Mark served as pastor of Lafayette Salem Evangelical Church from January 2023 until August of 2025. He and his family have served overseas for 30 years. His wife, Rachel, is a local gal from Whittier, IA. They met while serving in East Asia. As of September 2025, they returned to the foreign field.
Jesus seems to have it in for fruitless fig trees and mountains! What's so bad about them that the one would deserve a curse and the other to be tossed into the ocean? Given the wider context, this doesn't seem to be simply a landscaper's…
Continue reading...God has placed almost every one of us in some position of authority. Why? What does He intend? What should we do? Jesus sets an important example for us in this passage. From Matthew 21:1-17.
Continue reading...All who trust in Christ and serve Him are promised eternity with Him. But does that satisfy you? We've seen that Jesus has more to offer those who give up the things of this world and this life in order to build His kingdom. Does…
Continue reading..."The first will be last and the last will be first." There are so many ways this can apply to us. Who is the first? Who is the last? Will they just be made equal? Will their positions be reversed? What does that mean for…
Continue reading...What do you look to for assurance that you will enter Christ's kingdom? Is there a one-off event or deed that you did to confirm your salvation? Do you depend on your continued good deeds to assure your place in Heaven? In this passage, a…
Continue reading...