If you know me well (or at all), you probably have picked up on my love for Duke basketball. Ever since I was in junior high and became aware of college basketball, I have rooted for Duke (the year before their first national chapmpionship). Since entering my first NCAA pool sometime in college, I have pretty much picked Duke to win it all every season...and this season was no exception. Yes, they had been struggling down the stretch a bit but I thought with a little rest before the tourenament and what was considered a fairly easy bracket they had a chance. Alas, this was not to be their year. After squeaking through their opening round game (almost becoming the 5th 2 seed to lose to a 15 seed), they could not hit enough (any!) shots in the second half against West Virginia to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. To make matters worse, in last night's McDonald's All-American High School basketball game, there was only one future Duke player! I guess I'm just spoiled in thinking that Duke should advance to at least the Sweet Sixteen in the tourney and have 2 or 3 of the top recruits in the country each year. But as they say, there's always next year.
On Saturday Harmony and I helped out with the community Easter Egg Hunt. We had about 50 kids come out to play games and find eggs. It was a fun time and another good opportunity for us to get out into the community, to meet people, serve them and show that we care. One interesting note about me that not too many people know is that growing up in Virginia, I attend Easter egg hunts at the White House! My most memorable moment was getting Punky Brewster's autograph at one particular egg hunt (I was a big fan!).
On Sunday I preached more of a topical sermon on the resurrection: its proof, power and prompting in our lives. If you'd like to listen to this sermon dealing with the evidence for, alternatives to, power and prompting of Jesus Christ's resurrection click here (should be up soon). This week I'm preaching on psalm 2 and then I'll be gone for a week (so I may not have a chance to post until I return in early April).
By God's Grace, Jeff
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Glutton for Punishment
I guess I am a glutton for punishment but after remarking only a few weeks ago how nice it is to be done with basketball season...as of this week I've started a new season! I am coaching the 4th-6th grade basketball team at the school. This is way differnt than assisting with the high school team! At the same time, it's something that I've always wanted to do and am glad to be able to serve the community in this manner. You may wonder why 4th-6th grade and the reason is that Underwood doesn't have many boys in 5th and 6th grade. On the team we have 2 sixth graders, 4 fifth graders and 8 fourth graders. So far we've been working on the very basics like footwork, dribbling, lay-ups, passing, and the like. I know the kids really want to scrimmage but I have to keep reminding them that the drills we're doing now will help them become better basketball players in junior high and high school and will enable them to have more fun when we start scrimaging and playing games in April.
This past Sunday I preached on Psalm one and the sermon was entitled "Two Ways to Live." If you'd like to listen to it, you can by clicking here. This week I am going to preach a special Easter Sermon on Jesus' resurrection, followed next week by a sermon on Psalm two. Then when Harmony and I return from vacation, I'll be starting a year-long series through Matthew.
Pray for me to continue seeking to grow a love for the people of Faith Evangelical Church and the community of Underwood. Also pray for wisdom for myself and the Elders of the church as we begin making plans for some outreach events during the summer.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
This past Sunday I preached on Psalm one and the sermon was entitled "Two Ways to Live." If you'd like to listen to it, you can by clicking here. This week I am going to preach a special Easter Sermon on Jesus' resurrection, followed next week by a sermon on Psalm two. Then when Harmony and I return from vacation, I'll be starting a year-long series through Matthew.
Pray for me to continue seeking to grow a love for the people of Faith Evangelical Church and the community of Underwood. Also pray for wisdom for myself and the Elders of the church as we begin making plans for some outreach events during the summer.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Going for a Walk in Early March
Now, some of you may think being able to go for a nice stroll in the afternoon in early March is no big deal. If so, you've never lived in North Dakota! Our weather here has still mainly been in the low to mid thirties and apparently you can frequently still get some cold weather and a good bit of snow even this late into the year. But, this past Monday it was near 60 degrees out and with more sunlight in the afternoons due to Day Light Savings, we were able to go for a walk after Harmony got home from the library. The other nice things about going for a walk in a small town is that it's pretty easy to cover most of, if not all of town during your walk and you don't have to worry about traffic. We are looking forward to taking more regular walks soon.
On Saturday I spent 6 hours in front of the computer during a fantasy baseball draft. I guess now the proverbial cat is out of the bag when it comes to one of my pedadillos. I have been participating in fantasy baseball leagues ever since high school. For those who may not be familiar with this endeavor, basically, a bunch of guys sit around before the baseball season begins and draft their own teams of players and then track their stats throughout the season to see whose team does better (though there are a number of variants to this). A group of friends in college started a league back in 1998 and we've kept it going ever since (though all of us have been out of school now for a number of years). In fact, this was the first year that I wasn't able to draft in person but had to participate via the Internet. This made for a long and less fun 6 hours! However, I think if I wasn't involved in this, I probably wouldn't follow MLB much.
