Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 116

Wasted Years Restored (Sermon)

Here is the second message in my new Restored Series for March

Series: Restored: Better Than New

Message: Wasted Years Restored

Text: Joel 2:18-27

Lament and Repent (Sermon)

Here is the first message in my new Restored Series for March

Series: Restored: Better Than New

Message: Lament and Repent

Text: Joel 1:1-2:17

Lament and Repent (Sermon)

Here is the first message in my new Restored Series for March

Series: Restored: Better Than New

Message: Lament and Repent

Text: Joel 1:1-2:17

Lament and Repent

Here is the first message in my new Restored Series for March

Series: Restored: Better Than New

Message: Lament and Repent

Text: Joel 1:1-2:17

Training Sons to “Take Hold”

Here are a couple pictures of Dan and Wes, our younger sons. When I wrote the article they were a few years older than the first picture. This summer the bottom picture was taken. Photographic evidence of them “taking hold.”

Have you ever had trouble training your young sons to “take hold” of a task and follow-through on it? We are always working on that here in the Pierpont household. I wrote an article about that back in 2007 since then all four of our sons have made their way out into the world and “taken hold” and worked hard and made their way. I’m grateful to God for his grace and kindness. Here are some ideas if you are training young sons to follow-through on tasks and work hard:

Teaching Sons to “Take Hold” of a Task

Do you ever get frustrated and angry when your son doesn’t follow instructions completely? Recently, this is something I have struggled with. My angry responses to my young sons’ mistakes dampened the joy in our home, and I knew that something needed to change.

There is something rare and wonderful about a young man who knows how to attack a job and bring it to completion. It is something that can be learned, but it is not common at all. I have heard it referred to as “taking hold” of a task or project. Taking hold of tasks usually does not come naturally to a young man. Boys tend to indulge in folly and to be slothful. They need instruction, supervision, accountability, encouragement, prayer, affirmation, love, and interest. They especially need positive, joyful examples.

Rather than being remembered by my sons as a demanding, harping, negative, angry dad who is never pleased with them, I came up with a plan. This plan allows us to learn, worship, and work together. As a father, I want my sons to remember me as a dad who helped them develop the skill of taking hold of tasks with diligence and excellence.

Helping a Son Learn to Take Hold

To help my sons develop this important skill, I am teaching them to follow these simple steps when given a task. I have referenced character qualities and a command from Christ’s teaching that can provide further inspiration and direction for following these steps.

1. Listen

Carefully listen to the instructions your authority gives, and write them down so you will not forget them.

Character Qualities: Attentiveness

Command of Christ: Hear God’s Voice. (See Matthew 11:15.)

2. Repeat

Repeat the instructions aloud so your authority knows you understand and has a chance to clarify the directions if necessary.

Character Qualities: Orderliness, Responsibility, and Diligence

Command of Christ: “Take my yoke” (Matthew 11:29).

3. Execute

Follow all the instructions joyfully, wholeheartedly, as unto the Lord. Learn to take initiative to do the things that obviously need to be done in order to fulfill the goals of the one who is in authority. For example, if you are told to empty the trash, go beyond that and replace the liner. You can also include spare liners beneath the primary liner for later use.

Character Qualities: Thoroughness, Diligence, Initiative, Joyfulness, and Obedience

Command of Christ: Be a servant. (See Matthew 20:26–27.)

4. Exceed

Always do a little something more than what is expected. The second mile is where the witness of genuine love and the ministry of service begin. Jesus once said to his followers, “What do ye more than others?” (Matthew 5:47).

Character Qualities: Alertness, Enthusiasm, Determination, and Availability

Command of Christ: Go the second mile. (See Matthew 5:39–41.)

5. Report

Go back to your authority, report what you did, and ask if there is anything more that you can do. You need to learn to submit to the accountability of others. We are told that every man must give an account of himself to God, and it is God who delegates authority to those who are over you, so you want to learn to be thorough in your accountability to them. We are to live and work in such a way as to earn the praise of “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” at the end of the task. (See Matthew 25:21.)

Character Qualities: Accountability, Humility, Obedience, and Punctuality

Command of Christ: Await My return. (See Matthew 24:42–44.)

Getting Started

Teaching boys isn’t easy. It requires love and patience, because they will make mistakes and it will take time. To get started, I suggest you begin by having a special meeting with your son to explain the new idea. Have him write down the steps and memorize them. As he gets started, take time to role-play and practice with him. Repeatedly coach him to repeat the steps. Have him practice by following these steps for someone else (his mom, a widow, a neighbor, or a friend). Always find ways to praise him for following any part of the instructions.

