A Note From Pastor Estep

Life at 8,000 Feet

2010-03-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

We spent about a week in Estes Park, Colorado. What an amazing place! Estes Park is at about 7,500 feet above see level and the place where we were staying was close to another 500 feet up. I knew that I was in need of some serious exercise, but climbing the steps at 8,000 feet makes it additionally clear. I never thought that I would have to catch my breath after a flight of stairs. Unbelievable.
The air was thin and clear. The stars were beautiful and bright. The wildlife was close and fascinating. It was a great time of rest and relaxation. But we left just in time because the next day a suburb of Denver got 3 feet of snow...on the first day of Spring!

Hard Times and Perspective

2010-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

So many things are a matter of perspective. New Orleans wins the Super Bowl and an entire city goes crazy with a celebration and the losing quarterback can't bring himself to shake hands. One group is on "cloud nine" and the other is in despair. Perspective.
A few weeks ago, I picked up a book called "The Worst Hard Time." It was about the Great Depression and its impact on a portion of the area called the "great plains." Simultaneously with the economic downturn, this particular area was hit with a drought that is hard to fathom. It became the "Dust Bowl." People fled the area to find a new start somewhere else. But some stayed. They persevered. They endured unbelievable hardship. They soaked and softened up tumbleweed and ate it! They dug up dandelions and consumed them to survive. Incredible!
I have to admit that my perspective on what is difficult must be very different from someone who endured such astonishing circumstances.
What do you think?

Everbody Needs Encouragement

2010-01-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs encouragement from time to time...and for most folks anytime is a great time. A found a little story somewhere that conveys that thought. It's about a man who joined a monastery. He wanted to become a monk...but he had to submit to the discipline. The young man was allowed to enter the monastery, but the code was silence. At the end of one year, he would be allowed to speak only two words. After the first year, he said: "Food...cold."
Off to another year of silence. After the second year: "Bed...hard." After the third year of silence he couldn't stand it any longer. His two words were "I...quit!"
His superior responded: "I'm not surprised -- all you've done since you've been here is complain."
My guess is that a little encouragement along the way may have made the difference. "Lord, help me to be an encourager today!"

God's Pardon

2010-01-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

I preached about "pardon" yesterday. What an amazing gift that God is so willing to give! Isaiah 55 says that God will "freely pardon." I get the sense of abundance and eagerness. I never tire of thinking about and preaching about the love, mercy, gracious, compassionate God who pardons us and sets us free.

Preoccupied with God

2009-11-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

When two rivers come together, I think it's called a "confluence." Like in Point Pleasant, West Virginia where the Kanawha and the Ohio Rivers meet. Over the last few weeks, there's been a "confluence" of ideas or thoughts in my life. I've been reading Brother Lawrence's "Practicing the Presence of God." Brother Lawrence worked for decades in the kitchen of a monastery and then wrote about his experience as he tried to think about and pray to the Lord in each and every situation. Then, I came across a quotation from A.W. Tozer who said that Christians are "called to an everlasting preoccupation with God." That thought has captured me in these days. What does it mean for me to have an "everlasting preoccupation with God"? How will that happen in my everyday situations and circumstances? How can I help that to happen throughout my day?

Busy Weekend

2009-10-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend I've been given the opportunity to speak at a one-day retreat for about 50 people. One of the large Sunday School classes sets aside a Saturday every year to get together and learn, fellowship, interact, and pray. I'll get to speak to them on three occasions throughout the day. Plus, on Sunday morning, I will teach in their SS class. That means I'll be preaching or teaching six different times during the weekend. Three on Saturday and three on Sunday when you count the class, the morning worship service, and the evening service. That's a lot of speaking, but it should be fun. It doesn't happen like that very often...so every now and then, it's OK.

2009-09-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was preaching this past Sunday morning [September 27, 2009] from the passage in Mark's gospel where Jesus says things like: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off!" That's pretty strong. Pretty forceful and radical...even gruesome. One of the ideas that I tried to convey was about the seriousness with which Jesus understands sin. It's not something "tame" and "controllable" and "easily managed." The book has been around for decades...but I still love it's title...because it only become more and more profound...it's Karl Menninger's "Whatever Became of Sin?"
The "good news" is that God in Christ has provided the answer for sin. It was a terribly costly answer because it meant the death of Jesus...but it's also a wonderful answer because it makes our forgiveness and transformation possible.