LEFC Pastor's Report - 2025 In Review

Lanse Evangelical Free Church exists to glorify God

by bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ

through worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service.

Celebration Sunday September 2025

The Annual Pastoral Report

Pastor Matt Mitchell

Year in Review: 2025

Dear Church Family,

Serving King Jesus as your pastor is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Thank you for giving me another year to preach the Word, equip the saints, and shepherd the flock of Lanse Evangelical Free Church. 

Ours has been a long and fruitful partnership. Our congregation is nearly 134 years old, and I have been the pastor for more than one fifth of our church’s history. And I’m not done yet! I am eager to see what the Lord might do in and through us in the coming year.

Serving the King in New Territory

In my pastoral report this time last year, I emphasized the new territories that we had recently entered in ministry together and laid out a vision of “Serving the King in 2025.” I’m pleased to report that, by God’s grace, that’s truly what we did. Read through the pages of this document, and you will be encouraged to see many of the ways that our church family rolled up our sleeves and served the King of Kingdoms over the last twelve months. These are some highlights:

Ark Park Pavilion

Probably the most obvious new thing that happened for LEFC was the construction, dedication, and utilization of our brand new pavilion for the Ark Park! We are praising the Lord for this sheltering structure that is now giving us a new place to foster relationships both for the church family and our community. The Ark Park Pavilion is a perfect complement to the playground which we launched twenty-five years ago and the Lanse Free Fridge which just celebrated its first anniversary of helping our neighbors to feed one another. Thank you to our trusty Facilities Team who coordinated all of the efforts to erect it, and thank you to everyone who gave over the previous five years to fund this project. You were serving the King!

Serving Neighbors in Kentucky and Lanse

In July, we sent a ministry team to eastern Kentucky to serve the King by serving precious people whose homes had been devastated by flooding in 2022. The eleven of us (in our bright green t-shirts) lived in an EFCA church building for a week and traveled up and down the “hollers” doing construction and re-modeling led by ReachGlobal Crisis Response missionaries (in blue t-shirts). The motto we learned that week was “People Over Projects.” 

After we returned, some of our team, along with others from the congregation, served the King by serving a homeowner here in Lanse who needed help cleaning up garbage that had been dumped in a ravine behind his house. I hope we can do more to serve others locally, regionally, and globally in the days to come. 

New Logo

For over a year now, a diligent group of our staff and leaders have been working on ideas for a new logo to express the essence of our church in one simple recognizable image, and we hit upon an acorn with a cross embedded in it. We hope it captures the idea of life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. The cross is red to symbolize what our King did for us in His sacrificial death, and there is a green leaf shooting from the top to symbolize our spiritual growth together as a church family.

The acorn fits with our location here in the woods of central Pennsylvania, and it corresponds with the tree logo of the EFCA down to using some of the exact same colors. Thank you to the team who worked on conceiving it, especially Jeff Schiefer, our resident graphic artist, who donated his time and expertise to crafting this deceptively simple and deeply meaningful logo for the church.

Every Good Deed and Word

For the second half of 2025, I endeavored to pray 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 for every family in our church directory:

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

I prayed those words especially for our hard-working church staff and leaders.

Jordyn Skacel has led the growth and development of our Family Ministries in the last year. Read her report in these pages to learn about the many events, programs, outreaches, retreats, classes, and resources that have helped parents to lead their families into a life-changing relationship with our King, Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have a lot going on for families right now. And she’s still just getting started. There is much more to come!

Cindy Green continued to clean up our many messes and help us to be good stewards of the building that the King has given us to share and use for ministry.

Jenni English kept us all pointed in the same direction, providing clear church communications and orchestrating all of the details of the church office. After two years of faithful service, Jenni is now transitioning out of this role as her family has moved out of state. She continues to run the office from afar while she trains her successor. Thank you, Jenni, for all of your service for us and for our King!

As we prayerfully searched for Jenni’s successor, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the Lord was answering two prayer requests at the same time. Ever since we learned the sad news that the Quehanna Boot Camp and SCI Rockview would be closing, we had been praying for the many in our community and church who are affected. And the Lord led Keith Hurley who had been employed at Rockview to apply for the administrative assistant position for us which he will assume, Lord-willing, in early March. We look forward to seeing what our King will do in and through Keith in that new role.

I was privileged to serve the King alongside the other elders of our church–Keith Folmar (2025 chairman), Cody Crumrine (2025 vice-chairman), Keith Hurley, Curtis Quick, and Abraham Skacel. I believe that the King encouraged our hearts and strengthened all of us in every good word and deed done in His name in 2025.

Even More Growth

We continued to grow in 2025 in church participation, setting new records for attendance in Sunday morning worship. We averaged 171 people per Sunday, a 4.2% increase over the previous year (which was a record in my time here as your pastor).  We have grown significantly in attendance since the pandemic (up 24% from 2019), but we’ve been learning that the average attendance numbers don’t tell the whole story of just how large our worshiping community has become. Our attendance team tracked 467 individuals who came at least one Sunday in 2025! The previous year was 411 which had been another record.) The lowest attended Sunday was February 9th (121 people), and the highest attended was Resurrection Sunday (April 20th) with 254 people counted (more than the previous year). Perhaps the best number to focus upon is that we had 247 people who attended on average once per month in 2025.

We grew in membership, as well, taking in five new official members: Macy Mitchell, Roye & Cayli Houston, and John & Kara Suhoney. With a few departures and counting our five associate members, our membership now totals 96–which is also a record in my time here as your pastor.

Clearly we are continuing to grow which is encouraging because it means we have more people to bring into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and more people to send out to make disciples of others. This growth is also challenging in many ways because it brings new complexity, logistical problems, space considerations, and scheduling issues. We are “a growing family in a smaller house,” and we don’t all know each other! Let’s endeavor to set new records in 2026 for making new connections, learning each others’ names, and serving one another in love. 

Pastoral Ministry

This was a very active year for me in ministry. Being the solo vocational pastor of such a lively and growing flock means that I always have something valuable to do and also that I have to learn to prioritize my time and to empower others to serve the King, as well.

Preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2)

In 2025, I chose to lead our church into several daunting yet delightful books of the Bible which I had never preached through before with an overarching focus on eschatology. We began the year in 2 John and 3 John and then dove head first into the wild and wonderful Book of Daniel, focusing on the prophesy of “The King of Kingdoms.” After that, we studied both of Paul’s letters to the Church of the Thessalonians putting special stress on the “Eternal Encouragement” that we can enjoy and pass to others today. Near the end of the year, we reveled in the rollicking Tale of Queen Esther that raises the searching question “Where Is God?” and then answers it indirectly yet overwhelmingly in story form. I am so glad we are living in a comedy and that there is no such thing as chance! Lastly, during the holiday season, with the classic carol, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” on our lips, we studied what the Bible has to say about the arrival of the Son of the Most High and prayed for His soon return–“Come, Lord Jesus!”

Abraham Skacel, Cody Crumrine, Keith Hurley, Chip Wolfe, Caleb Lucien, Jim Panaggio, James Laird, and District Superintendent Kerry Doyal also fed us nourishing meals from God’s Word in 2025.

Equip the Saints (Ephesians 4:12)

I spend a lot of time in meetings and sending messages to empower, equip, and guide our staff and leaders to develop our ministries. I continue to be encouraged at the beautiful blend of new and older members who are working together to do effective ministry at LEFC. Check the roster for any of our ministries, and you will see the names of both younger and more seasoned volunteers listed. Ministry is a team sport, and while I do also get into the game as a player, increasingly my primary role on the team is to be a coach and a cheerleader. 

I also get to invest in equipping ministry beyond our local church family. In 2025, I got to teach on the Tale of Queen Esther and Resisting Gossip for the School of Discipleship at Miracle Mountain Ranch. I continued to serve as the Chairman of the Allegheny District Constitutions and Credentials Board. I got to assist five pastors get their ministry licenses in 2025, and there are more candidates for credentials right now than we have ever had in the process. Once again, I coordinated the Stay Sharp Theology Conference and answered theological and governance questions for churches who are considering affiliation with our association of churches. I also led an ongoing district pastors’ gathering that meets near Pittsburgh several times a year.

On the national EFCA level, I continued to serve as the Book Review Coordinator for the EFCA Blog. We published three book reviews this year including one by our own Cody Crumrine! I also continued as a member of the EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee which met both at EFCA One in Des Moines and also at my alma mater, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), one last time at their campus in Illinois. TEDS announced this year that they are moving to British Columbia to become the seminary of Trinity Western University, our sister school in western Canada. This seems to be a good move for TEDS as they continue to serve our King by raising up well-educated leaders for His global church.

One highlight of national ministry for me this year was being included on the interview team for the new EFCA Director of Pastoral Theology and Care. As a long-serving local EFCA pastor, I know how valuable it can be for our churches to have someone in that key role, and it was a joy and privilege to get to interview candidates and to provide my input on the selection. The new director is Scott Barber who works closely with Greg Strand and will also be teaching at Stay Sharp in March. 

It is no secret that I love the EFCA, and at the end of the year, I got to shoot a video for the national office extolling many of the things I deeply appreciate about their ministry for us. 

Thank you for allowing me time to serve our King outside of the West Branch area. 

Shepherd the Flock (1 Peter 5:2)

In 2025, I had the honor of spending more meaningful time with the people of our church family. Thank you for inviting me to visit your homes and workplaces, to sit in the audience or the stands cheering on your talented kids at dance recitals, drama productions, musical concerts, and all kinds of sporting events. It is a great privilege to sit by a hospital bed or stand by the casket of one of your loved ones. I truly love getting to be present for both the high times and hard times for our flock.

I had the solemn privilege of leading two memorial services in 2025–John Walter (who had died in late 2024) and Christine Miller. That is  probably a record for the fewest I’ve ever led in a year.

This year, I had the joys of officiating for Roye and Cayli (Bundy) Houston’s and attending Chad and Meizhen (Belko) Green’s weddings. I also got to speak at George and Betty Leathers’ fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration.

We had a record number of babies (6!) born to people connected to our church in 2025! I had the privilege of helping four sets of young parents dedicate their little ones to the Lord.

In November, I was honored to play a part in baptizing three followers of Jesus–Whittaker Crumrine, Jon Michaels, and Holly Michaels.

I can’t be there for every special moment, but as your shepherd, I love getting to be present for every one that the Great Shepherd allows me.

Speaking of shepherding, my own pastor, Kerry Doyal, is on a much-deserved sabbatical from December 2025 through February 2026. He has done a fabulous job of shepherding me these last six years, and I’m glad he’s getting a break. Pastors need pastors, too, and I have one of the best. 

Thank you all, as well, for loving and supporting me and my family. This flock takes good care of its shepherd, and Heather and I are extremely grateful.

Vision for 2026 - Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

I don’t have a grand plan for 2026. 

I know some of the things we hope to accomplish this year. You can get a glimpse of them from the other parts of this annual report. We hope to partner with up to three new missionaries to reach out with the gospel both in the United States and around the world. We hope to send youth to WinterCon and Challenge. We are gearing up for another excellent Family Bible Week and Fall Retreat. The Facilities Team is going to upgrade the playground and try out a pickleball court. There are all kinds of new things in the works, but I don’t have a detailed plan for everything we’re going attempt together this year.

I have, however, settled on what I’m going to preach first, and that is the Letter to the Hebrews. The unnamed author of that New Testament letter is concerned that his readers are tempted to take their eyes off of Jesus and go back to their old ways. So the author reminds them just how superlative and superior Jesus is to every other option. Jesus is greater than anything else and therefore is worthy of our continued contemplation. In chapter 12, he writes:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrew 12:1-2).

I can’t think of a better focus for us in 2026 in all that we do as a church than to keep our gaze fixed on our King. He is worthy!

In His Grip,

-Pastor Matt

Read More

“Glorious Things” [Matt's Messages]

“Glorious Things”

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

January 11, 2026 :: Psalm 87:1-7

I picked Psalm 87 for this morning because it’s so glorious and so...weird. I picked it because I really have never understood it. No matter how many times I’ve read it.

