As I begin with some final words today, I just want to remind all of you about the ministry we’ve shared in together for the past 11 years. Some think that these are things that only the pastor does, but in fact they are ministries that all of us—in some way, shape, or form—do together. Let me give you my list from our years together: 80 baptisms (and for most of these you, as a congregation, have made promises to support these families too)… 35 weddings (and many of these...
Father’s are special, aren’t they? There’s no one else like ‘em… Here’s what 3 kids had to say, bragging on their dads: First: My dad’s so smart he can talk for one hour on any subject. Second: My dad’s so smart he can talk for two hours on any subject. Third: My dad’s so smart he can talk for 3 hours and doesn’t even need a subject! My dad’s better than your dad … is the game we so often love to play. Why? Because fathers are special, aren’t they?...
Believe it or not, this ‘Follow’ series we’re in started on Easter morning … and today will be the last message of this series. But before I get into today’s message, let me take a couple minutes and review some highlights & insights into what it means to be a FOLLOWER of Jesus… Everybody is invited to follow—no one is excluded for any reason… It’s an invitation not to a religious tradition, but to a relationship… Being a sinner is a prerequisite … and having doubts is a prerequisite too…...
Let me begin today by saying this: One of my favorite things to do in ministry is ‘leadership development’. Do you guys know what leadership is? Are you familiar with that term? I know that sometimes the leaders of this church think that our time together is just about coffee & scrambled eggs (when we meet for breakfast), but there’s a bigger picture. It’s really about people who love God first and foremost, willing to invest in each other’s lives in order to further God’s kingdom right where they’re at....
I’d like to begin today with a quick confession, as we move into Part Six of this ‘Follow’ series. I was raised in a Christian home—the home of a Christian minister and his wife. From the time I was very, very young, I had Christian principles and Christian teachings drilled into me. But I have to confess, when I first came to the point of giving my life to Christ and becoming a Christian, it may have been for the wrong reason. Let me explain… I know now that God...
Last week, we talked about ‘Follow Wear’, didn’t we? We talked about what you’re supposed to wear if you are a Jesus follower … and that was found in Colossians 3:12-14 (if you want to review that sometime). PG CHK FLK: Do you remember? The name of our current series is, of course, FOLLOW … and we’ve been asking the general question ‘What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?’ And we’ve been looking at the narratives in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John where Jesus invited people to...
As we begin today, I just want to say … welcome to Part 4 of the Follow series, where we’re talking about the ins and outs of being a follower of Jesus—accepting his invitation to follow him. And we’ve already learned things like 1) being a sinner is a prerequisite of being a follower, 2) being a non-believer could be a prerequisite, 3) having doubts is O.K. when you become a follower (as it was for Thomas), and so forth. No matter who you are or where you are in...
Andy Stanley’s been known to say, “If you speak from your weaknesses, you’ll never run out of material!” Isn’t that the truth? And, today, that’s what I’m doing … just so you know! Folks, today I want to begin with this question: If you follow Jesus, where does it lead? What’s the end game or the goal of following? And if you get this following thing down perfectly, what difference does it make? What’s the reward? Now, there are some of you here who already know. You’re 70-80 years old,...
We began this series last week with a couple of startling discoveries and I want to review those as we begin today… Being a sinner doesn’t disqualify you from following Jesus; it’s a prerequisite. Do you remember that? Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Then, here’s the second one… Being an unbeliever doesn’t disqualify you from following Jesus; nobody who followed Jesus early on believed he was divine to begin with (until after the resurrection; do you remember Thomas?)… Folks, Jesus’ invitation to follow was an invitation to relationship! It’s kind of...
Well, let me start today by saying … ‘Happy Easter!’ Today, in celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, we’re beginning a new series which will basically explain—perhaps in ways you’ve never thought of before—why Jesus came and did what he did for us. And what we’re going to discover together today and for the next several weeks is … it’s all about relationship! Are you familiar with the old game called ‘Simon Says’? You know, you’ve got one person who is the caller and says ‘Simon says … whatever.’ And when that...