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...
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...
To everyone’s amazement, Sam Houston—Texas’ colorful soldier and politician, came to a saving faith in Christ. Shortly after he committed his life to Christ, he was baptized. And after his baptism, Houston publicly stated that he wanted to pay half the salary of the local minister. Someone who heard him was quick to ask the question: “Why in the world would you want to do something like that?” To which Houston responded, “My pocketbook was baptized, too!” Like Sam Houston, we may now understand that the Christian life cannot be...
Do you guys know the television game show called ‘Jeopardy?’ Well, as we begin a new worship series today called “Dare to Be Great,” I want to do our own version. Are you ready to give it a try? Our theme for Jeopardy today is going to be ‘GREAT THINGS,’ so let’s see how you’re going to do today… We’ll start with ‘great things’ for $100. Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger is famous for this catch phrase. If you know the answer, just shout it out… (What is …...
It’s one of those times when I feel like apologizing for the sermon title before I even begin … and I do! There are many wonderful churches out there who are filled with faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who are getting these things right (what we’re going to be talking about the next two weekends). But that doesn’t take away from the fact that there are still untold thousands of churches who still exist primarily for themselves. In other words, they have no vision outside their doors … and no...
Jesus absolutely loved the Sea of Galilee! Did you know that? It’s mentioned in the Gospels more than forty times! And Jesus gets in and out of boats nearly as many times… Then again, at other times, we’ll see Jesus walking on the lake shore. It’s not hard to imagine why this is. The Sea of Galilee is absolutely captivating… When I have a day off—in good weather—one of Jane’s and my favorite things to do is to take our lawn chairs, a picnic lunch, and some reading material …...
Do you remember having birthday parties when you were younger? Do you remember how it felt—the time leading up to those celebrations? You were both excited and anxious. You knew that you would receive gifts or other special treats, for sure; but, there would also be some surprises. Birthdays combine both … assurance & anticipation! And, so does our faith… When we live a life of faith, we’re assured of the reality of God’s presence; our experience has taught us that God’ll be there for us… as we put our...
It is my contention that commitment to the local church—at least in my lifetime and in our western society—has digressed to become an afterthought even in the lives of most believers! It’s kind of the attitude that we can give God the leftovers of our lives … and that’s O.K…. What this has done to the Church is this: The result is lackadaisical Christians that are not held accountable to be living out the Gospel in community and on mission. Instead of having and holding a high view of ecclesiology...
As we hear the Christmas story over and over and over again, we sometimes become numb to what it really says. Why? Because we’ve heard it all before… But, have we? When many of us think of the town of Nazareth, that we talked about extensively last week, we tend to think that Nazareth is the town where Joseph & Mary are from—where Jesus was raised from his youth into adulthood. But, is that right? Last week, we listened to the start of the Christmas story from the Gospel of...
What is it in your life today that seems absolutely impossible? If you have any thought or any circumstance that seems impossible today, that folks is right up God’s alley… Let me begin today by saying this: As long as we honor God … nothing is impossible! And how do we honor God with our lives? Through obedience to what God calls us to do—by honoring God in all that we do… Let me share with you a story from the Old Testament—an incident in the life of a lesser-known...
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