Every evening, I read a psalm to Heather Joy. I don’t know how many years now we’ve been doing that. Maybe twenty? Every night, I read the next Psalm in the Psalter. We start in Psalm 1 and we go to Psalm 150, and then we start over with Psalm 1 again. Some of them take a few nights to get through (like Psalm 119 because it has 176 verses!) but most are just one per night, so we make it all the way through the Psalms about two times a year.

And a few weeks ago, I read Psalm 87 once again to Heather Joy, and she just lit up, as usual. She loves it! She says, “My heart rejoices just hearing Psalm 87!” It thrills her to the core.

And that night I said, “I just don’t get it. I don’t know what’s going on here. At some point, I’m going to have to decide to preach it to really get a handle on it."

What is this psalm, this song, all about?

So, this week, as we’re in between sermon series, I was like, “I don’t know what to preach on this week,” and I found a note I wrote to myself that night. “Preach Psalm 87?” And I took it as a word from the Lord!

So here we are. Psalm 87.

It’s a psalm written by “The Sons of Korah.” There are about 12 of those sprinkled throughout the Psalter. The Sons of Korah were an inter-generational family of worship leaders that spanned many decades. They were a family who wrote worship songs for the people of God. Back during covid we studied a few of the Sons of Korah’s songs like Psalm 42, Psalm 46, and Psalm 84.

And this Psalm 87 was one of their greatest hits of all time. 

And it’s about Zion.

This is one of the “Songs of Zion.”

There about seven songs in that EP album (46, 48, 76, 84, 87,122, and 132). Not all of them were by the Sons of Korah, but a few were. 

The Songs of Zion are psalms that focus on the City of God. Jerusalem.

But not just Jerusalem as Jerusalem was but an idealized Jerusalem. A Jerusalem as God sees it. A Jerusalem as God wants it. A Jerusalem as Jerusalem will one day be.

I think that’s a lot of what is bound up when we read the word “Zion,” in the Bible. It’s not just the physical mountain on which the geographical city of Jerusalem was built. And it’s not just the geo-political city itself as it was in the time when the Sons of Korah were writing worship songs about it.

It’s more than that. It’s poetic and prophetic.

It’s what Zion stands for and what Zion will one day be.

That’s part of what makes it hard to understand, if you aren’t that into poetry (like me), and also what makes it so glorious because of what shines through as you study it and sing it for yourself.

In verse 3, the Sons of Korah sing to the city.

“Glorious things are said of you, O city of God...”

“Glorious Things!” The song sings to the city encouraging it that there are some wonderful things that are said about the city. Things that are so good that they are glorious. There are things that can rightly be said about this city that must be marveled at and celebrated and rejoiced over. And this city should take it to heart! “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God...”

And I think that as we read it closely, we’ll see that we (you and I right here in this room) can sing these same glorious things about us.

Because though we may not have ever even visited the earthly Jerusalem in the Middle East, we have come by faith, as the letter to the Hebrews says, “...to Mount Zion to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God...[We have come] to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. [We have come...] to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrew 12:22-24)!

And we will one day live in it. We are, and one day will, be the City of God. So these glorious things are in some way about us. No wonder Heather joy lights up when she reads Psalm 87!

Let’s see some of these glorious things. Number one. City of God...

#1. YOU ARE BELOVED!

Church, you are so loved by God Himself.

Let’s read the first three verses of Psalm 87.

“Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song. 

He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: Selah”

The word “Selah” probably is a musical notation to indicate an appropriate place to put a rest or an interlude in the song. It probably means, “That’s a good stopping place to take a breath and meditate on what was just sung. Stop, think, consider.” You don’t read the word aloud. You do the thing.

Stop, think, and consider this glorious thing said about you: You are beloved of God.

If you lived in Zion when the Sons of Korah were playing this song on the radio or streaming on your phone into your headphones, you’d be like, “Yeah, it’s so good to live here because God loves this city.”

Why? He loves it because He founded it. God is the “He” in verse 1.

“He has set his foundation on the holy mountain...”

The city of Jerusalem did not choose God. God chose the city of Jerusalem. He decided where it would be, and He made it holy. That mountain isn’t holy on its own or because it somehow recommended itself to God. No, it’s the other way around. That mountain is holy because the holy God chose to set His city down there. 

The holy God chose to “set up shop” there in Zion. The LORD led David to conquer Jerusalem and make it the capitol of Israel. The LORD led David to set up his throne there (see Psalm 2:7). The LORD led Solomon to build His temple there. Jerusalem became the leading city of Israel and the earthly headquarters of God Himself. That’s where His “home” was.

Now, God is not confined to the temple, amen? God is not confined to an earthly city, amen? He was not then, and He is not now, and He never will be confined. He is everywhere.

But that city was like a symbol of God’s presence on Earth. That temple was a visual reminder that God wants to dwell among His people and rule them. He wants to be at the center for them. In a special way, Zion stood there for heaven.

And therefore (v.2),  "...the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.”

And, boy, does He love the dwellings of Jacob! God just has a special place in His heart for the gates of Zion.

Now, why the gates? Perhaps because they are the entry way. God loves coming back “home” to Zion, so to speak. The gates of Zion are the front door with God’s name there on the plate. There’s no place like home. But the gates of a city meant more than that in ancient times. The gates of Hebrew cities were where the people gathered to do business and interact with each other in public and where most of the court-cases were held. 

The gates were where the people were. And the people are the most important thing about the city. It’s not the architecture that God cares about. It’s not the land or the buildings. It’s who is the city. That’s what God really cares about. He really cares about His city because He really cares about His citizens.

And that’s true for us, too, isn’t it? City of God, you are beloved! You are cherished. You are loved by God Himself. We are loved by God Himself! 

Think about that?! What a glorious thing.

We are loved by God Himself. And not because we somehow recommended ourselves to Him. 

We are not holy and beloved because we were so great. We are loved by God because God set His love us.

1 John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 

Imagine that! In fact, God had every reason to NOT lavish His love on us. We were His enemies!

Which I think is the point of the next section of the Psalm. Verses 4, 5, and 6.

“‘I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me– Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush–and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'’ Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.’ The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion.’ Selah.”

Just think about that.

Stop there and consider this glorious thing. City of God...

#2. YOU BELONG!

