Screwtape and Endless End of Summer

 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart”  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 I have had a C.S. Lewis summer.  Carol O’Malley loaned me a copy of The Great Courses lectures that featured Lewis’ writings and his life.  I had twelve hours of  Lewis on my drive to Michigan. This past Wednesday a group from the church went down to the city to see Max Mclean in Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.  Lewis is a theologian of pleasure and of longing.  He sees in pleasure the hand of God’s touch upon humanity with everything that is beautiful.  Our deepest joy points us to the even deeper joy that is at the center of creation and is “the serious business of heaven.”  Our deepest longings point us to our deepest needs.  We have a longing for eternity.  It is planted in our hearts.  For Lewis this speaks to us of the truth that we were made forever. Read more »

“Dreams of Youth Ministry”

 I have been welcomed back from vacation by hundreds of kids having a blast under the tent.  It is VBS week at HRC.  A truly awesome week as intergenerational ministry comes together to touch lives of kids in our church and in our community.  I look at the future of our youth ministry as I see the eyes of these young children that very soon will be teenagers. Read more »

A Painting Party- Saturday, 8 AM , July 31, August 7, 14, 21, 28

 Every time I drive by the Flatbush Reformed Church in Saugerties I will check out how my corner of the kingdom work is holding up to the wind and weather of Northern Ulster County.  Hopewell helped that struggling church put a face lift on its building.  That small church inspired us to do the same thing.  Starting next Saturday (July 31) you will have a chance to paint our corner of the kingdom on Clove Branch and Beekman Roads.  Instead of spending a ton of money hiring somebody to paint our building, we are putting 167 into practice and asking people to use some of those hours to paint our church. Read more »

 A Taste of Heaven

 June 27 we were all together under the tent.   We had overflow conditions as many of our young people were standing, and others were seated on the wooden parking barriers that line our lot.  It was an awesome day.  It was the first time I experienced the joy of Odyssey.  There was excitement as prayers and songs, even preaching, was greeted with applause.  Somebody said to me, this must be what heaven feels like.  I agreed.  June 27^th ranked as one of the best worship experiences in my 24 years of ordained ministry, and beyond that Read more »

Honor Your Mother

 This Sunday we begin a series titled “Women Who Changed the World.”  It will be launched by a woman who has changed my world, my mom.  When Sherri Hondorp and I first talked about this series, we said it would be nice to launch it with a preacher who is a woman.  We tossed out a couple of ideas and then I remembered that I had worked with my mom on a sermon about the woman at the tomb, and what a difference women had made in the proclamation of the gospel.  I have gotten more and more excited about her coming to Hopewell and I have reflected more and more on the difference that she has made working with women in the Reformed Church in America. Read more »

“167 Was My Idea”

 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual  worship.  (Romans 12:1)

 This Sunday, June 27, at 10 AM under the tent at Hopewell all six of our worshipping communities will be introduced to our 167 Vision which states: We seek to be a 167 church, putting our faith into practice every hour of every day. Being a follower of Christ is not simply about an hour on Sunday, but a life lived every moment for the glory of God.

 Mike Reynolds will begin the message and he is going to tell you: “167 Living was my idea.”   Much like the Windows 7 commercial, you can picture Mike dreaming mid-sermon one Sunday:  “How do I put this into practice, not just one hour on Sunday, but every hour of every day?” Read more »

Do You Sing?

 Last Sunday I stood in front of the church and noticed how many people were not singing.  I mean not opening a hymnbook or bluffing the words, just checked out for that moment of worship until we sat down.  Do you sing?  Does it matter? Read more »

Passing the Baton

 “Christianity is always one generation away from extinction”

 “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.”  (2 Timothy 1:5)

Elder Matt Williams said on Tuesday night: “I wish everybody in the church could hear what I have just heard.”  He was speaking about the confessions of faith shared by fifteen young people in our confirmation group.  In powerful ways they testified to what Christ has done in their lives and how they have grown in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  They were introduced by their mentors and shared their credos.  It was a truly holy moment as I was a part of seeing the Christian baton being passed to a new generation. Read more »

 The Gospel in the Gulf (of Oman)

 This Sunday we will have a guest preacher.  He is Doug Leonard.  Doug is a pastor friend of mine whom I worked with as a coach for a couple of years.  He is taking a new position with the Reformed Church in America as a missionary in Oman.  He will be working in the area of Christian-Muslim relationships at the Al Amana Centre in Muscat Oman.  God has already provided him with some amazing stories in his work.  The RCA has had a presence in the Gulf of Oman well before 9/11.  In fact, that presence goes back to 1893 when the RCA established Oman’s first hospital.  Read more »

  “The Kids Are Alright”

 William Willimon, the former Dean of Duke’s chapel, tells a story of a young person coming back to Willimon’s former church in North Carolina and telling him that he was the greatest pastor he ever remembered.  Willimon, flattered by the compliment, asked what made his ministry so effective for the lad.  Willimon, hoping for a comment about his preaching, his care or his relevance was humbled when the young man responded: “you always remembered my name.” Read more »