4:29 PM Just received an e-mail from a woman who read He’s God and We’re Not. Her oldest son serves with the Fourth Infantry Division in Iraq. Here’s the story in her own words: My oldest son has been in Iraq since last April. He left April 1 of 03, to say that when he left was difficult is not a strong enough word. Then se…
10:33 AM Anyone out there feeling a little bit “imperfect” today? Thank you, I see that hand being raised. Mine too. Here are some encouraging words for “imperfect” people from Charles Spurgeon: Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickl…
11:13 AM Here’s the latest news: Today is Cliff Raad’s 80th birthday! I knew he was having a big celebration later this week, but when I got to church, I discovered that this very day is his birthday. We had a party for him at the staff meeting. He sat in his customary chair at the top of the circle. Cliff is our “Grand O…
8:27 PM What is prayer all about? Ponder this answer from Imago Veritatis:Prayer is not primarily a means of getting things done. It should never be a pragmatic exercise. Prayer is our means of meeting God – of entering into deep intimacy with Him. The life of prayer is born out of an overwhelming hunger for God – a desire …
THE NEW WORSHIP SCHEDULE by Ray Pritchard Elsewhere in today’s bulletin you’ll find an announcement for the new worship schedule that begins Sunday, March 21. Here are the highlights: 1. We will have three worship hours on Sunday morning: 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. 2. The worship schedule in the Sanctuary will be …
Sermon Series: Ponder This - 20047:54 AM Joanne Hale writes from Whittier, CA, wondering why I haven’t mentioned the boys in a while. Hmmmm. Nick wanted to know the same thing last night. He pointed out that I had not mentioned the fact that just before my earlier trip to Florida, late one night I was hungry and said I wished I had a chocolate pie. Mark sa…
9:59 AM While cleaning up my computer files, I ran across an article Von Matthews sent the pastors in March 2001. Marshall Shelley wrote an article called “So What Exactly does a pastor do?” Lots of people ask that question—and it is difficult to answer precisely. Shelley includes this quote from Augustine (circa …
8 AM Mark, Josh and Nick took a taxi to Changping to pick up some of Josh’s things that we’re taking back with us. 10:17 AM Marlene, Alan and I are in a taxi heading to Tiananmen Square. This is the final place I wanted to visit on our trip to Beijing because it’s the equivalent of our National Mall in Washington. Each year…
1:25 PM E-mail alert: If you have tried to e-mail the church (office or staff) in the last week and haven’t gotten a response, it’s because our DSL service was out. For almost a week we could not send or receive e-mail from outside the building. The DSL service started working again about a half hour ago. You should receive…
11:43 AM Getting ready to leave for a two-day retreat with the Calvary pastors. We’re going to a home in McHenry for several days of prayer and Bible study, planning, talking, and dreaming together about what God wants to do at Calvary in 2004 and the years to come. These are eventful days in our congregation and our commun…