February 7, 2012

I learned some things from preaching this last Sunday morning.  Actually, I learned some things from the response of people to my preaching last Sunday.  Apparently, I didn’t bring my A game.  You can listen to the sermon here. Read more

January 24, 2012

A few weeks ago someone in our church told me about a training program at work on communications and marketing.  The communications expert said people have to hear things 17 different times before it sinks in.  Maybe it was 16 times; I’m not sure. The person in our church only told me once. Read more

January 10, 2012

Because I cannot say it better myself, I am simply passing on to you what Pastor Tim Challies wrote about an event I missed last Sunday.  Sunday was the 56th anniversary of the deaths of five young men giving the gospel to an unreached people group in the jungles of Ecuador in South America.  They are known as the 5 Ecuadorian Martyrs.  I wish I would have been on the ball about the anniversary, but I missed it.  I need to get better at those kinds of things so that our church benefits from the history of Christianity. You might know the name Elisabeth Elliot.  Her husband, Jim Elliot, was killed that day along with the other young husbands and fathers.  The rest of today’s musing comes from the keyboard of Pastor Tim Challies. Read more

January 3, 2012

“So it begins,” says King Theodon of Rohan prior to the great battle scene between good and evil in The Twin Towers, the second of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Read more

December 27, 2011

Often it’s good to come to the end of something.  The end of the semester is great if you’re a student.  The end of summer is great if you’re a parent of an elementary age kid.  The end of a “timeout” is really good if you’re either a parent or a toddler.  This is the last Lunchtime Musing, at least for 2011.  You’ll know next week if I will continue to write. Read more

December 20, 2011

24 years ago today (12/19 I do not actually write my LM’s at lunch the day you receive it) Brenda Lee Koning said “I do” and became Brenda Lee VerWay.  What a Christmas gift for me! Read more

December 13, 2011

Thank you for taking a bold step forward in the life of our church.  As a group, we were not satisfied with our mutual discipleship.  We didn’t connect very well, our physical and spiritual care for each other was not acceptable, we didn’t converse about God enough or at all or in a way that prompted each other toward Christlikeness, and our chasing of the lost, the fringe, and the wandering left much to be desired.  We had to take an honest look at ourselves, be willing to address our failures, and make the necessary changes if we were going to be obedient to our Lord in the fulfillment of our responsibilities to each other and to the lost.  And so, we chose to abandon the Christian buffet of “take what you like and leave what you don’t like” in favor or identifying what all of us dotogether.  Here’s what all the people of First Calvary Baptist Church do.  We worship together. We learn together, and we live together. Read more

December 6, 2011

Not a lot happens in our worship pattern that surprises us.  When you settle in at 10:30am each Sunday morning, you know the routine – call to worship, private prayer, music, pastoral prayer, offering, sermon, and response.  Sunday after Sunday that’s how we approach God, and it’s a good way to approach Him. Read more