Blog: January 2023 — December 2023

The largest tree on our property, a Red Oak in the driveway circle by the church office, is diseased and must come down. This massive tree has a trunk diameter of about 70 inches (at a point 5 feet above the ground).  Multiple sources indicate a growth factor of 4 for the Red Oak, so we do the math:  70 x 4 = 280:  the senior member of our office team is 280 years old. And so, this tree had super­vised our grounds for long ages before Goshen Baptist Church arrived here in the late 1960s.  In fact, it was already an octogenarian in 1827 ...

As our 2023 VBS and Waypoint ministries are now in the rear-view mirror, we come to a key fork in the road:  will we retain what we’ve taught and learned?  Children and teens and parents and volunteer helpers and the rest of us:  let’s take the truths from Waypoint and VBS and lock them down in our hearts. Waypoint 2023:  Our theme verse was Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every­thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all ...

Last week, based on Matthew 15:1-20, I said the Pharisees had a “math problem.”  They had trouble with addition and subtraction.  These religious leaders were adding “the tradition of the elders” to Scripture, and they were also subtracting “the commandment of God” from their teaching.  Bad math.  Serious spiritual errors. The Lord speaks stern words to anyone who would either add to or subtract from his revealed word:  “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:  if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the ...

Summer is upon us, so let’s pause and make sure we’re really ready for all that the season brings.  I don’t mean ready with sun-screen or a new BBQ grill, but with spiritual resolve to grow strong in Jesus during this odd season.  Here are a couple challenges: Don’t “bail” on the church—you need your church family and they need you all year round.  Baseball is seasonal; so are garden­ing and golf and surfing.  But being the body of Christ is not seasonal. Don’t take a vacation from your regular spiritual practices—from reading Scripture ...

If you're following our 2023-2024 Two-Year Bible Reading Plan (which available is on this page), right now you're in the thick of the conquest narratives:  God commands Joshua to lead the Israelites to enter the land of the Canaanites and slaughter its inhabitants.  The destruction of the city of Jericho may be the best known example of this (ch. 6). It is sobering and disturbing to read such passages.  What are we to make of this part of the biblical storyline?  What does the Book of Joshua teach us about the nature of God?  And how are ...

With Waypoint and VBS now upon us, our Prayer Gathering group took time this week to read Bible passages that would help us see the next generation the way that God sees them. One text was Deuteronomy 6:7:  “You shall teach them [i.e., truths from and about God] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” I was especially struck by the ordinariness here:  talk with your kids about God when you “sit” or “walk,” “lie down” or “rise”; ...

Sunday, Sept. 10: NO Sunday School Worship Service, 10:30 a.m., Sanctuary All-Church Picnic, 11:45 a.m., plan to stay for lunch! Sunday, Sept. 17: Return to our regular schedule: Worship Services, 8:30 & 11:00 a.m. Sunday School for all ages, 10:00 a.m.

In the Gospel accounts of Jesus calming the storm, we learn that Jesus' disciples experienced tremendous fear. Their fear was so great, they believed they would perish in the storm. Yet, Jesus experienced the same violent storm, and rather than quake in fear, He slept. The disciples’ fear emerged from a lack of faith in the One who slept in the boat. While they worried about their circumstances and allowed fear to overtake their hearts, Jesus remained confident in His control over all things–including the raging sea. Not a drop of an ocean ...

Adult Summer Sunday School 2023 9:30-10:15 a.m. - Fellowship Hall - Goshen Baptist Church Come join the conversation!   Elders’ Series:  Our Shared Identity:  Understanding Goshen’s Place among the Streams of Church Tradition (June 11, 18, 25): June 11, “Fundamentalism,” Russ Nixon June 18, “Mainline Protestantism,” Darrel Tedrow June 25, “Postmodernism,” Paul Yeung Great Christian Books Series (July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30): July 2, Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – overview by Mark Boyer July 9, Christianity and ...

In the aftermath of the passing of Tim Keller, John Piper shared about his most recent interactions with Keller.  And the upshot was to put a spotlight on Jesus’ words in Luke 10:20: “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In the context, Jesus is hearing reports from his disciples upon their return from a mission assignment.  He had sent them out two by two (v 1) to pray (v 2) and speak God’s peace to the people (v 5).  They were to beware of ...

