Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 83

Keeper of the Story

Red Jeep Journal

April 28, 2017

Keeper of the Story

God’s truth is life-transforming and powerful. I love to teach the story of God and apply it and illustrate it with memorable stories. Because of that sometimes I call myself a “keeper of the story.” A few weeks ago our son Chuk passed this little nugget of a story along to me. Let me pass it along to you.

Flying and Fishing

“The pilot always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians when the plane passed overhead.

One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?”

The pilot replied, “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying… Now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

See what I mean about stories? A story is a gift you can give away to others and treasure it still yourself.

Adventures with George the Red Jeep

I was invited to be the guest speaker at Gilead Baptist in Taylor where Tom Downs is pastor. It was a delightful morning. The worship was meaningful and the people were very receptive. It was good to connect with new friends and old. I will include the video at the end of this post if you would like to watch it. W even got treated to some BBQ on Sunday, so it was a real good day.

This week I spent some time building our support team. I drove to St. Clair to meet some new friends. (Figured out that St. Clair and St. Clair Shores are not the same city). We are grateful to the growing group of friends who believe in what we are doing and are helping and encouraging us.

Next week “George” will take me to Ohio and preach at Bailey Road Baptist Church then I will spend a few days with my brother Nathan and brother-in-law Jim at a pastor’s conference.

Stay in touch. Let us know if there is any way we can help you.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 28, 2017

Ripe for Harvest

Our Mission Agency

We are now have a missionary sending agency that we are working with called Ripe for Harvest. They are handling our donations and helping us with building a team of supporters. Ripe for Harvest is also a 501c3 tax-exempt organization so our donations are now tax-deductible. Click here to visit our support page.

A Life-Altering Epiphany

Monday used to be my day off. On Monday morning I liked to golf. I had beautiful golf clubs and early in the morning on Monday I had the quiet golf course to myself. I’d usually go nine holes, but sometimes eighteen. It was so early that I would tee-off before the clubhouse would open and pay on my way home. The greens would be wet with dew and when you putt the ball would spin a rooster-tail of water. That would have been in the spring of 1988 almost 30 years ago.

One Monday I came home from a round of golf and I had a powerful epiphany–nothing short of a spiritual enlightenment. I realized that I was giving a few of the best hours of my best day of the week to the game of golf. I liked being outdoors in the spring. I liked the fellowship with my friends. I liked the solitude and quiet of early morning golf. But I realized that I would never really be all that good at it and when I got home the children were up and I had missed the first precious hours of their day… In a moment nothing short of spiritual enlightenment I made a decision.

I listed my gold clubs for sale, sold them, gave the money to Lois and launched the most beautiful, fruitful, fulfilling practice of my life–spending all of every single day off with my family. The next Monday morning the kids woke up to the smell of pancakes on the griddle. I made them what I liked to call “ranch-hand breakfast.” We spent the whole day together in the yard, playing, gardening, or taking day-trips, often to the Ohio Amish Country.

We played football in the yard. We played on the trampoline. We rode bikes. I coached baseball and we went as a family to the boys baseball games. I hit the boys fly-balls. I pushed the girls on the swing. I taught them to ride bikes. We worked with the girls on projects. We took hikes. We even fished a few times. We often had little money so we found fun, free things to do. We made hundreds of trips together to the library.

Many years later, when Kyle was hired to work at a golf-course, we golfed a little. Chuk came along. We got a sawn-off five-iron for Danny. We golfed free because of Kyle’s job. Wes sometimes tagged along… a little too small to golf at the time. …but it really was never about golf, it was about boys.

O the sweet memories I have of those days off when the children were small. It was a wise investment. It was a good decision. It was my best use of time. Those days were rich and fulfilling–irreplaceable, unrepeatable treasures of time and of memory. I never really would have gotten very good a golf, but I was the very best dad those four boys and four girls would ever have.

I have always thanked God for the life-altering epiphany I had that morning to spend the best part of the best day of the week with the people who mean the very most to me in the world. I have never regretted it. I only regret I can never do it again.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 28, 2017

When You Get Hit By a Bus

The big Yellow Lab came up from my blind spot. He ran toward our little Yorkie, Hazard. At first I didn’t know if he was friendly. Our Hazzard is tiny. The Lab was a big male. I tugged Hazzard away with his lead and scolded the stranger. Turns out he was not malicious, but a just a little curious.

“Go away. Go on git… Go… go on. Git… Go home.” I said.

He wouldn’t leave. I scolded him with a firm voice and walked rapidly away turning my back on him and pulling Hazzard along with me.

All this happened just after I had crossed busy road while trying to talk on my cell phone.

Finally, it seemed he would leave us alone and I continued on my walk and my phone conversation—until I heard the squeal of tires and a sickening thud. The beautiful dog and run into the road and was hit hard by a mini-van accelerating into our neighborhood.

