As promised a few weeks ago, a bottom-line recap of our 31-week series through the whole Bible in less than 3 minutes. Okay, here goes. In the very beginning, the eternal God created everything. And he especially created mankind in order to receive glory and worship … Read More
Not Ashamed: My Test-i-mon-y
So, beyond the name, just who is the author of this blog? For starters, I am a son, husband, father, pastor, and disciple who is not ashamed of the Gospel. And for good reason — it saved and changed my life. Let me reminisce briefly … Read More
Reflections from Our Seder Dinner (2)
*Below is a copy of what I briefly shared with our church at our recent Seder Dinner, which we held for FFC families as a way to bring some meaning and insight to the Jewish Passover meal. My role was to twice highlight the New … Read More
Reflections from Our Seder Dinner (1)
*Below is a copy of what I briefly shared with our church at our recent Seder Dinner, which we held for FFC families as a way to bring some meaning and insight to the Jewish Passover meal. My role was to twice highlight the New … Read More
Best of 2011: My 10 Most-Listened-To Messages (on-line)
Here’s a linked list to the 10 most listened-to online messages I preached in 2011. I’m not surprised at what ranked #1; and my guess it would also be the #1 criticism-generating message of 2011. Frankly, it came in all directions that week (Twitter, FB, … Read More
14 Take-Aways from ER 2
Yesterday I was delighted to attend a simulcast of Elephant Room 2, an event for pastors and leaders sponsored by Harvest Bible Chapel. While this year’s version was, unfortunately, a little tamer, it still yielded healthy discussion and good insights. And here are some of … Read More
2011: Best Of … InkLink
Here’s a quick list of the top-visited InkLinks from 2011. Remember — these weren’t all written in 2011, but they were the most read in 2011. 1. “Wow, God is a Great Farmer!” http://toddstiles.blogspot.com/2008/02/wow-1-gods-great-farmer-isaiah-2823-29.html 2. “An Old Song, Good Friends, and Sweet Memories” http://toddstiles.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-song-good-friends-and-sweet.html 3. … Read More
2011: Best Of … Books
I took some time in the early days of 2012 and compiled a list of the top books I read this past year, what I’m calling my “best of” when it comes to the printed/digitized page. NOTE: Though these links are all to the “purchase” … Read More
“Real-izing” Christmas (2)
One of the ways we “real-ize” (yes, that is an intentional hypen) Christmas is through gifts. It’s how we express love tangibly. Yes, physical gifts are a good way to bring meaning to the words we say at Christmas. In fact, one Christmas Julie gave … Read More
“Real-izing” Christmas (1)
Christmas, at least in America, is a time of great imagination. From flying reindeer to a fat man down a chimney to the magic of mistletoe…it’s a season of make believe. Movies like The Polar Express, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street all … Read More