Christmas is the greatest love story ever written or told. Discover the Author of this story of unfathomable love and practical ways to display the heart […]
2020 has been a year filled with discouragement, disappointment, unrest, tension, and turmoil. What a perfect time for a message about peace! Don’t fall for counterfeit […]
10 Leprous men healed from their horrible disease; only one returns to Jesus to say thanks. The gracious response of the one provides a key principle […]
Being grateful sustains our spirit and prolongs our life. It also fuels a vital, powerful relationship with God. Today we look at three Old Testament examples […]
“The person who doesn’t think he/she has anything to be thankful for hasn’t given the matter much thought.” In Psalm 107, the psalmist thanks God for […]
Besides asking the right questions and avoiding the common pitfalls to decision-making, we need to pay attention to the minor choices we make every day. In […]
Why do we make unwise decisions? Inexperience. We fail to gain experience or glean wisdom from the experience of others. Indifference. We are apathetic about things […]
Much of the second half of James 5 is devoted to the discussion of powerful and effective prayer. James follows a sequence of addressing prayer for […]
Sunday, September 27 2020 Outdoor Service In James 4:7-8, James gives followers of Jesus three short sentences, three imperative commands, three keys to walking with Jesus: […]
What causes fights and quarrels among us? James asks and answers this interesting question by pointing out some nasty little traits of our human nature. At […]
September 6, 2020 In James 2, James states, re-states, and repeats a common theme: faith without action is dead. The powerful passage we studied today also […]
At the end of James 1, James tackles two very contemporary subjects: Listening and Doing. Regarding “Listening,” James emphasizes the importance of listening to God and […]
Revealed in God’s name, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Provides, is a truth that transforms! Because God has shown us his providential nature we can confidently trust […]
The LORD is my shepherd… perhaps the greatest opening line in the entire Bible. Psalm 23 describes the role of Jehovah Rohi: The LORD our Shepherd. […]
Jehovah Shalom, the God of Peace, offers an unimaginable and attractive peace that we can experience no matter what circumstances we are facing in our lives. […]
This week we explored the name Jehovah Nissi: The LORD our Banner. There are many interesting elements within the Old Testament account of the Battle at […]
This Mother’s Day we honor two moms from the New Testament: Eunice and Lois, Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Their mature, sincere faith was modeled and passed […]
Recognizing and resetting our expectations is always difficult, but especially in the days of Coronavirus. The Apostle Paul gives us a great example of how to […]
In 1633 Rembrandt painted “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” and depicted the disciples faces with distinctly different emotions. How we respond to the storms […]
Jesus’ words to his mother Mary and his best friend John are illuminating and challenging. We revere Mary’s character, but also recognize her as a “woman […]
On Sunday we walked through one of Jesus’ most well-known statements from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Breaking the […]
In the final installment of our Parables series, we looked at the Parable of the Compassionate Employer. The first half of the parable shows a generous, […]
The Parable of the Unjust Steward is sometimes difficult to understand. It seems as if this dishonest rascal is praised for cheating his master out of […]
This week we introduced our winter series Parables: Stories of Christ. Parables are the sermon illustrations Jesus used to help fishermen and farmers understand the theology […]
In the third installment of the “Thin Places” series, we looked at Simeon and the Nunc Dimittus. Simeon was described as righteous, devout, filled with the […]
On Sunday we discussed Zechariah’s Benedictus – his song of thanksgiving, praise, and blessing over his son John the Baptist who would prepare the way for […]
An attitude of gratitude is key to enjoying life and what is to uniquely characterize those who choose to follow Christ. Utilizing an encounter Jesus had […]
In our second installment of “Alignment” we discussed how the building of the wall around Jerusalem served as a witness to all Israel’s enemies that God […]
Special guest: Cary Chapman Today, we stop and honor the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. Thank you, veterans, for everything […]
John 4:1-26 records an intriguing conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman where Jesus models some practical ways to engage others in life-giving dialogue. We discover […]
In John chapter 5, Jesus healed a paralyzed man. We learn that Jesus always asked stimulating questions, had authentic healing power, and showed both his sovereignty […]
We can determine a lot from looking at the way Jesus interacted with people in the Scriptures. Jesus said unequivocally that obedience to the law was […]
If serving others is typically unappealing and unattractive, why did Jesus tell his followers that the greatest among them were the servants? On Sunday we looked […]
What is prayer? Is there a correct method to prayer? For what should we be praying? These and several other fundamental questions were asked and answered […]
Mark Mittelberg is a best-selling author, international speaker, and leading strategist in evangelism and apologetics. He is the author of the celebrated Becoming a Contagious Christian […]
The relationship between faith and works has always been tenuous. People have discussed and debated the merits of both for centuries. In James 2:26, we read […]
Romans 8:28 is often called “The American Christian passage of comfort.” Why? Because many people pull this verse out of its context to try and encourage […]
Ecclesiastes is one of those books of the Bible that is often not read and skipped over because of its seeming discouraging and confusing content. Right […]
“God is love” is a Bible verse that has been misused, misunderstood and misapplied by religions, philosophies and metaphysical movements all over the world. In today’s […]
“Judge not lest ye be judged.” One of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Does judging mean that we can’t express our preferences, have courtrooms […]
A seminary professor once taught our class the most important rules of biblical interpretation: “When interpreting the Bible, remember that it was written a long time […]
In the final moments of his life, a thief made his last request, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Broken, bruised and bleeding, […]
Paul’s final message to the Philippians was to thank them for their gracious and joyful financial support. On Sunday we recognized the generosity of our church […]
On Sunday we discussed infighting, quarreling, and conflict in the church. Surprisingly, the New Testament includes many examples. What can we learn from how church members […]
In Philippians 3, Paul writes like an accountant, an athlete, and an alien. As an accountant, he communicates that his religious “profits” are actually losses compared […]
Philippians 2:19-30 Very different than the rest of this letter, Paul talks about his travel plans and especially his relationship with two close friends: Timothy and […]
Our time together Sunday was devoted to something intensely practical and relatable. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippians to stop complaining and arguing. Why? First, for […]