He led out a yelp and I whirled around just in time to see him awkwardly try to scramble to his feet. It was pitiful to watch. At first he limped around and my mind raced back to the all the dogs that I had and loved as a boy who had been hit and killed by cars. My heart just sank at what I was watching. I didn’t want to see the beautiful dog suffer and die…

But this dog scrambled to his feet and ran around behind the van, across the street, and back and forth in front of a house almost as if he was trying to “walk off” getting hit in the back by a wild pitch. He darted around the yard into the next yard and finally burrowed under a fence to what was obviously his home. He then turned, sat down on his haunches, and watched as if nothing happened. I waited for my heart beat to slow back down and finally finished my walk back home.

When you get hit by a bus, shake it off, go home, regroup, learn your lessons and be glad you survived. Be glad it’s not over yet and you are a smarter dog than you used to be.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 22, 2017

The Most Wonderful Places on Earth

Red Jeep Journal

April 20, 2017

Hope America is an Adult

Our baby turned 18 today so we enjoyed our annual birthday brunch together. She is probably headed to the Oregon coast in the fall to attend a Bible Institute.

This Sunday at Gilead in Taylor

This Sunday morning at 10:30 I will preach in the morning worship service at Gilead Baptist in Taylor. Last week I drove to Bremen, Indiana and spoke three times on Easter Sunday morning. It was a beautiful drive and allowed me to visit with my folks the night before. This summer I will be in a camp or conference every week except the July 4th week. Imagine preaching every morning and every evening almost every day this summer. Speaking of camp, here is a story from camp that will help you see how powerful the camp experience can be.

One of the Most Wonderful Places on Earth

A few summers ago at Camp, a teenaged boy camper came up to me to talk after chapel. He was an eager camper. He was verbal and engaged. His family situation was very difficult because mom had died that year and his dad had troubles of his own beyond being a single dad.

“What church do you attend?” I asked.

”I don’t really go to church but I used to go to AWANA and the people from the church paid my way to camp,”

Our daughter Hope was a camper that week. One evening she was sick and I took her to town for medicine. It was late at night when we drove back toward camp through the night. The car was quiet. The car lights shown out onto the dark road ahead.

“Dad.”

“What, Hope?”

“You know that boy who came up to talk to you after chapel?”

“Yes?”

“He caught me out in the woods during ambush tonight…”

“Really?”

“We walked in together. He said something I thought you should know…”

“What did he say, Hope?” I asked

“We were just walking in and he said, ‘Isn’t this the most wonderful place in the world. Everyone loves you here and they all talk about Jesus. I just love this place.’ ”

Later in the week I sat with the boy and we dangled our feet in the lake and talked. I encouraged him to return to volunteer as a worker and attend High School week the next summer.

The week after camp his dad called me and told me that he picked him up from camp and drove to Indianapolis. Dad said; “He talked non-stop about camp all the way to Indianapolis.

When I returned to camp the next summer they told me that the boy already spent two weeks at camp that summer. Maybe someday he will be the camp speaker—it really is one of the most wonderful places on earth. Everyone loves you there and they all talk about Jesus all the time.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 20, 2017

Redbuds and Dogwoods in the Mountains

Red Jeep Journal

April 13, 2017

Oneida Baptist Institute

This week I drove into the mountains of eastern Kentucky to speak at Oneida Baptist Institute for their annual Spiritual Emphasis Week. From Natural Bridge to Oneida the road follows the South Fork Kentucky River. The dogwoods were opening in the woods and the redbuds were showing off their purple blossoms all along the winding way. I walked to and from meals and speaking times across a swinging bridge over Goose Creek. It was a wonderful way to welcome spring into my soul.

My dear friend Sam Judd led the worship. The young men and women listened and responded well. Each night students came at the close of the messages to pray at the altar. I preached messages on what to do when life doesn’t make sense, what to do when life hurts, what to do when you feel unloved, and what to do when you are crushed by guilt. Oneida is a boarding school with students from around the world. The final night a young lady from Tanzania gave her life to Christ.

After chapel that night Dr. David Price, Sam Judd, and I prayed and said our goodbyes. As Sam and I stood and talked into the night a full moon rose over the mountains in the east. I will return to the area to speak at the Kentucky Mountain Mission in June for teen camp and to Oneida to speak at a pastor’s conference in July.

Our new ministry as an itinerant preacher has begun. Easter Sunday I will preach in Bremen, Indiana and Sunday, April 23rd I will preach in the morning service at Gilead Baptist Church in Taylor, Michigan.

Sincere Thanks

Lois and I are so grateful for those of you where were able to send gifts to support our ministry. This is our full-time work. To be able to go wherever we are invited we depend on the monthly support of friends who believe in what we are doing. Thank you so much. Contact us at ken@kenpierpont.com or 734-626-9810 for instructions on how to give.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 13, 2017

The New Journey Begins

Red Jeep Journal

April 3, 2017

George is getting ready to go on the road—George is the name of my Red Jeep, but that is a story for another day. He got an oil-change and we checked his fluids and aired his tires. I even spent some time in prayer over him, asking God to extend his life and bless the miles he will carry me to bless people. While I pray these days two things in particular preoccupy my mind. Where will I speak—and who will be on the team?