Review the steps, and bless him by saying, “You did a great job. You repeated the instructions back, you followed through with all the details, and you did something extra. Now when you report back and ask if there is anything more to do, you will be doing what only a small percentage of young men your age in the world would do. When you get that down, your services will be in demand. Bosses love guys who report back and ask if there is anything else they can do. You have a very bright future.”

The Importance of Our Role

Once a young man came to a business that I was managing. He wore a dirty, wrinkled black trench coat. His hair was dirty and disheveled. He had body piercings and tattoos. His opening line was, “You hirin’?”

I felt bad for the young man. I could foresee that his job prospects were dim, so to help him I said, “No, we are not looking for help right now, but would you be interested in some ideas that will help you get a job?”

Without looking directly at me he said, “No, man. I just did a job program, so I already know that stuff. I’m just tryin’ to find somebody who’s hirin’. It’s like there’s no work anywhere around here.”

He had a point. In our town, jobs were scarce. But I also knew many of the business leaders in town, and I knew they would say that clean-cut, hard-working, bright young men were even more rare. There were jobs to be had for young men like that.

My heart went out to the young man, and I remembered looking for a job one afternoon when I was his age. My Dad coached me on grooming, how to shake hands, and what to say. Before we left, he even led me through a little role-play so I would be comfortable with the wording. He taught me how to get a meeting with the one in charge of making hiring decisions. He then drove me from place to place and waited in the car while I went from business to business seeking a job. Years later, I learned that his heart went out to me when he saw the disappointment on my face as business after business turned me down. He wept and prayed that the Lord would bless me with work. Within a few days, I had two job offers.

I was pretty sure this young man had no one coaching him, waiting for him in the car, or weeping and praying for him.

There are a lot of things I cannot give my sons, but one thing I want to do is teach them how to take hold of a task. If I can teach my sons to be the kind of young men who attack a job and follow through on a task, I think they will be better equipped to make their way in the world. They will always be able to put bread on the table. They will have a platform from which to reach higher. Others will impart knowledge and skills to them. Older men with valuable skills will consider them worthy of their time and training, and they will have the heritage of my own example of setting aside frustration and taking the time to train them in the way they should go.

—by Ken Pierpont

January 2007

Training Sons to “Take Hold”

Here are a couple pictures of Dan and Wes, our younger sons. When I wrote the article they were a few years older than the first picture. This summer the bottom picture was taken. Photographic evidence of them “taking hold.”

Have you ever had trouble training your young sons to “take hold” of a task and follow-through on it? We are always working on that here in the Pierpont houshold. I wrote an article about that back in 2007 since then all four of our sons have made their way out into the world and “taken hold” and worked hard and made their way. I’m grateful to God for his grace and kindness. Here are some ideas if you are training young sons to follow-through on tasks and work hard:

Teaching Sons to “Take Hold” of a Task

Do you ever get frustrated and angry when your son doesn’t follow instructions completely? Recently, this is something I have struggled with. My angry responses to my young sons’ mistakes dampened the joy in our home, and I knew that something needed to change.

There is something rare and wonderful about a young man who knows how to attack a job and bring it to completion. It is something that can be learned, but it is not common at all. I have heard it referred to as “taking hold” of a task or project. Taking hold of tasks usually does not come naturally to a young man. Boys tend to indulge in folly and to be slothful. They need instruction, supervision, accountability, encouragement, prayer, affirmation, love, and interest. They especially need positive, joyful examples.

Rather than being remembered by my sons as a demanding, harping, negative, angry dad who is never pleased with them, I came up with a plan. This plan allows us to learn, worship, and work together. As a father, I want my sons to remember me as a dad who helped them develop the skill of taking hold of tasks with diligence and excellence.

Helping a Son Learn to Take Hold

To help my sons develop this important skill, I am teaching them to follow these simple steps when given a task. I have referenced character qualities and a command from Christ’s teaching that can provide further inspiration and direction for following these steps.

1. Listen

Carefully listen to the instructions your authority gives, and write them down so you will not forget them.

Character Qualities: Attentiveness

Command of Christ: Hear God’s Voice. (See Matthew 11:15.)

2. Repeat

Repeat the instructions aloud so your authority knows you understand and has a chance to clarify the directions if necessary.

Character Qualities: Orderliness, Responsibility, and Diligence

Command of Christ: “Take my yoke” (Matthew 11:29).

3. Execute

Follow all the instructions joyfully, wholeheartedly, as unto the Lord. Learn to take initiative to do the things that obviously need to be done in order to fulfill the goals of the one who is in authority. For example, if you are told to empty the trash, go beyond that and replace the liner. You can also include spare liners beneath the primary liner for later use.

