The brutal honesty of the Psalms continues this week with a sincere inward reflection. We have, as followers of Jesus, been adopted by God, forgiven, restored and renewed. We are "joint heirs" of an unspeakably glorious Kingdom, blessed with an unfathomable inheritance. Many of us know these truths - we can memorize and recite them, right down to the biblical passage from which they are drawn. Yet, and here comes the honesty of the Psalms, why am I still so unfulfilled? The Psalmists, much like ...
Aug 03, 2017•50 min
As a culture, we've been educated about things like proper diet and effective exercise, and as a result, we've gotten much better about taking care of ourselves. Many of us have made lifestyle changes with regard to what we eat, and some of us have even joined a gym...all in an attempt to feel better and enjoy a better quality of life. Now, let me ask you a question - how have you educated yourself and what have you done to take care of the most important part of your being? I'm talking about yo...
Jul 27, 2017•49 min
Inspired by the conflict in Northern Ireland, U2 released one of their iconic recordings - Sunday Bloody Sunday - in 1983. The song lyrically poses a question common to the writers of the Scriptures, "How long, how long must we sing this song?" While spending this week walking in some of the poorest places on earth - dry, hot and broken places - I found myself asking the same question: how long Lord, how much longer must we sing this same song? This week as we kick off our new series, "David &am...
Jul 19, 2017•48 min
When I was a kid, I attended a lot of weddings, participated in a lot of weddings, and loved it all - the food, the music, and the dancing. But until I got married, I didn't realize just how much planning and work it takes to make a wedding happen. Choosing the venue, the caterer, the photographer, the florist, the dress, the tuxes or suits (and on and on it goes) requires a lot of research and investigation. A lot of TIME. It's exhausting. Can you imagine doing all that work, investing all that...
Jul 12, 2017•48 min
The concept of a God for many people, maybe for you, is somewhat abstract. We love the idea of "a God." We certainly hope for a benevolent deity, but in the day-to-day, it sure would be nice to have a more tangible presence. When life gets tough, I would really love to have a "God with skin on" to go to. In the final days of the life of Jesus, we see that God saw fit to provide just what His children were looking for - a very real and present Father. This Father's Day, we will ask the dads among...
Jun 20, 2017•38 min
In what I believe will be one of our more powerful gatherings of the year, this Sunday we take a hard look at what we are ashamed of. Perhaps nothing impacts our own identities more than who it is we "hang out" with. We want to be seen as cool and popular, so we strive to be seen with, well, the cool and popular. Maybe we even have some public friends (the ones we want to be seen with) and some private friends (the ones we invite to our homes, but not out for dinner). Who do you want to be ident...
Jun 14, 2017•43 min
I lose things - lots of things - all the time. I lose keys and coats, phones and cards. It is so bad that for Christmas, my daughter got me Bluetooth-enabled discs to attach to my keys and wallet. Heck, as I write this, I can't find my new winter jacket. Most of the time I find my stuff, and when I don't. it can be replaced. Have you ever lost something irreplaceable - something you can't simply go to the store and buy new? Maybe a parent, a friend, a child? That's a profound level of loss and o...
Jun 05, 2017•51 min
"I'm bored." Has that thought ever crossed your mind during a conversation with someone? It has for me. And, it has happened during my conversations with God as much as with another person. Does that surprise you? Now, I have listened to preachers tell me all about the benefits of prayer. I have read books that sing of the joys of prayer. And still, as I am praying, that thought can pop into my head..."I'm bored." But, prayer isn't boring. So why does it so often seem that way? Come to Mendham H...
May 30, 2017•31 min
In 2013, Forbes published an article entitled, "The 35 Questions That Will Change Your Life." There are some pretty good questions on that list: What is your WHY? If you weren't scared, what would you do? Are your "shoulds" getting in the way of your happiness? These are good, deep questions, worthy of reflection. Jesus, as recorded in detail by the physician, Luke, asks THE most profound question of all time. How we answer that question has greater temporal and eternal impact than any question ...
May 23, 2017•41 min
My wife loves to garden. To me, it seems like hard and dirty work, but she finds it relaxing. To me, the couch is relaxing. To my wife, crawling around in the dirt and breaking up the soil restores her soul. This Mother's Day, after you hit the Mother's Day Photo Booth, listen as Luke relates the story of a gardener, soil, seeds, and souls. Has your heart grown hard? Has your soul grown weary? Was there a time in your life when passion for today and vision for tomorrow was the norm, and now you ...
May 16, 2017•48 min
I'm not sure how it developed, but there is an age-old question that all of us have been asked, or pondered ourselves: "Would you rather be deaf or blind?" In fact, if you "google it," there are nearly 700,000 responses. This Sunday, we wrestle with the same question. Luke recounts a story of Jesus and offers up a second opinion on what it is we think we see. At one point, Jesus asks a haunting question: "Do you see this woman?" I think He is still asking you and me that same question. How well ...
May 09, 2017•45 min
Luke, the physician and author of the most detailed account of Jesus, continues to offer us a second opinion on life and faith. Ever feel like you have been sold "a bill of goods?" The product you sacrificed to save for and purchased, in retrospect, turned out to be so much less than promised. I have had vacations like this and cars like this - heck, I just got a pair of Groupon shoes like this! The product did not live up to the promise. This can be disappointing when it comes to cars, but debi...
May 01, 2017•41 min
Oscar Wilde once quipped, "I can resist anything except temptation." We all know it, we have all felt it, and at one time or another we have given in to it - temptation. This Sunday, we kick off a new series with a focus on lessons we can learn from the book of Luke. Jesus no sooner starts his ministry and He is immediately led into temptation. Can you relate? Wilde would go on to say, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." Is that true? What do all of our temptations have in...
