The Pulpiteer

Steve McCoy is a pastor in the Chicago area whose blog I read.  Besides checking out his musical recommendations, I also have enjoyed his photography.  One of the neat things he has done with his family the last few years is to pose in a fun and creative way for the family Christmas card.  You can check out this year’s version here.  On that post you’ll find links to the previous two years cards.  This year we decided to follow suit and create a fun Christmas picture that captured the essence of what the Croel household is like with a 3 and 1 year old.  Now, I must admit the McCoys are a tough act to follow and we have room for improvement.  For example – they look much more festive and seasonal.  But boy we had a lot of fun posing for these pictures.  So, here is this year’s Croel Christmas card.  And thanks to Steve McCoy for the idea.  We plan to do it yearly.  It’s a lot more fun than just posing for a picture. Continue Reading »

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Hope is born

This is the sermon for the fourth week of Advent. The text I am preaching from is Micah 5:2-5a. I also reference Hebrews 11:13, 39-40.  In this message I focus on God’s surprising and unexpected ways of working in the world.  Jesus’ coming 2,000 years ago was a surprise.  It didn’t happen the way we might expect, but this seems to be a pattern with God – he works.  God’s agenda seems to often be different than ours.  So, in this week of Christmas, will you have your eyes open to the surprising ways in which God is here among us?  Finally, I should place a link that describes the Atari 2600.

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Hope is born

This is the sermon for the third week of Advent. The text I am preaching from is Zephaniah 3:14-20. In this message I focus on the hope we have from the presence of God.  However, before we can really appreciate the joy of the presence of God, we must first understand the implications of the presence of a just and perfect God.  When we really appreciate the holiness of God, then we can begin to comprehend the joy that God loves us and desires to be near to us.

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Hope is born

This is the sermon for the second week of Advent. The text I am preaching from is Luke 1:68-79.  In this message I stress that we are to be people who embody hope for others.  Zechariah’s song tells us that we were rescued to serve God all our days.  We are rescued from our enemies and to God.  This has implications for how we live our lives.

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This is an article I submitted to our local newspaper for the first week of December.
A little while back I was visiting with my Grandma and we talked a little about where God was in the midst of difficulties and suffering. She told me she has lots of questions. She told me that she misses Grandpa and was ready to go see him anytime. I choked up a bit and said, “I know you are Grandma. I know you are.” It’s been over 12 years since Grandpa died suddenly, and it still hurts. Grandma still really, really misses him.
Some of you reading this understand this situation all too well. When tragedy happens we grieve and mourn and then life marches on, whether we want it to or not. The holiday season can hit us especially hard in this sense. It’s the empty chair, or the memories of what once was, or the reminder of what could’ve been. It can seem that the world is happy and everyone else is celebrating. What do we do with feelings of sadness during “the most wonderful time of the year?” Continue Reading »

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