Character Qualities: Thoroughness, Diligence, Initiative, Joyfulness, and Obedience

Command of Christ: Be a servant. (See Matthew 20:26–27.)

4. Exceed

Always do a little something more than what is expected. The second mile is where the witness of genuine love and the ministry of service begin. Jesus once said to his followers, “What do ye more than others?” (Matthew 5:47).

Character Qualities: Alertness, Enthusiasm, Determination, and Availability

Command of Christ: Go the second mile. (See Matthew 5:39–41.)

5. Report

Go back to your authority, report what you did, and ask if there is anything more that you can do. You need to learn to submit to the accountability of others. We are told that every man must give an account of himself to God, and it is God who delegates authority to those who are over you, so you want to learn to be thorough in your accountability to them. We are to live and work in such a way as to earn the praise of “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” at the end of the task. (See Matthew 25:21.)

Character Qualities: Accountability, Humility, Obedience, and Punctuality

Command of Christ: Await My return. (See Matthew 24:42–44.)

Getting Started

Teaching boys isn’t easy. It requires love and patience, because they will make mistakes and it will take time. To get started, I suggest you begin by having a special meeting with your son to explain the new idea. Have him write down the steps and memorize them. As he gets started, take time to role-play and practice with him. Repeatedly coach him to repeat the steps. Have him practice by following these steps for someone else (his mom, a widow, a neighbor, or a friend). Always find ways to praise him for following any part of the instructions.

Review the steps, and bless him by saying, “You did a great job. You repeated the instructions back, you followed through with all the details, and you did something extra. Now when you report back and ask if there is anything more to do, you will be doing what only a small percentage of young men your age in the world would do. When you get that down, your services will be in demand. Bosses love guys who report back and ask if there is anything else they can do. You have a very bright future.”

The Importance of Our Role

Once a young man came to a business that I was managing. He wore a dirty, wrinkled black trench coat. His hair was dirty and disheveled. He had body piercings and tattoos. His opening line was, “You hirin’?”

I felt bad for the young man. I could foresee that his job prospects were dim, so to help him I said, “No, we are not looking for help right now, but would you be interested in some ideas that will help you get a job?”

Without looking directly at me he said, “No, man. I just did a job program, so I already know that stuff. I’m just tryin’ to find somebody who’s hirin’. It’s like there’s no work anywhere around here.”

He had a point. In our town, jobs were scarce. But I also knew many of the business leaders in town, and I knew they would say that clean-cut, hard-working, bright young men were even more rare. There were jobs to be had for young men like that.

My heart went out to the young man, and I remembered looking for a job one afternoon when I was his age. My Dad coached me on grooming, how to shake hands, and what to say. Before we left, he even led me through a little role-play so I would be comfortable with the wording. He taught me how to get a meeting with the one in charge of making hiring decisions. He then drove me from place to place and waited in the car while I went from business to business seeking a job. Years later, I learned that his heart went out to me when he saw the disappointment on my face as business after business turned me down. He wept and prayed that the Lord would bless me with work. Within a few days, I had two job offers.

I was pretty sure this young man had no one coaching him, waiting for him in the car, or weeping and praying for him.

There are a lot of things I cannot give my sons, but one thing I want to do is teach them how to take hold of a task. If I can teach my sons to be the kind of young men who attack a job and follow through on a task, I think they will be better equipped to make their way in the world. They will always be able to put bread on the table. They will have a platform from which to reach higher. Others will impart knowledge and skills to them. Older men with valuable skills will consider them worthy of their time and training, and they will have the heritage of my own example of setting aside frustration and taking the time to train them in the way they should go.

—by Ken Pierpont

January 2007

My Sweet Spot

Today I rose early and after a few necessary tasks I made my way to a large Christian school and spoke in chapel. The students, faculty and parents present were attentive—a great audience. I walked away feeling like I had done some good. After lunch I had some other duties and a committee meeting. After the committee meeting I walked away feeling like I had wasted a perfectly good hour of my life. I know that some meetings are needful, but I got to thinking. I am not all that good at board meetings—but speaking and preaching and storytelling is like playing golf on a summer evening. It is as natural as sunshine and rainfall.

So whenever I have a choice I leave the meetings and administration to those who are gifted at it and I get around people and listen and love and communicate truth from the Bible. When I do that I know I am in my place. I am playing my position. I am in my groove. I am on my game. I’m hitting my “sweet-spot.” It is then that I am doing what I know that I know God made me to do.