This passed Sunday I finished preaching through Ezra. Although I found this book to be chaulked full of insight and application, one aspect that I am glad to be done with is reading the numerous lists of names in Ezra. The one at the end of chapter ten was especially challenging mainly because it came at the end of the passage instead of the beginning. With that said, I am glad to have taken the church through this great OT historical book. If you'd like to listen to the sermon from this last week entitled "Dealing with Sin," click here. I am going to be preaching on Psalm One this week, an Easter sermon next week and Psalm Two the following Sunday. After that we will be taking a week of vacation and then beginning what will probably be a year-long series, through the Gospel of Matthew.
I am going to begin coaching the 4th-6th grade basketball team next week so please pray for wisdom for me in leading these kids and being a witness of the gospel and love of Christ to them and their parents. Please also pray for wisdom for myself and the elders as we meet this Sunday to discuss upcoming outreach and discipleship events and programming.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
On Saturday I spent 6 hours in front of the computer during a fantasy baseball draft. I guess now the proverbial cat is out of the bag when it comes to one of my pedadillos. I have been participating in fantasy baseball leagues ever since high school. For those who may not be familiar with this endeavor, basically, a bunch of guys sit around before the baseball season begins and draft their own teams of players and then track their stats throughout the season to see whose team does better (though there are a number of variants to this). A group of friends in college started a league back in 1998 and we've kept it going ever since (though all of us have been out of school now for a number of years). In fact, this was the first year that I wasn't able to draft in person but had to participate via the Internet. This made for a long and less fun 6 hours! However, I think if I wasn't involved in this, I probably wouldn't follow MLB much.
This passed Sunday I finished preaching through Ezra. Although I found this book to be chaulked full of insight and application, one aspect that I am glad to be done with is reading the numerous lists of names in Ezra. The one at the end of chapter ten was especially challenging mainly because it came at the end of the passage instead of the beginning. With that said, I am glad to have taken the church through this great OT historical book. If you'd like to listen to the sermon from this last week entitled "Dealing with Sin," click here. I am going to be preaching on Psalm One this week, an Easter sermon next week and Psalm Two the following Sunday. After that we will be taking a week of vacation and then beginning what will probably be a year-long series, through the Gospel of Matthew.
I am going to begin coaching the 4th-6th grade basketball team next week so please pray for wisdom for me in leading these kids and being a witness of the gospel and love of Christ to them and their parents. Please also pray for wisdom for myself and the elders as we meet this Sunday to discuss upcoming outreach and discipleship events and programming.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Freewill Offerings Abound
Not too much happened this past week so instead of filling you in on the ongoings of our lives, I thought I'd blog about a couple of interesting observations I've had recently. First off, just about every event, church-related or not, takes up a "freewill offering". Basically, they "pass the plate" in order to raise money. Maybe I ran in the wrong circles to notice this in the other places I've lived but it struck me a couple weekends ago at the Northern plains District Conference that having a "freewill offering" seems to be a pretty common occurrence around here. If anyone has any thoughts as to why this might be or has experienced this outside of a rural setting, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Second, everyone seems to call me "pastor." Not "Pastor Jeff" or "Pastor Higbie" mind you, but "pastor." It almost seems like a title of relationship (e.g. "mom" or "grandpa"). This isn't even just among people within our church but even those in the community who I barely know! I'm wondering if this is common among other ministers or if again this is something unique to our setting. I guess I'm glad that people know who I am but I don't want to give the sense that somehow I am spiritually more mature because of my position or that I can't possibly understand what's going on in people's lives because of it. If anyone has any thoughts about this I'd appreciate it.
This past Sunday I preached on Ezra 9 about "Corporate Repentance." If you'd like to listen to the sermon you can do so here. This coming week is the last in the series through Ezra. I am going to preach on Psalm 1 and 2 and in-between preach an Easter sermon before going on vacation for a week and then starting a year-long series through Matthew when I return.
Pray that God would continue to grow in me a heart for the people in the church and those in the community and a passion for seeking Him in His Word and prayer.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
Second, everyone seems to call me "pastor." Not "Pastor Jeff" or "Pastor Higbie" mind you, but "pastor." It almost seems like a title of relationship (e.g. "mom" or "grandpa"). This isn't even just among people within our church but even those in the community who I barely know! I'm wondering if this is common among other ministers or if again this is something unique to our setting. I guess I'm glad that people know who I am but I don't want to give the sense that somehow I am spiritually more mature because of my position or that I can't possibly understand what's going on in people's lives because of it. If anyone has any thoughts about this I'd appreciate it.
This past Sunday I preached on Ezra 9 about "Corporate Repentance." If you'd like to listen to the sermon you can do so here. This coming week is the last in the series through Ezra. I am going to preach on Psalm 1 and 2 and in-between preach an Easter sermon before going on vacation for a week and then starting a year-long series through Matthew when I return.
Pray that God would continue to grow in me a heart for the people in the church and those in the community and a passion for seeking Him in His Word and prayer.
By God's Grace, Jeff.
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