You! You belong to God. And there’s no reason for that outside of God.

This is the part of the psalm that I have struggled the most to understand. It’s got all of these names and all of this repetition and staccato syntax. It’s a bit like a freestyle rap in the middle of a song. And even when you get to understanding what all of the names point to, the meaning of it is so fantastical so majestical it’s hard to take in!

The biggest repetition is the word “born.”

“Born in Zion.”

“Born in her.”

“Born there.”

This one, that one. Born in Zion. Born in Zion. I almost titled this message, “Born in Zion.”

What a great privilege it would be to be born in the city that God loves, right?! If you are born there, you’re a citizen with all of the rights and privileges and prerogatives that come with being a citizen of that beloved city. You belong.

That’s what Heather Joy said to me this week when I asked her what all she loved about Psalm 87. She said, “It’s such a hopeful song of belonging.”

“This one was born there.”

You have a place. Safe, secure, happy.  And a place from conception and birth. “The one was born in Zion.” You belong!

But what makes the record scratch is that these people in verse 4 don’t belong!

Rahab?

Babylon?

Philistia?

Tyre?

Cush?

Maybe this message should have been called, “Stranger Things,” not “Glorious Things!” (I guess that name was already taken.)

Do these people belong? Are these people “born in Zion?”

According to God, yes. Because that’s Who is singing when we read verse 4. The Sons of Korah locate these words in the very mouth of God.

“I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me– Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush–and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'”

That’s God speaking. “Those who acknowledge me.” “Those who know me will include Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush.”

Now some Hebrew scholars point out that this could be translated as a taunt to those five people groups (see alternate translation in the 1984 NIV, the notes in the NIV Study Bible, and the NET Bible). 

And some translations take it in that direction. Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush will all one day have to say, what a privilege it would be to be born in Zion. And, boy, don’t they wish it was true for them.

But most translations don’t do go there. And I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. I think it’s just like what you see in the NIV. 

God[!] is saying that Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush will be recorded as people who know Him and were even born in Zion! They will belong.

And that’s amazing. Because they really shouldn’t.

Who are these people? These are all people groups.

Let’s start with Rahab.

Rahab is a nickname for Egypt. This is not the Rahab that hid the spies in Jericho in the book of Joshua. That name is spelled a little differently.

This is the Rahab that is a mythical sea monster in the books of Job, Psalms, and Isaiah that stands for the chaos that the LORD in His wisdom and power overpowered and defeated. And that name “Rahab” was then applied to Egypt as is a nickname for the way that that nation was like the sea monster. Both chaotic and powerful and defeated by God.

Were the inhabitants of monstrous Egypt “born in Zion?”

How about Babylon?

Have we learned anything about Babylon in the last twelve months? We started in on the Book of Daniel almost exactly one year ago.

Was Babylon friendly to the people of God? No! Babylon took the people of God into captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ransacked and burned down the city of Jerusalem! The city whose gates the LORD loves more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

Were the inhabitants of Babylon “born in Zion?”

How about Philistia?

That’s closer to home. What do we know about the Philistines? Were they the allies or enemies of the Israelites? Yeah, enemies! 

Were the inhabitants of Philistia “born in Zion?” Maybe some of them were born in Jerusalem physically before David conquered it, but they sure weren’t happy citizens of Zion.

How about Tyre?

Tyre was not Israel’s enemy at all times, but they were often a snare to them. Tyre was a wealthy commercial city on the coast full of Canaanites, and it often brought temptation to greed and envy and worldliness to Israel. And the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28 is described as the enemy of God in words that remind most readers of Satan himself!

Were the people of Tyre “born in Zion?”

How about Cush?

Cush was at the south end of Egypt, basically Ethiopia. It was considered far away. If you remember, the Persian kingdom of Xerxes in the first chapter of the book of Esther stretched all the way from India to Cush (Esther 1:1).

Could someone who is born all the way in Cush be “born in Zion?”

According to the LORD, yes!

Not every single person in Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush will be citizens of Zion. But some will be.

I think that’s what this song is saying!

People who should not belong will belong! 

You belong. Because of God’s amazing grace.

These people were outsiders. They were Gentiles. They were pagans. They were enemies. They were threats. They were offenders. They were hostile. They were trouble. They were on the wrong side of the line in so many ways.

But the LORD Himself sings[!] in verse 4 that they will be included.

“This one was born in Zion.”

“This one and that one were born in her.”

I think He’s going beyond those five nations and throwing in more and more.

He’s saying, “England.”

He’s saying, “Russia.”

He’s saying, “China.”

He’s saying, “Japan.”

He’s saying, “Malawi.”

He’s saying, “Haiti.”

He’s even saying, “The United States.”

He’s even saying, “Pennsylvania.”

He’s even saying, “People from Lanse.”

“This one and that one...”

“This one and that one...”

“This one and that one were born in her.”

And in verse 6 He doesn’t just say it. He says He’ll write it! Verse 6.

“The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

You belong. God Himself will write it! Verse 5 says, “The Most High Himself [El Elyon, the one above all other beings in the universe. The One we saw a few weeks ago Who will have a Son born of Mary, the Most High Himself] will establish her.”

This city is going nowhere. God says so. And you belong to it. God is writing it down.

What a glorious thing that is!

You see how this is about the future? The Sons of Korah were writing not just poetically but prophetically. The song keeps singing about what will happen. “I will record...I will say..It will be said...[He] will establish...[He] will write.”

This wasn’t happening in large part when the Sons of Korah were first singing it. When they were first singing it, Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush were all trouble. They did not belong.

But they could see a day coming when the nations would stream into Zion.

Many of the prophets had the same vision of the future. I think about the second chapter of Isaiah:

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

I think Psalm 87 is singing about that day.

It did start back then. Gentiles like Rahab and Ruth made their way into the people of Zion.

Remember at the end of the Tale of Esther how people throughout the kingdom of Persia “became Jews” because of what happened with her and Mordecai (Esther 8:17).

And pagans from the East like the Magi (probably from Babylon) came and worshipped the infant Jesus some time after He was born.

And then it really picked up steam after Jesus came back from the dead! Jesus told His Jewish followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [He had] commanded you.” And He said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“You belong! And so will the nations who put their trust Me.”