One of the most important ways to live a fulfilling life is to find your “sweet-spot.” Figure out what God made you to do and pour your heart into it.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

February 24, 2015

My Sweet Spot

Today I rose early and after a few necessary tasks I made my way to a large Christian school and spoke in chapel. The students, faculty and parents present were attentive—a great audience. I walked away feeling like I had done some good. After lunch I had some other duties and a committee meeting. After the committee meeting I walked away feeling like I had wasted a perfectly good hour of my life. I know that some meetings are needful, but I got to thinking. I am not all that good at board meetings—but speaking and preaching and storytelling is like playing golf on a summer evening. It is as natural as sunshine and rainfall.

So whenever I have a choice I leave the meetings and administration to those who are gifted at it and I get around people and listen and love and communicate truth from the Bible. When I do that I know I am in my place. I am playing my position. I am in my groove. I am on my game. I’m hitting my “sweet-spot.” It is then that I am doing what I know that I know God made me to do.

One of the most important ways to live a fulfilling life is to find your “sweet-spot.” Figure out what God made you to do and pour your heart into it.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

February 24, 2015

Share Events on The Cube

Share Events on The Cube

God of the Fallen Sparrow

He was a country preacher and a farmer. Early one Saturday morning he was milking his cow. His faith was at low ebb. Times were tough and things were thin and he was feeling low. Bills were due and things around the farm were in need of repair. He sat milking his cow and wondering what he had to say to the people that would gather for worship the next day. Quietly he began to talk out loud to the Lord.

While he was praying he heard a “thump.” Just a few days before he had replaced a window in the milk house. Sparrows had been getting into the milk house and making a mess. They were used to flying through the open window. He walked outside to see that a little sparrow had flown into the new glass and it had fallen to the ground. He stood looking at the little bird for a while. Relief from his discouragement and text for a message flowed into his heart. It was as if the clouds had rolled away and the sun shone again in his soul.

The words of the text were the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

I heard him tell this story from the pulpit of his church in Linnville, Ohio. It is one of the few places all three of us who share the name Kenneth Pierpont have preached.

(From Stonebridge Newsletter – Number 57)

In 2013 I wrote a book–a collection of stories from the farm. I re-told the sparrow story with additional detail. That version follows:

God of the Fallen Sparrow

Grandpa was a farmer and a machinist and, in his mid-fifties he was ordained to the gospel ministry. He worked a full-time job, farmed in the evenings and on Saturdays, and conducted prayer meeting at Linnville Church every Wednesday night and Sunday School and church every Lord’s Day. He and grandma would often have dinner in Newark at a restaurant on Wednesday night on the way out to Prayer Meeting. On the Lord’s Day they almost always had a steak at “The Ponderosa” before going home to feed the cows and nap. No matter how crowded his schedule the people expected their pastor to feed them every week and they didn’t go hungry.

I can see him with his glasses and his Bible and his books and reference material and his old, black manual typewriter. He used every tiny bit of margin to type his messages. He left a briefcase full of them with us when he went to be with the Lord.

Full-time pastors commonly struggle to find time for preparation. For bi-vocational pastors it is even more difficult. One Saturday morning grandpa was in the milk-house with a lot on his mind. His faith was at low ebb. Times were tough and things were thin and he was feeling low. Bills were due and things around the farm were in need of repair. He sat milking his cow and wondering what he had to say to the people that would gather for worship the next day. Quietly he began to talk out loud to the Lord, rolling the burdens of his heart over on the Lord in prayer.

While he was praying he heard a “thump.” Just a few days before he had replaced a window in the milk house. Sparrows had been getting into the milk house and making a mess. They were used to flying through the open window. He walked outside to see that a little sparrow had flown into the new glass and it had fallen to the ground. He stood looking at the little bird for a while. Relief from his discouragement and text for a message flowed into his heart.

The words of the text were the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”



Looking at the fallen sparrow and thinking of the word of Jesus, it was as if the sun burned through the clouds of his soul. The God who numbers the hairs of our heads and notices the fallen sparrow would provide, and that is something worth reminding the people who would gather in the morning in the little church on Route 40.

I heard him tell this story from the pulpit of his church in Linnville, Ohio. It is one of the few places all three of us who share the name Kenneth Pierpont have preached.

Grandfather died in October of 1980. Grandma lived another twenty some years. On the day of her funeral I overheard my Dad and Uncle Bill talking. They were talking about my Grandmother’s estate. Because of Grandpa’s hard work, Grandma’s modest, frugal living, and the provision of God, they had all they needed until the day both of them went to the place where there is no more need.

They trusted the God of the fallen sparrow, and spoke of Him all of their lives to all who would listen.