Pastor's Pen

Dear HLPC family, At least once a year I like to share with you a real gem from Charles Spurgeon’s devotional, Morning by Morning. It’s one of my favorites that needs repeated attention. Spurgeon, as you know, was the well…

Dear HLPC family, I have been reading through the letters of John Newton during this season, and stumbled across a letter he wrote to a faithful member of his congregation, Miss Medhurst, who was experiencing some unknown trial in her…

Dear HLPC Family, This congregation has not been unfamiliar with grieving as of late.  Even my own community up north, the Mid-America Reformed Seminary community, has been visited by sorrow, grief, and mourning in the past months, and again very…

Dear HLPC family, As I sit to write you this Pastor’s Pen, I honestly find myself very weary.  It’s been a physically and emotionally demanding few weeks here at our church for many of us.  The past few days have…

Dear HLPC family, It’s time for my annual “Praise God for VBS” Pastor’s Pen!  Once again, we have a great group of kids and a fantastic group of volunteers.  Yes, it’s a tiring week for all involved, but we get…

Dear HLPC family, Franz and Kelliann Stagl, along with their three children, are making the trek from Indiana to Georgia today. They’ll be spending tonight in Nashville and will arrive tomorrow sometime.  Please pray for their safe travels with three…

Dear HLPC family, This past weekend I officiated the wedding of our niece, Amy, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  She is the oldest daughter of Connie’s sister, Susie.  We had a great time with family and enjoyed not only the wedding…

Dear HLPC family, Yesterday was almost the trifecta of Presbyterian experience for me, Chuck Ezell, Gregg Jerome, and Zach Hood.  If somehow we had been able to attend the PCA General Assembly, it would have been.  What do I mean?…

Dear HLPC family, This week begins a sermon series within a sermon series. We will be looking at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.  I’m looking forward to our time together in this portion of God’s word and the encouragement…

Dear HLPC family, “How was your week?”  Like you, I get asked that regularly.  Like you, I most often give what could be labelled as an automated response.  “It was good.”  That may or may not be true. Some weeks,…

Dear HLPC family, A few things today: Connie and I are overwhelmed by the kind encouragement and generosity of our Elders and the church in regard to the Sabbatical we are taking in July and August.  As part of our…

Dear HLPC family, I’m grateful to God for how He has blessed us so far in this Missions Week 2024.  It was encouraging to hear from some of our newest missionaries serving in El Salvador, Clay and Hannah Jones. We…

Dear HLPC family, Thanks to all that stayed for our AWOL gathering this past Sunday.  I’m grateful for the work of our Deacons in presenting a financial update for the church and I’m always happy to review our desires and…

Dear HLPC family, Last night the Elders and Deacons met for their monthly gathering.  You should know that the Lord has been very good to us as a church in blessing us with godly men in places of those Biblically…

Dear HLPC family, Thank you very much for your prayers for my week of ministry in Santiago, Chile teaching a course on the book of Ephesians.  The Lord was very kind to me to give me uneventful and safe travel…

Dear HLPC family, Once again, greetings from Santiago, Chile.  My time here is almost halfway over and I remain thankful for the great opportunity to teach here with Seminario Reformado Latinoamericano (SRL).  The Lord is doing an encouraging work through…

Dear HLPC family, Apparently, my remarks this past Sunday confused some but I don’t leave for Santiago, Chile until THIS Sunday night to teach with Seminario Reformado Latinoamericano (SRL), which translates as “Reformed Seminary of Latin America.”  My nonstop flight…

Dear HLPC family, This past Sunday I mentioned seven ways we can prepare our hearts for suffering. These seven ways come out of Ligon Duncan’s book Does Grace Grow Best in Winter?  Since I ran through them rather quickly, I…

Dear HLPC family, Years ago, a book became popular in Christian circles called The Prayer of Jabez.  The theology of that book was fraught with problems.  I’m more drawn to “The Prayer of Jehoshaphat.”  Maybe I need to write a…

Dear HLPC family, It’s June 28th.  On this day in Charles Spurgeon’s devotional, Morning by Morning, is provided one of my favorites in the book.  I’ve used it before as a Pastor’s Pen.  Let’s read it again and let the…

Dear HLPC family, It has been a whirlwind-few-weeks it seems.  Right after we finished Vacation Bible School, it was off to the PCA General Assembly in Memphis, TN where Ruling Elder Keith Duvall and I served as commissioners.  We gave…

Dear HLPC family, Vacation Bible School 2023 is well underway, and God has answered prayers.  We have a wonderful team of volunteers who are joyfully serving children, and the curriculum we are using does a great job of pointing kids…

Dear HLPC family, Last week, Connie and I took some time to be with our family on a week of vacation. My parents were able to join us making it an extra special trip.  I was glad that Tim Grider,…

Dear HLPC family, The Lord has blessed our church with a great group of children!  As a church, we are committed to covenant theology which sees the children of believing parents as a part of the church family or covenant…

Dear HLPC family, There is a wonderful abundance of daily devotional books.  They are a great supplement to your own daily Bible reading.  Connie enjoys reading Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life daily devotionals while I have benefited daily from Richard Sibbes’…

Dear HLPC family, I’m sure you’ve noticed that God is blessing HLPC with an ever-increasing number of children!  We are thankful for this opportunity to minister to them and to their families!   Right now, we have several needs for help…

Dear HLPC family, I hope you will be able to join us this Sunday as we bookend the Lord’s Day with worship.  We will have our regular worship service at 10:30AM and we will have Sunday evening worship at 6PM,…

Dear HLPC family, This passage has been heavy on my mind and heart the past couple of days:  On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased (Psalm 138:3, ESV).  It’s the words of David…

Dear HLPC family, Connie and I attended our first Ligonier National Conference in Orlando back in the early 90’s.  We have been to many of them over the years.  I have always left them greatly encouraged in my faith and…

Dear HLPC family, Lord willing, we only have three more weeks in our sermon series on the book of  Revelation.  This Sunday, we expect to be in chapter 20.  This is, without doubt, the most debated and controversial chapter of…

Dear HLPC family, Last night the Elders and Deacons met for their monthly meeting.  A major business item was the approval of the 2023 budget.  In November of last year, the decision was made to move from a calendar year…

Dear HLPC family, Our Missions Week is off to a great start!  If you were in our School of Discipleship this past Sunday, you heard two very encouraging missions reports.  Shaun Hurrie shared from Capetown, South Africa, via Zoom, of…

Dear HLPC family, I’m excited that HLPC Missions Week is upon us!  COVID threw us all off of our routine as a church and we need this to return as an annual event for us.  Missions Week will take place…

Dear HLPC family, This morning I was reading and praying through Psalm 1 in my daily time of Bible reading and prayer.  There I read: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands…

Dear HLPC family, This year is the 60th anniversary of the publication of the book Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen.  Dr. Machen was the founder of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia and one of the early leaders in the…

Dear HLPC family, One night I cut the tip of my thumb trying to “help” Connie in the kitchen.  It took a while to stop the bleeding, and being right-handed, it proved to be quite a nuisance for a couple…