This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . And the previous post here. We believe that Jesus “ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Why is it important to believe that Jesus ascended and then—wonder of wonders—sat down? The ascension is, of course, simply the plain teaching of Acts 1:9: “as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” Jes...
Jul 07, 2025•5 min
Familiar Words, Fresh Conviction Matthew chapter 7 contains many familiar words, but when I read them recently, I found them convicting afresh. Here, towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) I found these words convicting because very rarely do I find myself as...
Jun 16, 2025•12 min
The One and the Three approach His glory— Behold His splendor, may my heart render Praise Sinful heart and hands from Your Presence banned until I'm made clean. Inner truth seen— Confess Joy! Your mercy more, My heart shall adore— Bless Your name above; Give for steadfast love Thanks With Your word fill me, and let my speech be a word is season— guard me from treason I pray Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or ...
Jun 09, 2025•1 min
* Give your children work to do * It needs to be real work, not just busy work. * Don’t make excuses for them * That just teaches them to make excuses for themselves * You don’t want that. * Make sure they have enough activities * Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop * And they need to be able to handle adult responsibilities when they get older * Which will be impossible if they spend half their time whining about “adulting.” * Don’t overload their schedule and set a poor, restless, example * Be...
May 19, 2025•2 min
This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . He Rose Again We believe that on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Having just finished the Easter season, wherein we celebrated Resurrection Sunday, we remember that this is the central confession of all of Christianity. Yes, Jesus died in our place. Yes, he bore our sins. But this is only good news because of what came next. Three days after his death, Jesus rose again...
May 12, 2025•3 min
This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . He Descended Into Hell As we have been for the past several months, today we continue moving phrase by phrase through the Apostles’ Creed. Today we come to a sticky one: he descended into hell. That is a weird phrase. It’s also worth noting that it’s not in the earliest versions of the Apostles Creed. The creed, which began as what we call the old Roman standard, became pretty...
May 05, 2025•9 min
I occasionally like to do a little run-down on those things I’m reading and enjoying…or maybe not enjoying. And in this case, I’ll touch on a little beyond reading as well. Reading Last year I read Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft. Sitting with that book was one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I’ve ever had. So for Christmas I put his other books on my wish list. I finally just started reading The World Beyond Your Head , which is part epistemology, part political philosophy,...
Apr 21, 2025•17 min
Tonight our church comes to the sixth of Jesus’ seven saying from the cross: “It is Finished.” This is the text of that sermon. It is Finished Why is Good Friday called “good”? How could the day of the history’s greatest crime—the unjust execution of the only innocent man to ever live—be a “good” day? The answer is found in three simple words which Jesus uttered from the cross: “It is finished.” We find those words in the nineteenth chapter of the gospel according to John. In John 19:28-30 we re...
Apr 19, 2025•13 min
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Apr 14, 2025•15 min
You can read the original post here: Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 24, 2025•11 min
The original post: Thanks for reading Stopping to Think! This post is public so feel free to share it. Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe...
Mar 17, 2025•13 min
Today I’m reading from this piece in my newsletter backlog: The part which I am reading was inspired by this Substack post by Samuel James This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 10, 2025•11 min
The original post: Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Mar 03, 2025•6 min
Before you read anything I write - this really is more important: Cards on the Table This is a newsletter post about preaching. Obviously, my target audience here is other pastors. But I hope it will be instructive for any believer as they consider the practice in their own church (especially if you are in leadership and have the structural/institutional ability to effectively encourage faithfulness). For members of our congregation, Remsen Bible, hopefully this serves as an encouragement that -...
Feb 24, 2025•25 min
I read today a piece from Samuel James over at The Gospel Coalition, which made me think of this piece that I wrote here last year. I’m reading it today on the podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe...
Feb 17, 2025•10 min
This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . The previous post can be found here. He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate We believe - that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Now, if you are familiar with the gospel narratives, this part of our confession in the Creed isn’t exactly a newsflash. Pilate plays an important role - he was, of course, the one who had legal authority to have Jesus executed (John 19:10). But, when ...