Where Will I Speak?

I will drive to the mountains of eastern Kentucky next week to begin. I’ll tell you all about it in the Red Jeep Journal. God has allowed me to set up meetings in both peninsulas of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ontario, Canada! So the meetings are coming. I will be busy—very busy. For that I am thankful to the Lord. (I am looking for retreat dates in mid-September and October). Then there is the other question:

Will You Join the Team?

We are working now to quickly line up a team of people who believe in what we are doing and want to be a part of it. Some have already joined. I cannot tell you how grateful to God I am for them… believing in what we are doing, praying, showing interest, and sharing a monthly gift of some amount. We would appreciate it if you would consider doing that.

The Word Does What No Man Can Do

A few years ago Lois and I were asked to speak at a Couple’s Banquet. It was a really simple affair but a sweet time. We had dinner and I spoke. I open my heart honestly and did my best as always. I didn’t feel it was particularly polished or outstanding, but I opened my heart honestly and did my best. A few moths later I found out that God used that talk to bring a marriage revival to a couple who were there that night. I didn’t know. That is the way God works. He uses His word to do what only he can do.

To share a monthly gift send me an e-mail and I will explain how to do that or use the donate button on my web site. Thanks so much for helping. I will keep sending the Red Jeep Journals so you all can enjoy being a part of what is happening. Thanks for praying for us as we start this new journey.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

Where Were You?

Where were you when creation first dawned on you? What was it about creation that first took away your breath or made your heart beat fast? Was it a pounding surf, or a vast night sky? Was it a mountain range or a cluster of glorious hills? Was it the first Dogwoods in spring or the first flush of autumn? What was it about creation that gave the first tug on your heart upward to God or put a question-mark in your soul about things ultimate and eternal? Was it the call of the Loon on a northern lake, or a gaggle of geese honking their way across a grey October sky against the face of a full moon? Was there something in the scent of the lilac at the corner of your house borne on the evening wind wafting your curtains? What was it in this vast created universe that stirred your thoughts godward? Was it a sunrise or a sunset over Lake Michigan that snatched your breath away in wonder? Was it the sound of frogs or crickets on a summer night—music in the moist night air?

David said; “When I consider the heavens the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you ordained… what is man…?” He said; “The heavens continually shout the glory of God. The sky is his handiwork.”

When did God’s creation first draw you toward God? Was it when you first looked on the face of your own child fresh from the womb that your knees bent in worshipful wonder to God?

I think I remember the exact place and time. I was spent from a long day of stacking bails of hay wagons and throwing them into the hay mow. I was full from a picnic in the evening or pork and beans and potato salad and fat burgers and sweet tea and watermelon. I was tired from an evening with my sister and my brothers and by cousins impatiently fishing for catfish and crappie and bluegills and bass in the pond with cane poles. The sun had set and the farm had grown quiet. I was lying on the porch secure and happy—just resting. The sun had gone over the western hills and away hours ago and for the first time this boy who lived in the suburbs of a major city focused out into the inky night sky and what I saw there has never left my heart.

There was only one night light on the old farm, it was a mercury vapor light on a pole over the garage. It cast a single ring of light so a person could make their way into the house from the car. The light was off. Other than the soft lamps glowing within the house there were no other lights anywhere in sight than the thousands upon thousands of distant suns shining out in the vastness of the night sky.

My little heart just drank in the beauty and the mystery of it. In my mind I tried to imagine the size and the scope of space. How far did it go and how long has it been there? It it true what they say—it has always been and it has no end? I tried to wrap my young mind around the idea of eternity lying there on the porch looking out into the night sky. I tried to imagine infinity something that goes on out into space and has no end. It was beyond my ability to reason.

Without realizing what was happening in my soul I’m sure that it was then that I began to sense that there are things about God and his creation that can be experienced and enjoyed but not explained. There are things about God and his scope and size—things about his power and eternity that I can not understand or explain, but they stir my heart to worship and wonder all the same. I would not have called it worship at the time, but that is what it was.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

March 31, 2014

He Never Has Failed Me Yet

I’ve been at this a while. This August will be 40 years since I was licensed to preach at my first church when I was 17 years old. This is a photo of my second church-Beaver Chapel on Swamp Road. We were serving here when Kyle was born. Lois had her first little garden there. We made our first home together there in the corner of a corn field across the road from the little chapel and the cemetery. Those dear people were kind and forgiving. I will always be grateful to them. I remember them now with a very tender place in my heart.

When I see this little church I recall the words of a song I learned there.

When I travel the pathway so rugged and steep,

When I pass through the valley so dark and so deep,

And when snares for my soul by my foes have been set,

Jesus never has failed me yet.

He never has failed me yet.

He never has failed me yet.

I have proven Him true; What He says He will do.

He never has failed me yet.

– W. J. Henry, 1937

Joshua 23:14 “…not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God has promised you…”

Making Every Place Thin (Sermon Audio)

Making Every Place Thin

Make Every Place Thin (Sermon Video)