This part of the song reminds us that we have work to do. We have been given a mission to make disciples of all of the nations. Not just the Jews and not just the Americans. All of them.

And that’s why we are expanding our missionary efforts this year. We are in the process of adding at least two new missionary families to that wall back there. Missionaries here in the States and missionaries across the world. Because the LORD says that the nations will belong.

The Son of Man will be given authority, glory and sovereign power and all peoples, nations and men of every language will worship Him (see Daniel 7:14 and also Revelation 7:9).

And people who have no natural right to be there will say, “I was born in Zion. That’s my birthplace. Check out my birth certificate. Check out the city register. Check out the Lamb’s book of Life.”

Even thought I was born in Shelby, Ohio, this book written by God says, “This one was born in Zion.”

City of God, you belong! Isn’t that a glorious thing?

Now, it sounds both amazing and really easy. It’s hard to wrap your mind around but then it sounds like God just says it and it is so.

But we know what it actually took for the LORD to do this. It took the One Who really did belong to be rejected for us who did not belong to become the ones who now citizens of the City of God.

The Book of Revelation chapter 5 says that the Lord Jesus was slain and by His blood purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve God, and they will reign on the earth. (See Revelation 5:9-10.)

By His blood. People who should not belong will belong! And that includes you and me.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Can you believe that? Isn’t that a glorious thing? Have you turned from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and your King? Then you belong! By His amazing grace, you belong. Zion is your birthplace. And you are a part of the City of God. And one day you will live in it. Or as Paul wrote, “the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother” (Galatians 4:26, see also Philippians 3:20).

“This one and that one were born in her.”

What do you do with something so glorious as this?

You sing! Right? You rejoice. You celebrate. You raise the roof. You marvel. There’s one more verse in this song, and it is all about how the city sings back to God. Look at verse 7.

“As they make music they will sing, ‘All my fountains are in you.’”

The “they” are the peoples. Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Cush and this one and that one and this and that one as us.

As the city of God realizes how good they have it, they will sing, “We are blessed!”

#3. YOU ARE BLESSED!

City of God, you are so blessed of God.

Some of the Hebrew words are a little hard to translate. Some have “singers and dancers.” Some have “singers and pipers.” Anyway about it, this city is soaring with joy.

And they are all singing the same song, “All my fountains are in you.”

I love how they are singing together but they all use the singular “my.” Each one knows that they are blessed. Each one knows that they have it so good. They are beloved. They belong. They have all of the privileges of being a citizen of God, and there is no greater thing.

Because God has given them fountains!

Some of your Bibles says, “springs.” “All my springs are in you.” That’s not the kind that go, “boing, boing.” It’s the kind that goes “whoosh.” The kind that spring up with life-giving water. The kind that refresh you. The kind that the water dances and nourishes and supplies.

Psalm 46 is another Psalm of Zion. It says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells” (v.4)

Psalm 36 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Psalm 36:7-9).

And the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38, see also John 4).

And we sing, “All my fountains are in you!”

We are so blessed. And one day we will know this like never before.

In Revelation 22 (that we looked at a couple weeks ago), it starts like this. John says, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. [The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear?] And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-5).

We are so blessed and we will be so blessed.

In 1779, John Newton who wrote a little song called “Amazing Grace” (which we sang last week) wrote another little song called “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” based on Psalm 87. 

It’s hymn #278 in the blue hymnals. And we’re about to sing it. It’s set to the same tune by Franz Joseph Haydn in #9 that we sang at the start of our worship time today. 

As you turn there I want to point out where it is in your hymnal.

There’s different places where we could put this song. 

You could put in the advent songs about the Old Testament promises longing for fulfillment when the Messiah comes. Because it really wasn’t very realized when the Sons of Korah were writing it.

But our hymnal has it in the section of songs about the church. Johnny Newton knew that Psalm 87 was about us. The church of the firstborn.

Recently, I been using a new hymnal called, “The Sing! Hymnal,” in my devotional times in the morning. And this one is in there, too. But it has it in the back in the songs about the last things, song about the return of Christ and of heaven.

It fits there, too.

Because this Song of Zion is poetic and prophetic of that day when we know just how blessed we are. 

John Newton wrote:

“Glorious things of thee are spoken,

Zion, city of our God;

He whose word cannot be broken

Formed thee for His own abode.

On the Rock of Ages founded,

What can shake thy sure repose?

With salvation's walls surrounded,

Thou may'st smile at all thy foes.

See, the streams of living waters,

Springing from eternal Love,

Well supply thy sons and daughters,

And all fear of want remove.

Who can faint while such a river

Ever flows their thirst to assuage?

Grace which, like the Lord, the Giver,

Never fails from age to age!”

- John Newton

Read More

“One Thing I Ask” [Matt's Messages]

“One Thing I Ask”

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

January 4, 2026 :: Psalm 27:1-14  

What are you asking the Lord for in 2026?

What are you praying for as we set out into a new year? What do you want?

Many of us start the year by making some goals. We’re going to lose the weight we put on during Christmas, and we’re going to get “shredded.” We’re going to read our Bibles from cover to cover. We’re going to get our finances under control. We’re going to pray more.

These are all good things to aim at.

I’m asking, “When you are praying more, what are you going to pray for?”

What are you asking the Lord for in 2026?

As I thought about where to start our study of the Bible this first Sunday of the year, I quickly settled on Psalm 27, one of the psalms by King David.

It’s a beautiful psalm. One of the boldest and brightest in whole Psalter. And it starts with one of the most exuberant and positive expressions of confidence in the Lord in the whole Bible. Verse one is one that every single Christian should have committed to memory and stored up in our hearts.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?”

What a great declaration to begin a new year!

But the main reason I settled on Psalm 27 for us today is that King David also has one big prayer request. He’s got one main thing that He is praying for with his whole heart. He sings it in verse 4, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek.”

If you want to know David’s heart, it’s right here.

And I think that the one thing that David wants should be the one thing that we want, too, in 2026.

The one thing that we pray for in 2026. The one thing we seek. What is that? We will see....but let’s start where David starts his song. Psalm 27, verses 1 through 3.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident” (vv.1-3).

