Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 127
June 3, 2014
In A Dozen Weeks the Leaves Will Turn and Fall
This afternoon I was thinking about how delightful it is to feel the summer breeze blowing through the open windows and stirring the trees outside.
I don’t want to be an agent of doom and depression, but in just a dozen weeks the leaves now just darkening will turn and fall. The balmy air will cool and the days will shorten.
Robert Frost, the New England poet, observed this with sadness and captures the melancholy of it in this poem about taking an autumn walk…
When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.
And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words
A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.
I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.
-Robert Frost
June 2, 2014
Levi’s Secret
Levi is my brother’s son. He is 13 years old. For a number of years he has had a dog-walking business. Last fall I was talking to his mother and she told me something interesting about him. He thought maybe he was spending a bit too much time using his iPod Touch so he decided to sell it. Before doing he backed up the information to his mother’s device. She scrolled around looking at the information. It was then she discovered something unusual.
He had created a small data-base for his business. In the data-base he listed the names, addresses, and contact information for his dog-walking customers. But there were a couple other categories that captured his mother’s attention. For each of his customers he had noted if they had were believers and if he had given them the gospel yet. In his notes it was clear that he had tried to evaluate their spiritual condition.
He actually had a count of all the neighbors and has a disarming way of engaging people in adult conversation to probe their world-view and pull them into thoughtful dialog.
Levi is not just a kid out walking dogs and making a little spare cash, he is a neighborhood missionary. He is asking people to tell their stories of faith and he is praying for them and he is trying to arrange gospel conversations with them.
This story thrilled me and got me thinking. How well do you know your neighbors? Have you listened to their stories of faith? Do you know what they believe? Do you pray for them? Have to done acts of love and service for them to show genuine love? Have you ever set down with them and had a gospel conversation? If they moved away or passed away could you say that you loved them, you knew them, and you made the gospel clear to them?
It’s summer-time. It’s a good time to meet the neighbors and befriend them. Start with learning their names and their stories. Maybe you could create a little data-base and start praying for them and plotting some kindnesses.
I’m keeping my eye on Levi. He’s going places.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
June 2, 2014
May 31, 2014
Important Questions
Dirty talk, corse talk, bathroom humor, sexual innuendo, double-entendre have become common among many who say they are followers of Jesus, but Jesus said a good man has a treasure of good things in his heart.
-Are you a follower of Jesus?
-Would he talk the way you do?
-Are you using your tongue in an honorable way?
Here are some questions and some scriptures that will help you as you examine your heart about this. James said the word is like a mirror. When you hold the mirror of the word up to your heart it will reveal what is inside.
Is your heart a treasure of good things? Matt 12:33-37
Are you a vessel set apart by the Master for an honorable use cleansed from dishonorable things? 2 Tim 2:19-22
Do you allow corrupting talk to come out if your mouth? Eph. 4:28
Do you participate in filthiness, foolish talk, or crude joking? Eph. 5:4
Do you continually think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise? Phil 4:8
After you have carefully considered these scriptures, spend some quiet time with the Lord seeking his forgiveness and asking his help in cleansing your heart. Aspire, with God’s help, to make your heart a treasure of good things. You could be a blessing to many. You can be among those who call on God out of a pure heart or you can be swept down-stream with the rest of those don’t know God and don’t love God.
Jess Curtis; Storytelling Podcast #4
In this podcast I have included a story told in the Evangel Pulpit. All around us are people who need the sweetness of God’s love.
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May 26, 2014
Ten Dollar Lemonade
Yesterday was a beautiful Lord’s Day. The service at Evangel was uplifting, the music was beautiful and meaningful and the people entered in wholeheartedly. I had a special freedom in preaching and I am preaching right through the heart of the Book of Romans right now.
After church we went to a little BBQ place and enjoyed some perfect brisket and washed it down with ice cold classes of lemonade. It was a good day. I drove home and when Chuk arrived a bit later he was carrying a paper cup of lemonade.
“What’s that?”
“Lemonade”
“Where did you get it?”
“The little brothers who live around the corner have a little stand.”
“How much were they charging?”
“They said .50 a cup, but I gave them ten dollars and told them to share.”
I thought about the little boys who live there. They are always out wearing out the grass and doing the kinds of things little boys do. I walk in the neighborhood so a few times I have heard the exchanges with their dad. He’s a barker. Everything I have ever heard him say to them, he barked. He may be a great dad and he may be sensitive and kind behind closed doors, but our in the yard he brakes and they scamper around and try to keep him happy.
I imagined the look on their faces when they sold Chuk a cup of lemonade for 10.00 and it put a smile in my heart. Chuk is an entrepreneur at heart and had always had something going. He has turned the basement of Granville Cottage into a candle-manufacturing shop. He is a manager at Starbucks so he understands customer service and selling beverages to people.
I found myself breathing a little prayer. “Lord, you saw that. Bless my son for his generous heart. Bless him, Lord.”
The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. Proverbs 11:25
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
May 26, 2014
May 24, 2014
Cherry Sours; Storytelling Podcast #3
In this podcast I have included a story told in the Evangel Pulpit. All around us are people who need the sweetness of God’s love.
Subscribe to the Ken Pierpont Storytelling Podcast
Storytelling Podcast RSS Feed
Storytelling Podcast in iTunes
May 22, 2014
Living in Amity
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Here is a sermon based on Romans 5:1-11. It is a powerful and pointed passage listing the things true of us who are justified by faith alone.
Romans 5:1-11
Preached on May 18th, at 11:00 AM at Evangel Baptist in Taylor, Michigan.
Saved for Sure by Faith Alone 2
Here is a second message based on Romans 4:1-25 preached on Mother’s Day at Evangel on May 11, 2014 at 11:00 AM.
Saved for Sure by Faith Alone 1
Here is a message preached at Evangel May 4, 2014 at 11:00 AM. In this message a sure a bit out the mission of our church.
How to Help Someone Who is Hurt
How to Help Someone Who is Hurt
Matthew 5:44
This is a practical message that will help you help others you love who are hurt. I’d love to hear your feedback on it. When you listen to this message, plan to be tested. (This was given during a recent mid-week service on a Wednesday evening at Evangel in Taylor.
