This coming week we welcome Eddie Mercado as Harvest’s full-time, summer pastoral intern. Eddie and his wife Hilary have 4 children: Calvin (9), Ezekiel (7), David (5) and Amelia (3). He was raised in a Christian home in the greater Chicago area, but did not become convicted of his sin and trust in Christ until he was 12-13 years old. In 2016, he and his family began attending Harvest’s evening service while Eddie studied at Kuiper College. The Mercados officially joined Harvest as members in 2020. ...
We are people who worry. We worry about our health, about the kids, about our job, about our relationships, the economy, the country, the world. I, for one, am an expert worrier. I can find something to worry about in just about any situation, no matter how good it might be. ...
Spring is nearly too much for me. The sheer thrill of warm sunshine, the wonder of growing things, the glory of flowering trees and the smell of warm earth; I can barely contain myself. I feel like a 5-year-old boy on my birthday about to open the presents with cake and ice cream waiting. It’s too good and too much, an overload of the joy-capacitor. The weight of the glory strains what this mortal can handle. I can’t help but think that this experience is a small foretaste of the first day in heaven. ...
Why are we taking on this new task of offering English as a Second Language classes? The purpose of ESL ministry is to share the Good News of Christ in word and deed. In Matthew 25, Jesus describes some of the characteristics of his people. These good deeds are not the basis of their salvation, but the evidence or demonstration of it: “The King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”...
Have you noticed how the Apostle Paul repeatedly references multiple associates—“fellow workers” and “ministers”—with whom he serves. As Colin Marshall and Tony Payne observe, “Up to 100 names are associated with Paul in the New Testament, of which around 36 could be considered close partners and fellow laborers.” [2] For example, there are Prisca and Aquila (Rom 16:3), Apollos (1 Cor 3:5), Tychichus (Eph 6:21), Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25), Epaphras (Col 1:7), and Timothy (1 Thess 3:2), to name just a few. In a word, Paul carried out his ministry within the context of a team. ...
I’m convicted by how easily contemporary Christians (me included) act like these fruits are nice-but-not-necessary features of the Christian life. We can all recite them, but how many of us intentionally pursue them? How many of us are deeply conscience stricken when they are not evident in our life? I know some of us are, and I’m deeply thankful for you. But, I feel like my vision of piety has been heavy in how-to-respond-to-God and insufficiently focused on the fruit of the Spirit – which is heavy in how we respond to people. ...
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light upon my path.” That’s how I memorized Psalm 119:105 as a young boy at Lamont Christian School. It’s hard to describe how much more precious that truth has become 50-some years later. I say that because I feel increasingly disoriented in today’s society. So much has changed. ...
Conspiracy theories have a way of grabbing our attention. Joe Carter defines a conspiracy as something that “…explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot, usually by powerful conspirators.” Whether it’s a fake moon landing, flat-earthers, the illuminati, or the reptilian elite (yes, you read that correctly), there is something simultaneously sensational, humorous, and pathetic about these claims. ...
Like yours, my heart has been heavy with grief this week in the wake of the evil suffered by Christians in Nashville. And, perhaps like yours, my heart has struggled to find words to speak to God in prayer....
Have you ever dialed 9-1-1? I will always remember, in vivid detail, the night our middle daughter had a febrile seizure. She had a spiking fever, convulsions shook her little body, and her eyes went blank as she dribbled saliva and vomit out of her mouth. Our world fell apart. We thought for sure we were losing our baby girl. ...
The Bible continually encourages us to live our few days with eternity in view, to build a life that has weight and worth in the eyes of holy angels and our Lord Jesus (1 Tim 5:21). What is at the heart of such a life? What is the essential ingredient that creates something of noble value and beauty in the eyes of God?...
Keep ReadingCemeteries are good for the soul. As we walked through the quiet forest of gravestones, the brevity of life, the certainty of death, and the hope of resurrection were as real as the earth and as true as the quiet beauty surrounding us. Each stone represents a life, just like mine - a life filled with family and summer mornings and work and love and sin. And every stone mar...
Keep ReadingWell, this is an absolutely Pure-Michigan postcard August morning. Simply can’t be better. The beauty of a quiet summer morning is a precious gift from the Lord. I took my walk pre-sunrise this morning. It’s wonderful to watch the natural world waking up. I caught three does still in bed (the fawns, of course, were already up and at ‘em!)...
Keep ReadingAs we look ahead, I did want to give you a peek into what Sundays at Harvest will look like in the Fall. At our Session meeting this past Tuesday, the Session decided that starting on Sunday, October 4, we would begin holding two morning services and one evening service each week. We would also discontinue the outdoor sites at Harvest and the Vanderwey farm. It is also our...
Keep ReadingAugust anxiety is only a few days away. I’ve experienced this for as long as I can remember but have only recently identified it. It’s the anxiety that comes from the sense that summer is slipping by, far too quickly. I feel the need to be ‘out there’ taking in as much sunshine and summer smells as I possibly can. There are the aromas of fresh hay and verdant woods...
Keep ReadingWe can liken the work of pastors to those attendants who help a bride look radiant on her wedding day. In Ephesians 4, Paul uses the metaphor of growing up and maturing. The idea is that faithful shepherds and teachers are a key means by which God prepares the bride (the church) for her groom (Christ). Though I’ve never given a pedicure to anyone in my life, there is a ...
Keep ReadingI don’t know about you, but reading and watching the news these past few months has tempted me to despair. It is unrelenting bad news! No wonder the rest of the world feels like they are watching America implode....
Keep ReadingThe primary responsibility for disciplining children rests with their parents (Deuteronomy 6:7) and no interruption to church programs will change that. But where is a family to start? ...
Keep ReadingOver the past weeks, there have been a number of things that have stretched the Church; but, viewed historically and globally, it would be embarrassing to refer to the American church’s present situation as persecution (but to quote the 70s rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”). ...
Keep ReadingOne of the things COVID-19 has spawned is a wave of strong, differing opinions. It is rich soil for division. So what does Paul say? “Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:3 ...
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