Doesn’t that sound great?!

Psalm 27 is a psalm of:

#1. GLAD-HEARTED CONFIDENCE.

David is scared of no thing. At the start of his song, David is not afraid of anything that is coming at him in life.

That doesn’t mean he won’t have trouble. He can foresee lots of trouble in his future. David had enemies left, right, and center. He was constantly under attack, nearly his whole life. And not just from other nations. He was attacked by members of his own family. His father-in-law. His son! David looked out on his future and can imagine evil men coming at him like a pack of wolves to eat up flesh. He can imagine war coming at him with enemies on every side.  

But he is not scared in the slightest. “My heart will not fear.” He sings! Because he expects to win. He expects his enemies to stumble and fall. They might rise like Haman did (boo/hiss!), but they are going to fall like Haman did, too. "It doesn’t matter what they throw against me!" (V.3) “...even then will I be confident.”

Is that how you are going into 2026? Some of you are. You are busting into the new year and saying, “Do your worst 2026! My heart will not fear!”

I want to be like that. I want to feel that glad-hearted confidence and sing it out.

What was David’s secret? He didn’t focus on his enemies. He focused on the LORD. Right? David doesn’t say, “I’m not afraid of my enemies. I’m strong than them. I’m going to be tough this year. I’m going to be unbeatable.”

No. What does he say? “The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?” David is confident, not in Himself, but in the LORD, Yahweh. 

He says that LORD is his light.  What a beautiful declaration. That’s right up there with the, “LORD is my shepherd,” isn’t it?  

Notice that the LORD doesn’t just provide light to David. He doesn’t just send light to David. He IS David’s light! Personally. And that means so much. Light stands for everything that is good. Light stands for everything that is positive. Warmth, guidance, blessing, holiness, wonder, glory. The LORD is all of that for David and so much more.

I’ve been walking in the dark this winter. I get up before the sun does and head out in the snow and ice to get my steps in. And it’s good for me even in the dark.

But a few days last month, especially because of the holiday, I got to sleep in a little bit, and when I was coming back from my walk, the sun was coming up. 

And it was on my back and on the trees of Lanse, and it just lifted my heart to see the light. One day, I turned around and took this picture (12/15/25).

“The LORD is my light!”

“And my salvation.” Again, the LORD doesn’t just send salvation to David. He is his salvation.

The light dispels the darkness. The light saves the king from the danger.

Then David asks a question, “Whom shall I fear?” What’s the answer to that question? ... Nobody!

And then he has another metaphor for the Yahweh. “The LORD is the stronghold of my life...” What does that mean? It means the LORD is his protection. The LORD is the place that David goes to feel safe. A mighty fortress is David’s God. He runs to the LORD and is safe. 

Question. If this is true, “of whom shall I be afraid?” Answer? Nobody.

In other words, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one. Lots of people can be against us, but none of them will prevail.

Now, David felt that way for good reason. He was the anointed king of Israel. And he had been promised success against his earthly foes. He had been promised by God in 2 Samuel 7 that his kingdom would prosper and he would have rest from all his enemies. 

The LORD would be his light, salvation, and stronghold. And David, as he trusted and obeyed the LORD would just win, and win, and win and win.

Does this mean that Christians today will never lose a battle? That all we’re going to do in 2026 is win, win, win, win, win?

No...and yes. Because the LORD has promised that, ultimately, we will never lose to our true enemies.

Our enemies are not quite like David’s. They are not flesh and blood. They are more spiritual than that. Darker and more sinister but just as defeated.

The Apostle Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? .... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

Because He is our light and our salvation and the stronghold of our life! Whom shall we fear?

I want to sing like this. But it’s not always easy. 

Sometimes I have to sing verse 1 like this, “The LORD is my light and mys salvation (Don’t forget, O my soul!). The LORD is the stronghold of my life (even though it doesn’t feel like it right now). Help me, Lord, to not be afraid.”

The key is to focus on the LORD and not on our enemies. And that is the number one thing that David prays for in Psalm 27. That he would focus on the LORD like no other.  Look at verse 4.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

Psalm 27 is a song of glad-hearted confidence and also:

#2. SINGLE-HEARTED DEVOTION.

One thing! “One thing I ask of the LORD. This is what I seek.”

Now, David asks lots of things. He is constantly praying for things. He will pray for more than one thing in this song about praying for one thing.

But he means that that there is one central thing that all the other things orbit. He means that this one thing is more important than all the other things. He means that all those other things come from this one thing. He means that there is ultimately just one thing. And that is to truly know God.

He puts it in terms that his fellow Old Testament Israelites would understand.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

Now, he doesn’t mean that literally. David was never going to move into the tabernacle or (after his son built it) into the temple. And he doesn’t expect to actually see God face to face in there. He knows what the LORD told Moses, “...you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).

But David does want to be with the LORD. He wants to know the LORD. He wants to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him...” He wants to be close to God. He wants to know what He is like. He wants to ponder God’s glory. He wants to think about how God is His light and salvation and stronghold. And so much more!

And David doesn’t just want to do it a little bit and be done. He wants to linger. He wants to gaze, focus, ponder, and never stop! 

“...all the days of my life” Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like Psalm 23 to me. “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6).

And of course, we know that that’s what heaven will be like! Like we learned about last week.

David’s one thing was that he wanted to know God. And I think that should be our “one thing” in 2026, too. 

David wanted to keep His focus on the Lord. And that’s where he got his confidence. You see that in verse 5?

“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD” (vv.5-6).

David expects to be rescued and to win not because of his superior wisdom or fighting skills, but because he belongs to the LORD.

David will be safe. Do you hear all the words that express his feelings of safety and security? He uses like lots of different words for a home. “Dwelling, shelter, tabernacle.” David expects to run home safe to the LORD. He is that “stronghold.” And if the LORD is your stronghold, you can’t lose!

David expects to worship with shouts of joy and sing songs like “Amazing Grace.”

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We’ve not less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun.”

    -John Newton

And then the song...changes. All of sudden there’s a different kind of vibe to this song, a different mood. David has been so positive and confident and expectant, and then all of sudden, he’s crying out for mercy and help. Look at verse 7.

“Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”

That sounds kind of different. I don’t know if something has changed in his circumstances? Or maybe in his heart. In his feelings. I know that I’ve gone from highs to lows, sometimes in a very short amount of time.

David does it while singing the same song. But, notice, his focus doesn’t change. He’s still focused on the LORD. He’s crying out to the LORD. And he has the same “one thing” that he’s aiming at, the same one thing that He’s seeking–the LORD’s face. Verse 8.

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Now, the Hebrew there is kind of difficult to translate. Some of your versions might have the LORD saying to David and others, “Seek my face.” That might be right. (The word for “seek” there is plural.) But either way, David answers back either to his heart or to the Lord’s call, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

"I will make You my top priority. I will make knowing You my top priority. You are my one thing."

Have you said this to God yet this year? Have you told the Lord that you are going to seek His face?

1 Chronicles 16:11, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”

2 Chronicles 7:14, “...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Psalm 105, verse 3. “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”

Make it your overriding desire to know God. There is no greater thing.

Psalm 27 makes me think about Philippians chapter 3.

Where the Apostle Paul talks about how there is no greater thing than knowing our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul writes, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ [to seek His face!]–yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8-14).

One thing: Seek His face in single-hearted devotion.

The thing that scares King David the most is not losing a battle, it’s losing sight of the face of Yahweh. Look at verse 9.

“Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.”

He’s pleading with God to not leave him alone. That’s the worst thing that could ever happen.  And he doesn’t think it will. He knows that God has saved in him the past, and he believes that he will receive in the future. He calls God, “my Savior,” which is call back to verse, “my salvation.” And then he says (v.10)...

“Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”

Now, I don’t think that means that his parents had abandoned him. I think it’s just theoretical. It could mean that by then they had died and left him, but the LORD never would. Either way, even if David lost the loving presence of his parents, he knows that, by God’s grace, he will never lose the LORD’s face.

So he will ever seek the LORD’s face.

Do you feel the confidence still thrumming through this part of the song? David knows he’s a sinner. And he knows that he can lose the blessing of the Lord by taking his eyes off Him. He’s done that before. But he also knows that God is full of amazing grace for sinners such as he is.

And he wants to know God more and more. “Your face, LORD, I will seek!” Look at verse 11.

“Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence” (vv.11-12).

King David asks the LORD to give him direction. “Teach me your way...lead me in a straight path.” That’s another great thing for us to pray for in 2026. That the LORD would give us guidance. But David doesn’t just ask for direction. He asks to be shown, “the LORD’s way.”

He wants to do things God’s way. He wants to know God’s will. Part of seeking God’s face is seeking God’s will. And we learn that by learning God’s Word.

Seeking the Lord’s face will change the direction of your life. Some people want to become Christians as long as it doesn’t change anything in their lives. As long as it doesn’t affect their relationships, their money, their habits, what they do with their time. “Show me your face, Lord, but don’t readjust my priorities.” That doesn’t work.

What changes do you know the Lord is calling you to make this year so that you are truly seeking after Him?

Do you dare to pray verse 11? “Teach me your way, O LORD?”

David knows that the LORD’s way is the only way out of his problems. He’s got enemies rising up left and right, “breathing out violence.” But he knows if the Lord makes his path straight, then he will slide right by them.

“Lead me in a straight path.” That’s basically the same words in Hebrew as Proverbs 3:6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

And then, in verse 13, David’s confidence shines through again. Verse 13.

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (vv.13-14).

Psalm 27 is a song of glad-hearted confidence, single-hearted devotion, and whole-hearted assurance.

#2. WHOLE-HEARTED ASSURANCE.

David sounds quieter to me here at the end of his song that he was at the beginning. He’s not so declarative and boisterous. But he’s still believing. “I am still confident of this. I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

Now, for David that probably meant rescue from his enemies and winning at warfare. He won’t die but will see the kingdom promises of God be fulfilled in David’s day. But we know that they were only partially fulfilled in David’s day. We know that there was still a Son of David that needed to come and be born in the City of David to bring all of those promises, all of that goodness to the fullest fulfillment forever and ever.

So we can pray, “We are still confident of this: We will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the ever-living.” For all who belong to Jesus Christ. I hope that’s all of us here today.

King David ends his song with an exhortation to wait. I’m not sure if he’s saying verse 14 to other people like you and me who are listening to his song. Or if he’s saying it to his own heart. Might be both.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

He will come through. 

Remind yourself of this as you walk into 2026. The LORD will come through. Put your hope in Him.

He is your light.

He is your salvation.

He is the stronghold of your life.

Of whom should you be afraid? No one.

Tell your heart “Seek His face!”

And wait for the LORD to appear.

“[B]e strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

Make that your one thing.

Read More

Highlights from Reading in 2025

I don’t have a “Best Books of 2025” list to share this time around.

I was blessed to read many great books in 2025, but most weren’t in the categories I’ve included in that sort of list in previous years. And I haven’t yet finished the two books that have won my attention the most in 2025–The Sing! Hymnal and The Devil’s Redemption.

The Sing! Hymnal 

A few months ago, I listened to an incredible interview with Keith Getty on "Gospelbound" with Collin Hanson. They talked about the new hymnal that Keith and his wife Kristyn have produced with a team of pastors, theologians, and musicians. I went out and ordered one right away.

This hymnal brings together the best of transatlantic English hymnody of the past and the present in a beautiful format (including online offerings). I am reading it every morning as part of my devotions. The Gettys have curated a wonderful collection of God-glorifying and Gospel-centered songs and readings. I’m giving copies out as gifts left and right!

The Devil’s Redemption: A New History and Interpretation of Christian Universalism

This two-volume work on universalism came out in 2018, but this is the year I had the gumption to try to read it. Michael McClymond is a scholar’s scholar, and he has written a top-notch history of the heresy of universal salvation in all (and I mean all!) of its forms. The scope and depth of the book is truly breathtaking. It is way beyond my abilities to comprehend (and even, at times, to follow), but I am making progress and learning a lot as I go. I borrowed the two volumes in July and keep getting extensions from the very patient lending library. I’ve reached page 892 (out of 1180) and hope to have it completed by the end of January.

