A Master Gardener, an older kindly gentleman, came to prune our apple tree yesterday. He doesn’t seem to know there is a coronavirus – he’s whistling while he works outside. He mentioned that he had asked advice from a professional…
Author: Rick and Linda Reed
Still
“Be Still and Know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 For over a year, one single word has felled me: [1] Still. As in: “Be still and know that I am God.” Over the past year, through a simple brochure…
The Church in Action (Acts 8)
Acts 8 divides into two halves, both focused on the ministry of Philip, one of the seven leaders chosen to serve the widows in the Jerusalem church (6:5). The first half of the chapter tells of Philip’s ministry in Samaria…
Praise and Prayer Update (March 12, 2020)
Thank you for praying for us and being part of God's work in and through Heritage. Last week I asked to you pray for some teaching opportunities that Linda and I had scheduled: I preached in Mississauga on Sunday; Linda…
The Preacher and Laziness
The following is a chapter from my book, The Heart of the Preacher. “Must be nice to have a job where you only have to work one day a week.” Like many pastors, I’ve grimaced whenever I’ve heard someone make…
The Church in Action (Acts 7)
Acts 7 is the longest in the book of Acts (60 verses), following the shortest (chapter 6 has 15 verses). In chapter 7 we hear Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin. Having been charged with “speaking against this holy place and…
Praise and Prayer Update (March 6, 2020)
As I write this update, "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" here in Cambridge. I shoveled 6 to 8 inches off my driveway this morning. It's actually quite beautiful but we are still rooting for spring! I'm rejoicing…
The Church in Action (Acts 6)
This shorter chapter serves several purposes: 1) it gives further evidence of the church’s internal life and external rapid growth in Jerusalem; 2) it introduces us to Stephen—a man who will be prominent in the next chapter; 3) it continues…
Praise and Prayer Update (February 28, 2020)
It's been a few weeks since I've posted a Praise and Prayer Update. Linda and I were down in the States at the annual conference for The Association for Biblical Higher Education. It was a significant time of learning and…
The Church in Action (Acts 5)
Acts 5 contains two major accounts: Ananias and Sapphira (1-11) and the apostles’ miraculous ministry and run-in with the Sanhedrin (12-42). In the opening verses, we see two members of the newly formed church pretend to be more generous than…