Burying a Friend Today

I'm preaching the funeral of an old friend today. Ray Sickmiller was an elder in my first ministry in White Pigeon, Michigan. He and his family have been great encouragers to Tracy and me over the years. After many years of living in different states, God brought us back to the same town. What a privilege and blessing it is to be able to share the promises from God's Word regarding Ray's eternity. He finished well.

New Message Series -- 24

Regular readers of this blog (all three of you) know that I'm a big fan of the show 24. I got to thinking, "What if every believer lived a totally intense, sold-out-for-God life? What would it look like?" When Jesus called us to follow Him, His call was one of total commitment – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. He taught us that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

What if, 24 hours a day, you lived like God wants you to live? Every hour. Every second. Every moment. Every heartbeat. Every breath. What an incredible difference it would make in your life and in the lives of others.

I’m staring a new sermon series this Sunday:
March 4 Worship – Loving My God
March 11 Witness – Living My Faith
March 18 Work – Learning My Role

Say It Ain't So!

The Cubs are going to allow ads on the outfield wall at Wrigley. Ugh.

That Saved and Set Me Free?

Keith Drury has a wonderful post about how some of our church songs are being edited to take the "edge" off. Ick! I need to be reminded of my wretchedness and worminess without Christ. It's what makes His grace all that more amazing!

Date Night

Going on a belated Valentine's Date with my Sweetie. Mrs. Soren was under the weather on Feb. 14, so we're making up for it tonight. Probably will catch a movie, then get some ice cream (yeah, we really live on the edge).

Have a great weekend everybody!

Valentine's Day

Dude, I got a Dell! Mrs. Soren stunned me with a gift of a laptop. Is she awesome or what? (for the record, she was awesome before she gave the gift). But wow. Kinda makes the John Mayer CD that I got for her pale by comparison. Maybe I'd better buy some chocolate too, eh?

Snow is Coming!

Weatherman says that we are going to get hammered overnight. I've heard that snowfall amounts will be anywhere from 4 to 10 inches. It will be the first shovelable (is that a word?) snow of the season.

Sweetheart Banquet

Tonight Cedar Creek is hosting a Sweetheart Banquet. Mrs. Soren (and others) have put much work into ensuring that it is a wonderful evening. A catered meal, romantic music, video clips, and a great speaker.

Congrats to the Super Bowl Champions!

Great job by the Colts. Truly a team effort. And is there a classier coach than Tony Dungy? This state has gone "Colts Crazy." It's a nice diversion during a bitterly cold winter.

My friend Dave Willis has an interesting post for the people who are jumping on the "Dump Rex (Grossman)" bandwagon in Chicago.

The Weekend

Kids are going to Winter Jam with the Youth Group tonight. Mrs. Soren and I are making it a date night -- a nice dinner and maybe a movie.

It's supposed to turn really cold this weekend. A high temp on Sunday of 2 (yes that's 30 degrees below freezing) and a low of -11.