The reason I want to have it read before February is that I get to meet the author then! Michael McClymond is going to be one of the main teachers at the 2026 EFCA Theology Conference. He will also be teaching a breakout session which I have been tasked with hosting. I’m excited (and a bit intimidated) to get to spend some time with him next month.

Jane Austen

It is a truth that should be universally acknowledged, that if you are a world-class genius author having a 250th birthday, you must be congratulated and your classic books read afresh. So this year I started to read through the works of Jane Austen starting with Sense and Sensibility. I’ve seen the Emma Thompson movie many times but (to my shame) never read the book. I’m now about halfway through Pride and Prejudice which I read many decades ago. 

I was informed and inspired in my Austenalia by the Undeceptions episode dedicated to her. Give it a listen!

Speaking of the classics, I also read Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson in 2025. It took me a while to get through the copious Scottish words sprinkled throughout, but what an adventurous ride! I read Treasure Island the year before. I wonder what Stevenson I could dive into for 2026? By the way, if you get to read some RLS, try to find one with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. Heather and I visited the Brandywine museum again on our vacation in August. Wyeth’s art captures the motion and emotion of every scene.

More Inspector French!

I always have at least one story going about a detective, a sailor, or a spy–often all three. 

In 2025, I continued my quest to read all of the detective stories by Freeman Wills Crofts. Crofts was a genius who invented different kinds of detection novels including the "how-catch-em" (instead of a who-dun-it) like Columbo would eventually make popular on TV.

I think I read seven more Crofts’ novels starring stalwart Inspector Joseph French and began re-reading some of them to Heather Joy in the evenings. One standout this year was one where the murderer became repentant and confessed before the police caught him. I didn’t see that coming!

In a similar vein, I discovered a new golden age detective novelist, E.C.R. Lorac (the pen-name of Edith Caroline Rivett). Her main detective is Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald, a “London Scot” with a love for the English countryside. Reading her books is my current “next-best-thing” to getting to travel back to the UK. I enjoyed them so much, I read one of them twice this year!

Reading for Preaching 

The greatest amount of reading I did in 2025 was studying commentaries for preaching for Lanse Free Church. I focused on books of the Bible that I had never preached before: 2 John, 3 John, Daniel, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Esther. I was blessed to spend hours upon hours with at least two dozen experts on the biblical text. 

It’s incredibly hard to choose, but probably the most amazing commentary I read this year was J. Paul Tanner’s Daniel: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. 

In my commentaries round-up review I said, “Tanner’s commentary is “the total package.” This is the height of evangelical scholarship on Daniel at this moment. Tanner has clearly read everything, and I mean everything. No stone is unturned. He provides an extensive bibliography and painstaking text critical notes, translation notes, and footnotes.

At the very same time, Tanner’s book is incredibly readable. He writes straightforward, accessible sentences in clearly marked sections so you always know where you are in the flow of the argument. There are helpful charts. Tanner is judicious and fair with all of his scholarship. He points out the strongest arguments of his opponents and the weakest of his own. He comes to dispensational conclusions but does not presuppose them. And it’s is warm-hearted, as well! Every unit includes commentary that ties that section of scripture to the rest of biblical theology and offers personal application, too. This is the very best kind of evangelical scholarship!

Tanner’s big books is probably too much for most ordinary readers, but most pastors should have this one if they’re going to tackle preaching Daniel.”

What a privilege it is to be set apart to study these faithful scholars and then feed the people of God!

Books by Friends 

A number of my friends published books in 2025 that I was privileged to read (some before they got out into the world!).

Raised in Splendor by Jason B. Alligood

Jason and I went to Moody together, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. His Raised in Splendor, which is about the sanctifying power of glorification was named as a finalist for the 2025 Christianity Today Book Awards. 

The Far Bank by Zeke Pipher

My endorsement: "Zeke Pipher knows about deep waters. In The Far Bank, Zeke has penned forty searching meditations on holy Scripture through the eyes and heart of a true fisherman. I’ve never been an angler myself (fishing always sounded more like work than rest), but my friend Zeke almost makes me want to tie a fly and wade into a river with his mesmerizing descriptions and meaningful tales.

The Far Bank is far from shallow. Zeke draws from some of the richest sources in Christian theology and plumbs some spiritual depths. I was personally encouraged by every insightful essay. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review, and my honest opinion is that Zeke is a man of understanding who is always worth reading (see Proverbs 20:5)."

Prophesying Daughters: Female Evangelists of the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission, 1892-1918 by David M. Gustafson

David and I are teammates on the EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee, and I am always impressed by his careful scholarship, deep memory, and evangelistic heart. This book is a comprehensive study of the women who served as evangelists with the Swedish Mission, part of the foundational legacy of the EFCA.

What was really fun was to find references to our church and area in here. The entire book is online and searchable (put “Lanse” or “Winburne” in the search bar to find out more!).

Wholeness: Vol. 1 Where God Is Bringing Us  & Vol. 2 How God Is Transforming Us by Bruce Weatherly

Bruce and I served as elders together at Lanse Free Church when I first started here as a pastor. At the end of 2024, I read what would eventually become this two volume work on transformation. Here’s what I said when he graciously asked for my endorsement:

“Wholeness is the result of decades of deep rumination on a few life-altering truths. My friend, Bruce Weatherly, has marinated his mind on a number of cherished passages in God’s Word for a very long time, personally experiencing freedom and joy, and is now sharing his discoveries with us. I recommend reading Wholeness as it was written–in snatches, over time, and with much reflection.”

EFCA Blog Book Reviews

And once again I had the privilege of coordinating book review for the EFCA Blog. We published three review articles, and two of them even featured my friends!

- Defending Sin by Hans Madueme  

- De-Sizing the Church by Karl Vaters

- A.I. Goes to Church by Todd Korpi

Boy-howdy, I am not ready for that last one! But I am glad that some smart people are thinking about it. 

Port William Once Again

Near the end of 2025, I got to read what will most likely be the last book by a living legend, Wendell Berry. Marce Catlett is a forceful story indeed. I am reminded that I need to re-visit Port William again anon.

Tolle lege in 2026!

Read More