Stopping to Think

Before you read anything I write - this really is more important: Cards on the Table This is a newsletter post about preaching. Obviously, my target audience here is other pastors. But I hope it will be instructive for any believer as they consider the practice in their own church (especially if you are in leadership and have the structural/institutional ability to effectively encourage faithfulne...

I read today a piece from Samuel James over at The Gospel Coalition, which made me think of this piece that I wrote here last year. I’m reading it today on the podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here . The previous post can be found here. He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate We believe - that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Now, if you are familiar with the gospel narratives, this part of our confession in the Creed isn’t exactly a newsflash. Pilate plays an important role...

This is not a typical Stopping to Think post. I’m planning to re-start some of my story writing efforts this year, and I’ll post some of those in this feed, as they will - in content, if not style - fit in with a lot of what I normally touch on in this space. However, this is a little story I submitted to “The Dole Weekly”, the newsletter that my oldest daughter has occasionally put together in ou...

Link to the original piece: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/are-you-afraid-to-die? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/sleepless-in-september This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

A New Year’s Tradition…ish Last night, as we were talking about the past year with our kids, and discussing things we want to learn and ways we want to grow in the New Year, my five year old daughter laid out a brilliant reading plan for me: “first you read, then you sleep, then you get up, then you read, then you eat, then you read, then you eat, then you read.” Thank you, Juna. If you, too, are...

Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/follow This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

[auto generated transcript] Welcome to the Stop to Think Podcast. I'm your host, Will Dole. Thank you for listening. If you enjoy, you can rate and review in Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen. I guess this will be on YouTube as well, or you can just continue to subscribe and comment in the Substack app as well. 0:19 What I'm reading today is the sermon I preached on Christmas Eve. Shorter sermon...

Link to the original article: https://www.lemarsbiblechurch.org/shepherds-online/spread-your-bread This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

Some Appreciative Words In his book Ploductivity Pastor Douglas Wilson sets forth a biblical case for how Christians ought to view technology. His basic argument runs thus: even though the Bible doesn’t have any verses about how to use an iPhone, we are not left up a creek without a biblical paddle. Rather, we should view technology as a form of toolmaking, and tools are a form of human wealth, an...

Thursday was Thanksgiving here in the US. I’m not the most on-the-ball person - this is the kind of post that probably “should” have been up early in the week - but, here it is. I have an awful lot to be grateful for. Here are three that I’ve been thinking about a lot this week. Also - basically all the content is in the audio, below are just the big points and verses cited. For Finding a Good Thi...

This is the second of a two-part post challenging men to take up their Biblical role as the head of the home, and embrace the call to love their wives. Part I can be found here. Texts Ephesians 5:25-33, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might pre...

Ephesians 5:25-33, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as th...

This post is part of a series of communion mediations working through the Apostles’ Creed. You can read the creed here , and the last installment here. When we think of the name of our Savior, we often think Jesus Christ. And that is good, and well. The New Testament speaks in this way, using both Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus interchangeably when speaking of the Only Mediator between God and man....

Aborted Blessing Abortion, throughout church history, has been clearly seen as a grave moral wrong. It is only in the past 100 years that some bearing the name of Christian have tried to justify the practice. Frankly, they do not have biblical arguments to sustain their positions. And they don’t usually try. But part of why abortion seems plausible in our society is due to a mindset prevalent even...

Twenty Years Little brother, I missed your birthday— a week ago tomorrow. Prob’ly would have if you were alive. But then, I’d call tomorrow. But I can’t—cause you aren’t here. Death is cold. And hard. You aren’t here. Twenty years have passed; I don’t know your voice, Tucker Joe. Sheol swallows all our loves. I don’t know your voice, Tucker Joe. Stopping to Think is a reader-supported publication....

Reading I was re-reading C.R. Wiley’s excellent book, The Household and the War for the Cosmos , today as I prepare a series of sermons on the topic of marriage. One of the concepts Wiley grasps so well is the biblical picture of marriage at the center of a productive household. Marriage isn’t an entity unto itself. As interesting as that topic is, though, there was a side tangent that took me bac...

Introduction Families often struggle to know how to build togetherness and a sense of common purpose. While Andie and I are far from perfect parents, we do think about these issues frequently, intentionally, and (we hope) carefully. If you are looking for a place to start, here are basic things you should be doing with your family to grow your togetherness. These are intended to invest in the long...

(00:00:01): Welcome to the Stop It or Think podcast. (00:00:03): I'm your host, Will Dole. (00:00:04): Thank you for listening. (00:00:05): And if you enjoy the show, you can rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. (00:00:12): What I'm going to do on the show today is something a little bit different from (00:00:14): what I've done in the past. (00:00:17): One of the things that...

Link to the original newsletter: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

The original post can be read here: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I read the classic poem, written by Longfellow. You can read the story behind the poem here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I read Christina Rossetti’s classic poem, In the Bleak Midwinter. You can read it here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willdole.substack.com/subscribe

This audio is a short sermon I gave at our church’s first baptism service. It covers some important ground on what baptism is and what it is about , so I’ve included the audio here, but also a cleaned-up transcript below. Transcript What is the Meaning of Baptism? I think it's that’s an important question. It's worth pausing to think about, to ask, as we gather to celebrate this act of obedience t...