Sunday, June 5, 2022 -
In the Old Testament, God's people would from time to time make a sacrificial offerings. We tend to think of sacrifice as something bad - that we're losing something. But biblically, sacrificial giving is something we do as a humble response to God's goodness. From time to time, we want to sacrifice something for God's work - and in fact the missing of "that thing" we sacrifice reminds us of God's graciousness. Delaying a car purchase one year, reducing your level of vacation, magazine subscriptions, going to the movies - all these things we could willingly sacrifice as our gesture of appreciation to God and to support His work. Remembering, as Christians, our salvation is secured by the willing sacrifice of Christ. We recognized that as in all thing, God sacrificed first - we are merely responding.
Sunday, May 15, 2022 - James the half-brother of Jesus asks us to consider what does faith really look like? James presents a compelling argument that faith and action are inexorably linked by asking, what good is faith without action?
Sunday, May 1, 2022 - They say actions speak louder than words, but what is our motivation behind our actions? It is important to know what motivates us to serve others and to continually examine our heart before the Father so that our heart, attitude, and motives align with the heart of God’s. Together, we will examine the heart of the matter.
Sunday, April 24, 2022 - Jesus said that He has come “to serve not be served”. And throughout His life stayed true to that calling. Life in Christ requires doing life with one another and for one another and, frankly, sometimes in spite of one another. Nonetheless, serving is an aspect of Christ-likeness that all of us can imitate.
Sunday, April 17, 2022 - Every Easter we celebrate Jesus walking out of the tomb - and the resurrected life He offers each one of us. A glorious truth indeed! But do we ever stop to consider what Jesus left behind in that tomb? This Easter, let's look not only at eternal life outside the tomb - but let's remember what gets Left Behind in that tomb forever.
Sunday, April 10, 2022 - If, as followers of Jesus, we’re all “in the family” - what are the implications for our daily lives? Our biblical community? What should non-believers see in us? This week, we’re looking at what it means to be an All-In Family that’s all in The Family.
Sunday, April 3, 2022 - What truly keeps families together over the long haul? It’s shared vision, shared traditions, familiar stories. Enjoying success, enduring defeat, mourning loss, celebrating gain - a common sense of purpose that comes from the One true God. This is how you create a generational tribe. These are the true family ties.
Sunday, February 20, 2022 - In the story of creation, God looked at all He had done and uttered the often repeated phrase, “It is good.” That is, until He saw man, alone. What can this story teach us about God’s design for marriage and sexuality? Currently sexuality may be the most polarizing topic available in our culture. So what does the Bible teach on this topic? How are we supposed to respond toward those who consistently live outside of the Biblical description?
Sunday, February 6, 2022 - One of the greatest losses we experience is when someone we love commits suicide. The unanswered questions can be unbearable. What does the Bible teach us about their eternity? How can we comfort those who suffer that loss? This week we tackle one of the toughest questions out there - What Happens to People Who Take Their Own Life?
Sunday, December 12, 2021 - In one of the greatest take-downs ever, Jesus confronts the Pharisees, resulting in what is known as The Seven Woes. Throughout history, Christians have loved Jesus his raw and spot-on exposure of the hypocrisy and callousness that often comes with high levels of authority. Less popular, however, is turning the mirror on ourselves. The truth about us is that modern-day Christianity has regressed into an often judgmental, unfeeling dogma. This week, we put the spotlight i ourselves and wonder if Jesus might say to us, "Woe to you."
Sunday, December 5, 2021 - There are moments in scripture where even God Himself is amazing. Amazement, however, is not always a good thing. Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith that supposed holy and righteous "God followers" had, and in another account, He was amazed at the faith of a filthy, sinning, Roman centurion. Which would you rather be? Is God in awe of your faith, or in are of your doubt?
Sunday, November 28, 2021 - "Thank You, God, that I am not like them." WE think we;re being humble, but are we? Or are we judging? "I'm not judging," is such a common statement that, the moment we hear it, we know the person is judging. But do we hear ourselves? In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee and a tax- collector. One was so busy being humble - he couldn't hear his pride. The other was so broken he had no pride at all. The raw truth about us is that we often take great pride in our humbleness.
Sunday, November 21, 2021 - Thrill me, God! Do a big thing! We want God to show Himself in power and might. And we want it so much that we can often miss when God will speak in big ways. He will give us a mountaintop experience - an undeniable experience with His presence. Other times, He will communicate tenderly and more quietly. The raw truth about us is that God speaks to us as we need - not as we want.
Sunday, November 14, 2021 - We hide from God. All of us, it’s a part of the human condition. When we hide from God, we relinquish the promises that He would have for us. We can’t find peace, we can’t find joy, we lack self-control and we are frustrated, to say the least. Instead of running, open to the Father Who has our solutions, we hide from Him and try to fix it ourselves. We blame, we justify, and we keep our attention on the symptoms rather than the cause. By now, we should have enough examples of how this tends to work out for us. It’s time for a change. It’s time to quit hiding.
A blind man is begging at the roadside. He hears that Jesus is passing and he yells out, “Have mercy on me!” Told to be quiet, he yells again, “Have mercy on me!” The man shows faith, boldness and perseverance. Jesus heals him. How we ever wondered what might happen if we showed the kind of boldness and perseverance in our faith?
Sunday, September 19, 2021 - We’ve been called to so clearly display excellence in the way that we love people that our devotion to Christ is undeniable. And not only those who are easy to love – but even loving the unlovely. Can we now better imagine the community we would be if together we made our God known through the beauty of loving people.
Sunday, September 12, 2021 - If you are old enough to remember, you remember exactly where you were on September 11, 2001. We all watched in horror as the single, most devastating terrorist attack in history unfolded before our eyes. Our hearts were filled with immeasurable pain, crushing sorrow, bitter anger, and even hatred. How could human beings do such a horrific thing? Where is the beauty in loving people like that?
Sunday, September 5, 2021 - But what about people who do terrible, hurtful things? Surely it’s okay to not love THOSE people, right? People who have deeply hurt you or someone you love. People who have forever altered a life, or have even taken a life. People who do or have done things that are so sick, so twisted, so despicable – so unforgivable – how could there be any beauty in loving them at all?