Dear Church Family, You bring much joy to our pastoral staff through the numerous ways in which you love Christ, one another, and the world in which you live. I can think of so many examples of how you have, and continue to, care for those with various needs within our congregation through your […]
Hershael York Deep Work by Cal Newport I recommend as a helpful secular book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. I need all the help I can get learning how to focus and be mindful. This book tells me how to do that better. It’s not a […]
Dear Buck Run Family: Every time I think of you, the overwhelming thought and emotion I experience is a profound sense of gratitude. Your determination to honor the Lord, to stay connected as a church, to support the mission, and to love one another keeps me going. The challenges of the past few months have […]
Dr. Hershael York Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days by Eckhard Schnabel This is a fantastic study of Jesus’ final days leading up to the crucifixion. Schnabel profiles the seventy-two people and groups in the seventeen places that are listed in the passion narratives of each of the four gospels. Placing the events in chronological […]
Dr. Hershael York Luke, Jesus and the Forces of Death by Matthew Thiessen To complement our study in Luke, Jesus and the Forces of Death by Matthew Thiessen. This is a great new academic book about the ritual purity laws that were prevalent during the time of Jesus that are mentioned in the gospels and […]
It was probably around 3 a.m. I was standing over James’s crib, angry. I had graciously gotten up in the middle of the night, warmed a bottle of milk, changed my 1-month-old son’s diaper, bounced up and down with him in my arms, sung to him, kissed him, and changed his diaper again. But still, […]
Chris Parrish Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ, by Andrew Naselli In a time when there are seemingly endless opportunities for believers to be divided, it is incredibly important for Christians to understand and utilize their God-given conscience. Naselli helps us understand our consciences from a Biblical perspective […]
Dear Buck Run Family: In sixteen years of being your pastor, I thought I knew you. I thought I had seen every wonderful thing about you, and you had no more layers of greatness yet undiscovered. I thought I had peeled all the layers of the onion. Then the global pandemic we know as […]
As a high school teacher who has just finished another year of teaching (yes, in a very weird and challenging way!), I began my third year in the classroom thinking about when I would begin pursuit of a master’s degree, where I would choose to study, and what area of study that degree would […]
Dear Buck Run Family, It sure was good to see many of you last Sunday, and I look forward to seeing even more of you this week. It certainly is different worshiping in three services instead of all together in one, but for those of us who are able to get out, it certainly is […]