Faith is a common theme throughout the Bible. We may not find the word faith on every page; however, in nearly every description of what God expects of His people, there is at least an indication of faith. Throughout Scripture, we read that faith is the means by which God is pleased with His people as they chose to trust Him. Hebrews 11 emphasizes the significance of faith by unpacking how God has been saving His people through faith from the beginning. From creation to the first family and on and on throughout the lives of individuals, ...

On May 19, Pastor Tim Keller entered into the radiant presence of Jesus.  I’ve often referred to Keller’s writings—he’s been a helpful guide for interpreting both Scripture and culture.  In 2020 he pub­lished a short book entitled, On Death. Here are some key points: Our death-denying, medicine-driven modern culture “is the worst in history at preparing its members for the only inevit­ability—death” (p. 11). While our today’s secular culture gives us little to help us deal with the looming fact of death, “the Christian faith has some ...

The Gospels record dozens of descriptions of the works that Jesus did. We learn about how He served, saved, and showed His power in miraculous ways for the sake of revealing His divine authority to His disciples and others. Yet even with all the astounding works of Jesus that are described through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Gospels still don’t contain the whole of all that Jesus did. In fact, John concludes his Gospel by declaring, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I ...

If you’re a Christian, and if Goshen is your church, God intends for you to be active in the life of our church serving others and being served—building others up and being encouraged in your faith.  It is not his will for any of us to just “attend,” or that we just come and listen and go.  That is not how the body of Christ functions. Having spiritual gifts (as all believers do, 1 Cor 12:7) yet not using them to serve one another is like having muscles but never exer­cising them—you become weak and unwell; failure to thrive.  By con­trast, ...

“I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.” These words from Charles Hutchinson Gabriel’s classic hymn “My Savior’s Love” have been sung and treasured for more than a century. When Gabriel first released this song in a 1905 hymnbook, it served as a reminder to the church of the deep love of God, His work through Christ, His presence in all circumstances, and their cause for celebration and amazement. In all the rich truths of the five stanzas of this great hymn, the ...

My mother left this world and entered Jesus’ presence in 2012.  I’d like to re-share a Mother’s Day tribute to her that I wrote in 2011: Grace Constance (“Connie”) Sjolund was born a “PK”—pastor’s kid.  Her mom was an artist (painter) and home­maker, and her dad pastored First Swedish Baptist Church of Minneapolis (now Bethlehem Baptist) from 1928 to 1948.  Mom came to faith in Christ at a young age and grew up in the church.  She met her future husband in the 1940s in the church’s “young people’s group” (Ken Nelson, a Wisconsin farm boy ...

The GBC Softball Season begins on Tuesday, May 16, at Elam United Methodist Church - 1073 Smithbridge Rd, Glen Mills, PA 19342. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 16th Monday, May 22nd Wednesday, May 24th* Tuesday, May 30th Monday, June 5th Wednesday, June 7th Tuesday, June 20th Monday, June 26th Wednesday, July 5th Questions?  Contact Tom Buddenhagen.   *ELCA, at Clayton Park - 3173 Garnet Mine Rd, Garnet Valley, PA 19060

In Psalm 73:2-3, Asaph, a worship leader of God’s people, tells how he nearly came to ruin:  “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” We may be tempted to think of envy as a “minor sin,” but it’s perilous.  “Envy makes the bones rot” (Proverbs 14:30), and it undermines reverence for God (23:17).  Jesus lumps envy in with sins like adultery and murder (Mark 7:21).  Those who follow the way of envy “will not inherit the kingdom of ...

Our trek in Matthew’s Gospel recently brought us to a paradoxical saying:  “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (10:39).  What does Jesus mean? The immediate context (v 38) is about following Jesus by bearing a cross: dying to sin and walking in his self-giving steps.  So, working to “find” your life (i.e., define, control and rule over it) is contrary to faith and leads to “loss”—the ultimate loss.  But trust releases the reins of your heart to Jesus:  he’s in charge. God delivers ...

A clear reality that echoes throughout the New Testament is that God sends those He saves. Jesus commanded His disciples to go and tell others about Him. (Matt. 28:18-20) The story of Jesus and a Samaritan woman in John 4 also provides reminders of this idea. Upon the Samaritan woman’s hearing that God Himself was standing before her, she left her water—the very thing she had come to the well for—and returned quickly to her town to tell of this man. Her response was not to run from Jesus but to expend her energy bringing others to Him: ...