:31-32
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”

While it doesn’t cost money (or at least not a lot of money), it can seem a bit expensive when time is in such short supply on a daily basis, but particularly during the holiday season. The value of time and the value of shared time and personal attention are very high, very precious. If you don’t make specific plans to give the gift of time, it will all be gone before you know it. So, just a friendly suggestion…give some thought to giving the gift of time to the people you love.

In Him,

P. Tim I

So, were you caught up in being a “Martha” over the Thanksgiving holiday or were you able to take the time to be a “Mary”? Obviously, I am not, never have been, and never will be a mother, but in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians he does compare his relationship/ministry to them not only as a spiritual father, but also to the care and concerns of a mother. No, I’m not saying that as a pastor I know exactly what it’s like to be a mother. What I am saying is I do know all too well the enormous pressure and strong tendency to be caught up in all the preparing, doing, serving, fixing, mending, and peacemaking in a “family” and lose those extended quiet times of conversation with the ones you love, with the One you love. God did bless me over the holidays, in the middle of the blessed and sweet chaos of family gatherings, to have some quiet, poignant, refreshing times of personal conversation with family and with Him. It was great. Such times are gifts from God. Let’s pray for each other and encourage each other to seek and find more of them, more often.

See you Sunday, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

Well, I’m excited. As you know this is absolutely my most favorite part of my favorite time of the year. The weather is great. Most of our family is traveling in for the holiday. Hunting season comes to its best time…and besides all of that there is the turkey and pie! I’m pumped!

To be a bit more serious, I really am encouraged with the opportunity to make real progress as your pastor, as a pastoral team, and as a church. God has and is bringing together specific people and ideas that have great insight and energy. Together they give me great hope that we will in fact “work smarter, not just harder.” For those of you unable to be here last Sunday, I used the preaching time of the morning service to do some “vision casting” for the next year. If you weren’t here I would encourage you to download it from the media center on the church website. I would be quite interested to hear your comments, questions, and concerns.

This coming Lord’s Day is our first mission’s emphasis Sunday this year, with the focus on church planting in Europe. These special Sundays allow us to emphasize missions throughout the year and give us specific focal points for our Grace Giving. Pastor Troy and the missions team has set a goal of $30,000 for this week, representing our present annual investment in church planting in Europe. I do encourage you to pray, give, and allow the preaching to stir your hearts. Remember the morning service will be followed by a picnic/bring your lunch break, then the afternoon service at about 1pm. It should be a great day.

See you there, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

What a crazy week! A significant snow storm in October…and of course on the weekend…thrilling the snow lovers, disappointing children wanting to get out of school, and messing with Sunday services! Oh well, it is what it is. We still had a great day Sunday, by His grace and to His glory. This coming Sunday morning we will be both observing the Lord’s Supper and having a baptismal service all in one. So there will be great music, the Lord’s Supper, a shorter message, and baptisms/membership testimonies, all in one service. I have to tell you, I’m really looking forward to the fellowship around and celebration of our Savior’s death and resurrection. How refreshing it is to focus on the good news of the gospel, while being daily bombarded with the bad news of politics as usual here, chaos abroad, and gloomy financial predictions.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

See you Sunday, the Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

This is a passage of scripture that has challenged and refreshed heart in the past few days.

Ezekiel 36:22-28
²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. ²³ And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. ²⁴ I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The fact is that the teaching of the passage could be seen as a “bad thing” on first blush, that is God’s primary motivation for loving, saving, and transforming us is not us. It’s not primarily about us. The glorious up side of this truth is we have been and always will be (this side of heaven) an inferior and profoundly inconsistent motivation for God to act. However, His love, character, holiness, justice, mercy, grace, and ultimate trustworthiness are an eternally superior and consistent motivation for His care for us. We are all infinitely better off that God acts in love and mercy because of who He is rather that who we are!

I’m looking forward to getting back into our series in Acts this Sunday morning. We will watch God take the newborn Christian Saul and patiently, intentionally, and progressively transform him into Paul. See you here, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim