Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 76
December 7, 2017
Christmas in the “Forest”
Last weekend here in Michigan the sky was clear and the temperatures were almost balmy. The neighborhood around Granville Cottage is called the Forest of Riverview because when they developed the subdivision they built the homes among the mature trees. Our small lot has over nine trees. All the streets are tree-lined. So Saturday and Sunday was a flourish of leaf-gathering and yard-tending.
I’m leaving before dawn for my commute to Bethel in Jackson and arriving back home after dark these days while we are waiting for the house-sale to close. Last night I made a few phone calls on the way home enjoyed some Christmas music. Lois called to remind me to pick up some corn chips to go with a black bean and corn soup she had made for dinner. I stopped by the European Market for them and spent a couple minutes encouraging the woman who waited on me. She was burdened about her young daughter. I listened and encouraged her to connect with a local church.
When I finally pulled into the Forest of Riverview I realized that the neighbors all around me had been doing more than yard work on the golden, sunny weekend… Many of them were getting their Christmas lights and displays into place. I instinctively slowed down to enjoy the beautiful sight and remembered with a bittersweet pang the sound of eight children in the car sing-songing “Ooooh-Ahhhh.” With the memory my heart was tender again with the beauty of Christmas.
“God,” I thought, “Make yourself known to the families that live in these homes, that the light of faith would glow in every hearth all through the year and the people would know the Christ of Christmas.”
As I walked into Granville Cottage Lois was busy with dinner and Hazard greeted me with his usual enthusiasm and I was freshly aware of how much our lives have been graced by the presence of Christ incarnate.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
December 2017
December 6, 2017
Christmas in Genesis (Video)
Last Christmas I preached three Christmas messages based on Messianic Promises from the Old Testament. You can watch them here.
Bruised But Not Crushed
Keeping Hope Alive
Why Would God Bless You?
December 5, 2017
Pastor Sears Christmas Gift
When I look into the eyes of our grand children my soul longs for peace on earth.
Edmund Hamilton Sears was a New-England pastor who lived through the Civil War. As the horrifying conflict approached he used a phrase from the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth to appeal for peace among humankind. The theme is especially clear when you read the second verse, which is usually not included in our hymnals.
Once again in America, a land blessed with a powerful Christian heritage, blood flows in the streets and bitter hatred darkens the hearts of many. Like never before we need to rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing their song of peace on the earth, goodwill to men. Enlightened souls crave the age of gold that will come with the ever-circling years in the reign of Christ on earth one day.
Quietly meditate on the beautiful poetry of this poignant Christmas carol. It was pastor Sears enduring Christmas gift to millions.
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
‘Peace on the earth, good will to men,’
From heav’n’s all-gracious King.
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing!
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long,
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
Still thro’ the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurl’d;
And still their heav’nly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hov’ring wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.
All ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look, now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
For lo! the days are hast’ning on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing!
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
December 2017
December 4, 2017
A Warm Memory of a Cold Morning
Last night was cold and clear. I was driving alone through the night. Driving down an old familiar stretch of road I remembered a frigid morning along that same stretch of road a few years ago. I was driving a car that was new to me. It was very early in the morning and I was eager for the car to warm up and looking forward to wrapping my hands around the free cup of coffee they would give me when I gassed up out on the Interstate. It was unusually cold the kind of morning you feel like getting to work is a struggle for survival against the elements.
Suddenly the engine sputtered and died. Out of gas. “Deceptive gauge,” I thought. I coasted to the side of the read and braced myself for a very cold walk. I wished I had brought a warmer coat, hat and gloves. Then I smiled. My younger brothers, Kevin and Nathan commuted to work along this same stretch of road. They would have to pass this spot within fifteen minutes riding to work together. The thought warmed and relieved me.
In a few minutes their little car came purring down the road and I stuck out my thumb. They pulled alongside and rolled down the window. “Did you forget to buy gas,” Nate teased, “for twenty bucks we’ll take you to get some.”
In a little while I waved good-bye to my dear little brothers and was warm and secure feeling the heat warm my feet, listening to news on the radio.
It’s nice to know that because of Jesus, no matter how dark and cold the night is, no matter how lonely or frightened or vulnerable we become, no matter what bad things happen to us, if we trust the Lord and wait patiently, help is on the way.
We have brothers out there somewhere in the darkness and we are traveling the same road. We have the same Father. That is a warm thought on a cold winter night.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
December 1, 2017
December 2, 2017
December 1, 2017
By the Fire at Cracker Barrel
On the way home from getting our tree one Christmastime we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. It was a cold day and we had been out looking for the tree so I paused to warm myself by the open fire.
There was an older man standing there. We exchanged smiles. I said; “Let’s just move in here. What do you think?”
He laughed and agreed it would be a good idea.
When he talked I could tell he had the warm, slow way of talking of Kentucky mountain people. I said; “Where were you born?”
He said; “Well, I’m from Pikeville, Kentucky.”
“I could hear that in your voice,” I said.
After telling him that I married a Kentucky girl I asked; “Well what brings you here from the beautiful mountains of Eastern Kentucky?”
He quietly said; “Well, my son died and today was his funeral.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said.
We stood together in the heavy silence for a moment and then I said;
“Do you know the Lord?”
He warmly answered, “I sure do. At times like this I don’t know what I would do without Him.”
The Christ of Christmas came into a broken world full of people struggling against the hardships of life. He never promised that we would avoid heartache, but He promised to be with us and he promised that one day we could be with Him.
That confidence in the promises of God strengthens us to endure with faithfulness whatever God called us to face.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
December 1, 2017
November 30, 2017
David Jeremiah’s Dad Knew My Dad
Recently I was reading one of my Dad’s sermons published on his web-site and stumbled on an anecdote that warmed my heart. It’s a gem and shows the character of my Dad and the Dad of Dr. David Jeremiah who has been so powerfully used of God. Dr. James T. Jeremiah was the president of Cedarville College when my dad was a student there. I was born while Dad was a student there.
Here is the story in my Dad’s words:
“My friend and classmate in school had a young family and needed a loan of $75 to stay in school. The loan company would loan it to him if he had a co-signer to cover their loss in case he defaulted. Dave (a pseudonym) knew I had a job and asked me if I would stop down to the loan company and co-sign his loan.” Ken, I’ll pay it off. It’s only about $7.50 a month for a year or a little more.” I readily agreed. Dave was from New York and had a young family like ours.
That was the least I could do, I thought. Dave and his family attended Emmanuel Baptist Church where I was Sunday school superintendent.
Some weeks later, the day came when word spread that Dave had moved out of his apartment in the middle of the night, and had dropped out of school and had gone back to New York.
I began to think about the loan: “Let’s see, I make $0.75 an hour and get home with just under $30.00 a week. Our groceries are about $9-10. Then there’s the rent of $65 a month, and gasoline and the school bill… and our tithe. Oh boy!”
The loan company sent me a letter. So, I tried to work out a payment.
That week, the school office notified me that Dr. Jeremiah, the president, wanted to see me. After my last class I came to his office. He had me come in and take a seat. He was at his desk. “Mr. Pierpont, I understand that you owe the loan company downtown some money as a co-signer for a loan on a student who has dropped out.”
“Yes, sir, I did sign for him. And I’m going to do everything I can to see that they get their money.”
Dr. Jeremiah opened his Bible and looked at me. “I want to read you Proverbs 11:15. Do you know what it says?”
“No, Sir. I don’t think I do.”
Then he read these words: “He that is surety for a stranger will smart for it.” Did you know Dave very well? You didn’t did you?
“No, Sir. But he needed the money,” I said. Then, trying to sound brave I said: “But I still think should have helped him.”
President Jeremiah gave me a kindly look and smiled. “I see. Well, an anonymous donor has paid this loan off for you. I called you in to tell you that.”
I was stunned and rose and thanked him over and again.
Dr. Jeremiah could tell that I was a brash young man. He probably wondered if I had learned anything. He could have lectured me on my lack of judgment. Instead, he gave me a smile and a gentle hand shake and allowed me to go on my way.
Only later did I realize that, in all probability, the president himself, may very well have been that donor.”
So, you see, My Dad knew David’s Jeremiah’s dad and was blessed by him. These men are the kind of man I want to be by the grace and help of God.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
November 30, 2017
Camp Lesson #8; When You Don’t Know the Way Home
If you have heard me speak at camp you may have heard this story and this truth. It is a very simple way to express powerful comfort and help for the rest of your life. You don’t have to know the way home if you are with the One who knows the way home.
November 28, 2017
Beyond Thanksgiving (Sermon Audio)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Beyond-Thanksgiving-Psalm-145.mp3
Thanksgiving weekend (November 26, 2017) at Bethel Church I chose Psalm 145 as my text and talked about praise the the goodness of God.
November 20, 2017
The Heart of the Christian Faith (Romans Series)
Here are links to the full Romans Series preached at Bethel Church in Jackson, Michigan in October and November.
Sin (Romans 1-3)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sin-Romans-1-3.mp3
Salvation (Romans 3-5)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Salvation-Romans-3-5.mp3
Sanctification (Romans 6-8)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sanctification.mp3
Sovereignty (Romans 9-11)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sovereignty-Romans-9-11.mp3
Service (Romans 12-16)
http://kenpierpont.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Service-Romans-12-16.mp3
