Preparing for Next Sunday at NRN - Pastor Rick Returns from Sabbatical!

Next Sunday Pastor Rick returns from his first Sabbatical leave. 

The two outstanding questions asked by every pastor interviewed by Pastor Rick over the past 6 weeks have been: (1) Pastor Rick, How old are you?  and (2) Pastor Rick, how long have you been in ministry?  Well, I have recently celebrated my 59th birthday.  This year I celebrate my 40th year of licensed ministry.  I was awarded a local preachers license late in 1973 and accepted my first appointment to a local church in 1974.

I am praying for a great reception this coming Sunday at NRN!  I have been in prayer about my first Sunday back in the pulpit after an extended time away. 

I am launching a New Teaching Series:

Much of the New Testament narrative of Jesus’ ministry takes place “by the water” – specifically by the Sea of Galilee. In the book of Mark especially, some of the most significant and astonishing events in Jesus’ ministry are on or by the Sea of Galilee. He calls his disciples, casts out demons, raises the dead, and feeds the 5,000, all on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And it is the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee that Jesus walks upon and not only calms the waters but also the fears of his disciples. In this series we will look at five narratives that take place by the water and that eventually lead Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross.