Good morning, everybody! Today, we continue in our worship series called ‘Fully Engaged’—looking at the power of a committed life. And we started with our scripture that’ll be our theme for this entire series. Do you remember? It’s from 2 Chronicles 16:9a and it says (follow along with me)… “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him….” So, God looks over the whole world to find those fully committed to him—fully engaged with him. And God’s gives...
At the end of this appointment year, I’ll be coming up on my 20th anniversary in ministry—20 years since my first appointment. And one important lesson I’ve learned over the past 20 years is this: There is absolutely nothing I can do to make you grow spiritually! Did you know that? I can’t make you grow! I can encourage you, I can try to inspire you, I can do my best to provide an environment in which you can grow … but, I can’t make you grow! You see, nobody...
So, what does it really mean to be a disciple—a disciple of Jesus Christ? Let me ask that question in a different way: How often do we come to church thinking that what we hear from the word of God … is really optional? I can do with it what I want … or not. And, are you taking your responsibility as a disciple of Jesus Christ seriously today? What does it really mean to be a disciple of this guy called … Jesus? One thing’s for sure. He never...
Have you ever felt like you never wanted to grow up? If you have, you probably aren’t alone… When I was a much younger man, one of the ‘cool’ sayings was “I’ll Never Grow Up!” I actually had a button collection (pin-on buttons) and this was one of my favorites… But, that ceased after I realized that there was a difference between ‘child-like’ and ‘childish’ … and unfortunately, some didn’t know the difference. I believe that God wants us to remain ‘child-like,’ in a sense, all of our lives …...
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.” I always liked that saying. But, in light of that, let me ask you this: What is it that you fear today? Well, whatever your utmost fear might be, I will guarantee you—as your pastor—that FAITH is the answer to your greatest fear today! But, like most things in our life with God, there are two sides to this equation: God’s and ours! FAITH is a gift from God, but whether we...
