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.
God “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3b, NIV84)! Were you a little disappointed that Paul didn’t mention any material blessings? Or were you overjoyed at the spiritual blessings he showed us? Paul’s not done calling us…
Continue reading...If you are a child of God, then you are a saint. On the one hand, that title terrifies us. On the other, it is the sign of God’s great favor toward you. Can you live the life of a God-pleasing saint or will you…
Continue reading...Who are you? How do you introduce yourself? What do you want people to know about you? What is your identity? Our society has been talking a lot about identities in recent years. Do you wish you could be something other than what and who…
Continue reading...From the exile to the Christ, that intervening 500 and some years, is incredibly chaotic. Little is known of the men listed in Jesus' genealogy between Jeconiah and Himself. But much is known of the history of those centuries. Somehow, through the chaos, not only…
Continue reading...The kings in Jesus' lineage have not finished teaching us. On this third Sunday of Advent, we'll consider the proclamation of joy. For so many of us, we think that the only joy from the birth of Jesus is the forgiveness of sins and assurance…
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