Rappin’ With Rick

By the time you read this Marilyn and I will be making final preparations to head for the Holy Land, or already be there.

As you may have picked up in last month’s newsletter, gong to the Holy Land had not been a big item on my bucket list. I had reservations about the sites that have been identified, and had become convinced that no one really knew where biblical events actually took place. My skepticism has now been blown away!

Whether it was an algorithm or divine intervention I’m not sure, but I am sure the Lord had a hand in it. However He did it, I was led to Joel Kramer and Expedition Bible on YouTube, and I’m so glad I was. I’ve watched all his videos and read his book on biblical archeology, and am now ready to see it all myself. I couldn’t be more excited. On second thought, maybe I could be.

I really love sharing life’s adventures with you; yours and mine. When Marilyn and I went to Europe we took lots of pictures, and shared them with all who were willing to endure a very long presentation. I can’t believe I was asked if I was going to do it again after this trip.

Rather than have one marathon picture night, I’ve decided to incorporate our pictures into a series of Sunday night studies on the archeological evidences for the sacred sites as presented by Joel in his book and videos. That’s why the “change of plans” for Sunday nights.

I’m still looking forward to sharing with you Tim Challies’ “Epic: An around-the- world journey through Christian history.” I had said we’d start that in September, but at that time our trip to the Holy Land was not on our radar. Now that it’s happening, we’ll begin Tim’s study after we finish our epic around the Holy Land journey with you.

Hope to see you at the kick-off on the 10th, and looking forward to sharing our trip with you Sunday nights, beginning with a lot of pictures on September 17th.

God bless, Rick

I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “I’m waiting for the New Jerusalem.” That was my response when asked why I’d never been to the Holy Land. But now, unless it comes to earth before the end of August, I’ll have to respond differently.

In case you haven’t heard, the elders gave Marilyn and me a pop-up card of the Holy Land at the celebration of 50 years of ministry at CCC, and told me to start planning a trip. I guess I wanted to go more than I thought, because I booked a trip that included more than I had ever dreamed of seeing, on-line, before the tour company was even open on Monday morning! Lord willing, we’ll be flying to Israel on August 25th.

The first day of touring will begin with a trip along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, and then to Mount Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, and Cana of Galilee. We’ll begin the next day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and then visit Magdala, the Mount of Beatitudes, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, and the place where Jesus fed the 5,000. The next day we’ll watch people being baptized in the Jordan and float in the Dead Sea. The following day we’ll visit Masada, Ein Gedi, and Qumran, before heading to the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. After spending two more days seeing the sights in Jerusalem and going to Bethlehem, we’ll fly to Athens.

In Athens we’ll board a ship that will take us to Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, and Crete. Upon returning to Athens we’ll head to Corinth before going back to Athens for a couple of days to see all the sights there. We’ll get home on September 10th, hopefully in time for the kick-off on Sunday night.

The next time someone asks me if I’ve ever been to the Holy Land, they’ll hear about a wonderful church that made possible an amazing trip that I never even dreamed of taking.

However, I must admit that I will still be looking forward to the New Jerusalem!

God Bless, Rick

On the front side of it, fifty years looks like an extremely long time. On the back side, not so much. It seems like just yesterday that a 25 year old preacher and his teenage wife arrived in Chatham.

Marilyn and I had been serving in Kansas for two years when two couples from Chatham came for a visit. They told us about a new church that had been established after we left Springfield, and how they were in need of a preacher. The church was meeting in the old DICKEY-john building but was buying four acres, and had big plans. The opportunity to minister with a new congregation, and to be close to family, made the decision easy.

After preaching nearly 2,500 sermons, writing over 2,000 columns for the church paper, baptizing 317, burying 175, and marrying 129 couples, they tell me it’s time to celebrate. Mark said we will be celebrating the goodness of our Lord, and I couldn’t agree more.

For fifty years He has blessed me with a church family that has given me the opportunity to share with them my love for the Lord and His word. You have entrusted me with the privilege of offering personal and congregational guidance, and have generously provided for the needs of my family. I can’t thank you, or Him, enough.

What does the future hold for us? Only the Lord knows. There is nothing I’d rather be doing than what I am now doing, so the idea of retiring has no appeal for me. As long as the Lord blesses me with the physical and mental strength to continue, and you are willing to let me keep on teaching and leading, I plan on doing so. I’ll do what I can to remain physically and mentally fit as long as possible, but am confident the elders will discern when it’s time for me to declare with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

Until then, I guess you’re still stuck with me.

God Bless, Rick

We’ve sung it for years. Now we’ve seen it!

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name was demonstrated two Sundays in a row, and it wasn’t in church. It was on the church!

Yes, we’re getting a new roof. The adjuster has been on top of it, literally, and a couple of contractors are awaiting our decision once we get the go-ahead.

Obviously I’m having a little fun with the hymn. The word “hail” can be used in a number of ways. It can be used to greet someone with enthusiastic approval, or to hail a cab. And it can refer to the balls of ice we saw and how they descend upon the earth, or even to a hail of rifle fire. But the thing the hymn and the hail have in common is that they both focus on the power of God.

When God confronted Job with his assumptions about being in control of things, He asked if he had seen the storehouses of hail that He had reserved for a time of distress and the day of war and battle. And more did die from hail- stones than the sword after the sun stood still and the moon stopped while Joshua was fighting against the Amorites.

When the first trumpet was sounded in the book of Revelation, hail and fire fell upon the earth and destroyed a third of it. And when the seventh bowl was poured out, huge hailstones weighing a hundred pounds came down from heaven upon men.

Destructive hail from heaven is always a timely reminder that God is in control and we are not, but it’s not always an act of specific judgment from God. Sometimes its just a consequence of nature being cursed along with mankind after the first sin.

The good news is that God can take whatever happens, and turn it into something good if we love Him and are called according to His purposes. He can even use it to provide a new roof for the church.

God Bless, Rick

Tongues, demons, and dinosaurs; what do they have in common? They were all topics for discussion around our table on Easter. And it’s probably not as weird as it might seem. Questions about all three tend to come up as those new to the faith begin digging in a little deeper.

Zach Marcopulos, Grace’s boyfriend, became a Christian shortly after coming to ISU, and is now serving as an intern with Encounter, the campus ministry. His relationship with Grace brought him to our table, and he often shares questions that have come up working with students and in his personal study. I’m honored that he comes to me with questions, and delight in trying to answer them.

To answer the question about tongues I took him to Pentecost and the gift given to the apostles that enabled them to preach in native languages to those who had gathered. We then discussed the confusion that arose in Corinth about gifts of the Spirit, and the variety of gifts available today, and their purpose.

I affirmed the existence of demons in the Bible, and how Jesus and the apostles did indeed cast them out. We talked about the nature of spiritual warfare today, and I expressed my doubts about current attempts at exorcism due to no biblical instruction on how to do it.

Dinosaurs took us back to creation and various ways the word “day” was used. Great sea monsters were created on the fifth “day” and creatures that sound like dinosaurs are mentioned in Job. Their former existence on earth can’t be denied. The question is simply when.

The next day he texted with a question about predestination. I told him that foreknowledge plays a role in who God predestines to become like His Son, but the offer of salvation is open to all.

We obviously went beyond what I have written here, but I share this to encourage you to ask me anything. In fact, I’ll even join you around your table, if you ask.

God Bless, Rick