The Foolish Wise Man

contributed by:

Ron Klopfenstein

Men's:Life Director

Last weekend Tyler Ward took us through the story of Solomon and an amazing story it is.  Here is a man who is granted his request of God for great wisdom yet whose life is marked by times of great foolishness.

A Fresh Start

contributed by:

Staci Overbeck

Ministry Assistant to Adult Life

What is it about New Year's Day that makes it different from any other day of the year? Nothing. Yet, every year on December 31st millions of people make a list of resolutions that they hope to fulfill starting on January 1st. I am typically one of them. There is something about a clean slate that ignites the dream of what could be. Unfortunately, as soon as we fail in our resolve, things tend to return to status quo until next December 31st when the process begins again.

Extravagant Redemption

contributed by:

Ron Klopfenstein

Men's:Life Director

God desires to redeem you.  Do you really believe that?  I mean REALLY?  Sometimes we fail to understand the intensity with which God pursues us.  He is relentless and passionate about redeeming people.  His motive is love and it covers our sin, our circumstances, our past and our present.  He has paid the ultimate price of His son Jesus to accomplish this.

Insurmountable

contributed by:

Staci Overbeck

Ministry Assistant to Adult:Life

Laura was living a dream. She had written a number one worship song, was working in a ministry that she loved, and she had just married her high school sweetheart. Things were definitely good for her, but shortly thereafter, she realized that there was something a little off. A visit to a doctor and some testing revealed that Laura's husband had a brain tumor. His surgery resulted in some touch and go moments with the end result being significant vision and memory loss - including the memory of their recent marriage.

Depth

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
Spiritual Formation Pastor

One of the things that many Christians seem to be desiring is greater depth in their faith and relationship with Jesus. I think this is a great thing that as a pastor I celebrate - and as a fellow follower of Christ, I am desiring as well.

Heartbeat for Relationship

Contributed by:

Becky Johnson

Women's:Life Director

Recently, I ran across this prayer of Father Simon Tugwell:

“So long as we imagine that it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way around. He is looking for us. And so we can afford to recognize that very often we are not looking for God: far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against him. And he knows that and has taken it into account. He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought finally to escape him, we run straight into his arms. So we do not have to erect a false piety for ourselves, to give us the hope of salvation. Our hope is in his determination to save us, and he will not give in.”

Deliverance

Contributed by:

Tyler Ward

Spiritual Formation Pastor

This past weekend Ron Klopfenstein continued our series called The Story. We looked at chapter 4, which tells the story of God delivering the Israelite people from their slavery in Egypt through a man named Moses.

Through this story of deliverance, we were reminded of a variety of things that we need deliverance from – our past, the mentality that when God asks us to do things…it's all up to us, our comfort, and our tendency to fear and try to control things. As Ron pointed out, not only do we need deliverance in these areas, but thankfully God is fully willing and fully capable of delivering us. 

Here We Go Again

Contributed by
Eric Dunaway
Communications/Missions Pastor

My journey at Pathway has been a very interesting one...and one that I've enjoyed immensely. In August of 2006 I started here as the middle school pastor. At the time, I thought I would be in student ministries forever. If there's one thing that seems to be consistent in my ministry, however, it's that God never ceases to surprise me by his calling...and regularly gives me cause to eat my words.

A Story of Love

Contributed by:

Staci Overbeck

Ministry Assistant

Once upon a time there was…nothing. It’s kind of hard to believe isn’t it?  Nothing. Nada. Zilch. While on our honeymoon my husband and I visited a cave in southern Indiana. As part of the tour, the guide took us deep into the cave and then turned off all the lights. If you have never experienced total darkness, there is no way you can know the feeling. It is as if nothing else exists.

Fully Engaged

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
Small Groups Pastor

I remember my marriage proposal to my wife like it was yesterday. I had purchased the ring weeks in advance, and managed to keep it a secret...something that shocks me even to this day. My friends knew about it, my future in-laws knew about it...but my soon to be fiancé (I hoped) suspected nothing. In fact, I had managed to guard the secret so well that when I finally did propose to her on December 12, 1998, she was blown away...maybe a little too blown away. I don't think I had a firm answer from her for a solid ten minutes, which was the amount of time it took her to get over the initial shock. In case you're wondering, she said "yes."