Feb 10, 2025•5 min
This is not a typical Stopping to Think post. I’m planning to re-start some of my story writing efforts this year, and I’ll post some of those in this feed, as they will - in content, if not style - fit in with a lot of what I normally touch on in this space. However, this is a little story I submitted to “The Dole Weekly”, the newsletter that my oldest daughter has occasionally put together in our home. She graciously accepted this submission, and it was originally published there in 2023. I re...
Feb 03, 2025•4 min
Link to the original piece: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/are-you-afraid-to-die? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Jan 27, 2025•6 min
Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/sleepless-in-september This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Jan 13, 2025•6 min
A New Year’s Tradition…ish Last night, as we were talking about the past year with our kids, and discussing things we want to learn and ways we want to grow in the New Year, my five year old daughter laid out a brilliant reading plan for me: “first you read, then you sleep, then you get up, then you read, then you eat, then you read, then you eat, then you read.” Thank you, Juna. If you, too, are interested in the eat/sleep/read plan for 2025, then perhaps this post will be of at least mild inte...
Jan 01, 2025•19 min
Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/follow This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 30, 2024•5 min
[auto generated transcript] Welcome to the Stop to Think Podcast. I'm your host, Will Dole. Thank you for listening. If you enjoy, you can rate and review in Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen. I guess this will be on YouTube as well, or you can just continue to subscribe and comment in the Substack app as well. 0:19 What I'm reading today is the sermon I preached on Christmas Eve. Shorter sermon than I would normally preach on a typical Sunday morning. Try to be in the half hour range, 28 to 3...
Dec 27, 2024•8 min
Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/spread-your-bread This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 16, 2024•6 min
Some Appreciative Words In his book Ploductivity Pastor Douglas Wilson sets forth a biblical case for how Christians ought to view technology. His basic argument runs thus: even though the Bible doesn’t have any verses about how to use an iPhone, we are not left up a creek without a biblical paddle. Rather, we should view technology as a form of toolmaking, and tools are a form of human wealth, and the Bible has lots to say about wealth. In framing the discussion this way, Wilson is able help Ch...
Dec 10, 2024•13 min
Thursday was Thanksgiving here in the US. I’m not the most on-the-ball person - this is the kind of post that probably “should” have been up early in the week - but, here it is. I have an awful lot to be grateful for. Here are three that I’ve been thinking about a lot this week. Also - basically all the content is in the audio, below are just the big points and verses cited. For Finding a Good Thing He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22 For Missi...
Nov 30, 2024•12 min
This is the second of a two-part post challenging men to take up their Biblical role as the head of the home, and embrace the call to love their wives. Part I can be found here. Texts Ephesians 5:25-33, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be...
Sep 25, 2024•20 min
Ephesians 5:25-33, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nou...
Sep 18, 2024•19 min
This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here , and the last installment here. When we think of the name of our Savior, we often think Jesus Christ. And that is good, and well. The New Testament speaks in this way, using both Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus interchangeably when speaking of the Only Mediator between God and man. However, technically speaking, our Lord’s name - the one given to him at birth by Mary and Joseph -...
Sep 11, 2024•4 min
Aborted Blessing Abortion, throughout church history, has been clearly seen as a grave moral wrong. It is only in the past 100 years that some bearing the name of Christian have tried to justify the practice. Frankly, they do not have biblical arguments to sustain their positions. And they don’t usually try. But part of why abortion seems plausible in our society is due to a mindset prevalent even among people in the church, including those with children: we see children as a burden. Should we? ...
Aug 15, 2024•17 min
Twenty Years Little brother, I missed your birthday— a week ago tomorrow. Prob’ly would have if you were alive. But then, I’d call tomorrow. But I can’t—cause you aren’t here. Death is cold. And hard. You aren’t here. Twenty years have passed; I don’t know your voice, Tucker Joe. Sheol swallows all our loves. I don’t know your voice, Tucker Joe. Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I think abou...
Jul 31, 2024•39 sec
