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...
Folks, let me begin today by sharing one of my favorite psalms with you—Psalm 130 (NLT), that speaks of God’s incredible gift of forgiveness… From the depths of despair, O LORD, I call for your help. 2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. 3 LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. 5 I am counting on the LORD; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope...
On this Easter morning, we’re beginning a new worship series called: “Forgiveness: The Real F Word.” We just finished a series called “Christ on the Cross: Love Personified”—digging into Jesus’ final words from the cross and after. And today, as I said, we’re starting a new series on the topic of forgiveness ... and we’re going to do that with the parable or story of the Prodigal Son. For years, it’s been called ‘the greatest Short Story ever told’ and for good reasons. So, let’s begin in Luke, Chapter 15,...
(Delivered by Julie Piper, in Rom’s absence…) Only the Gospel of Matthew gives us a record of the visit of the Magi (Wise Guys). These ‘wise men’ traveled thousands of miles to see the King of the Jews. When they finally found him, they responded with JOY, worship and gifts. And I have to say this is so different from the approach many people take today. Some expect God to come looking after them, to explain himself or what he’s up to. Some want Jesus to prove who he is...
All throughout Advent, we’ve been talking about what the Bible really says about the Journey to Bethlehem and the Nativity—contrary, many times, to what our tradition tells us. Well, it wouldn’t seem right unless we ended up this season the same way … in speaking about the biblical reality of the wise men … or ‘wise guys’ of Christmas, as I like to call them. So, what does the Bible really have to say about the wise men of the Christmas story … and others involved in this part of...
1 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. 2 This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. 4 So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. 5 He went with Mary, his fianc-e, who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her...
I want to remind you of our worship together last week: It is essential that we learn to recognize who God is! Why? Because when we do, our automatic response will always be … worship. In a similar fashion, when we come to recognize all that God has done for us … we’ll be on our way to being true worshipers as well. Listen to Paul’s words to the church at Rome, from Romans, Chapter 7… “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good....
According to English author G.K. Chesterton, “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all…As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.” HOPE, folks, is the gift of Easter! It was for the earliest of disciples … and it still is for us! It’s the ‘sign of Jonah’ that Jesus spoke of, isn’t it? Jonah spent how many days in the belly of the whale (3)?...