Apr 26, 2017•41 min
In Part Two of our series, "Who Is This Man?" we take a look at a side of Jesus rarely discussed. Was He loving? Of course. Was He kind? Absolutely. Did He ever get angry? He sure did! The centuries have softened our Savior into what some would perceive to be a quiche-eating, sheep-petting lightweight. But, the truth is, being a pushover rarely gets people crucified. This Sunday, we take a look at what makes this man angry and how His justifiable anger changed the world. Will it change you?
Apr 23, 2017•51 min
An old saying postulates that "familiarity breeds contempt," the thought being that the more you know someone, the more you see their flaws and imperfections. There is some truth to that with regards to human relationships, but what about familiarity with regards to Jesus? In a culture where Christ saturates our history, is it possible that His ubiquity has bred a loss of reverence? Have we lost our appreciation for who He was, what He did, and what He is doing? This Sunday, we begin to take a f...
Apr 23, 2017•43 min
God is calling us into a place of uncertainty with this end in mind - it's for the sake of Jesus. It's not for the sake of accomplishing goals or of mission, it's for Him. What do our priorities look like when we filter them through this lens? In Luke 10, we are challenged to go into the world as "sheep among wolves," knowing that God's Kingdom looks upside down many people, and our very lives could be threatened. But if it's for the sake of Jesus, there is fulfillment and motivation for the mis...
Mar 14, 2017•47 min
Why Am I So Afraid? - When It Comes To Fear, Nike's Right by Sunday Podcast
Mar 07, 2017•46 min
I recently went to a friends' house to see their new baby. When I arrived, the first thing we talked about was who the baby looked like. We said things like, "He has his nose," and, "He has her eyes." Have you had a similar experience? Parents will even be quick to say, "He got that from me!" But, as babies grow into kids, and then into teenagers, we sometimes quit claiming responsibility. Some of the things we have passed on are not what we intended. This concept stretches beyond parent/child r...
Mar 07, 2017•46 min
Fear is paralyzing. It keeps us in bad jobs, dysfunctional relationships, and firmly affixed to our couches. Trust, on the other hand, is incredibly liberating. Trust is what allows the little girl to jump off the pool ledge and into her daddy's arms. Trust is what undergirds strong marriages. Trust is what allows us to "walk on water." How can we move from fear to trust? Tired of fear keeping you stuck? This week at Mendham Hills, it's time to get out of the boat - it's water-walking time.
Feb 28, 2017•46 min
It's one thing to be afraid. Heck, some fear is good and for our protection. It's good to fear a pot of boiling water falling from the stove. It's good to fear the bees nest next to the swing set. Anxiety, however, is something quite different. It's like fear on steroids and it's exploding all around us. You may not have tasted it yet, but likely someone you love has. Deep anxiety and paralyzing worry are quickly becoming the plague of our day, robbing our children of their dreams and crippling ...
Feb 20, 2017•45 min
Philosopher George Santayana penned one of academia's favorite quotes: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." I know I have used it often when my kids are complaining about why they need to learn about the Whig Party or the Magna Carta. Could this same truth be applied to fear? What if we understood our history with it, where it came from, and what it has done? Could understanding the history of fear perhaps free us from the doom of its despair? A history lesson in fear, its s...
Feb 14, 2017•48 min
The news is that North Korea is close to being nuclear. It looks like the Russian "bear" might be on the prowl again. The stock bubble seems ready to burst, and technology seems poised to steal all of our jobs. The planet is warming, the economy is cooling. The plague of our day - terrorism - begins with the word terror. It seems that anxiety and fear have taken out a hundred-year lease in our hearts and minds. Now, imagine your life wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your d...
Feb 07, 2017•38 min
We fear a lot of things. We fear bad guys with bombs, shootings in our cities, and terrorism in our towns. We fear finishing last, going broke, and being sued. We fear the mole on our back, the new kid on the block, and the new boss in the corner office. To the list of human fears, there is no end. Yet, there is this ONE - the BIG ONE - the Greatest Fear of Them All. We don't talk about it often. Most of the time, we just pretend it's not there. We have become a people well-trained in "whistling...
Feb 04, 2017•43 min
Promises to one another undergird most families. Husbands and wives have promised "to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, until death do us part." As we honor these underlying promises, they hold our families together. They serve to unify two individuals into one, they comfort children, and they ward off division. Promises spoken and promises kept are at the heart of every family. What about the family of God? What about the local church family? What promises should undergird our unity, co...
Jan 22, 2017•40 min
Ever been in one of those relationships where you just can't figure out what the other party wants from you? You bought flowers...they wanted candy. You thought Broadway tickets...they wanted a cozy night at home. At some point, perhaps in a moment of frustration, you might ask, "What is it you want from me?" Great question when it comes to our human relationships - profound question when applied to our relationship with God. This week, we discover what it is that God really wants from us.
Jan 13, 2017•44 min
You were created with great intent and purpose by God to be agents of His Kingdom - created to do good works in our families, homes, workplaces, and the world, which so desperately need hope and healing. Yet, so many of us wind up on the couch, kept on the sideline by fear, fatigue, and busyness. And while we suffer from feeling like people without purpose, those who need "Christ in us" the most suffer as we are taken out by the enemy. Join us this Sunday as we kick off our New Year's series on ...
Jan 02, 2017•49 min
The Unexpected Gift | 12 - 4-16 | Socks & Underwear by Sunday Podcast
Dec 13, 2016•39 min
Gift Returned | 12 - 11 - 16 | Socks & Underwear by Sunday Podcast
Dec 13, 2016•48 min
Living Letters | 11 - 27 - 16 | The Book Of Ephesians by Sunday Podcast
Dec 13, 2016•42 min
Paternity Test | 11 - 20 - 16 | The Book Of Ephesians by Sunday Podcast
Dec 13, 2016•40 min
