From the Pastor's Desk / Revelation / Sunday Sermons

The Beast and His Partner in Deception Part 1

Revelation 13 paints a portrait of a future leader to whom the nations of the world will give  absolute power and worship.  It describes how the world will submit to a totalitarian form of government where even the smallest buying and selling requires  the official seal of this man on your body and any disobedience results in death.  Amazingly, we will see that the nations not only submit to this; they will cheer it. You see, in the midst of crisis, people are always looking for a deliverer.  The greater the crisis and the stronger the fear, the more people …

From the Pastor's Desk / Revelation / Sunday Sermons

Understanding the Battle of the Ages Part 2

Whether we realize it or not, we are living in a world occupied by the worst enemy of all time – Satan. We live under his oppression – it is seen all around us.  The Bible tells us that the whole world lies under his sway.  He easily controls those who don’t know Christ as their Savior, but he is also powerfully at work influencing believers, tempting them and seeking to deceive them.  He also accuses them before God in heaven, seeking to provoke Him against us.  If you are a follower of Jesus, however, you have a solid hope: …

From the Pastor's Desk / Revelation / Sunday Sermons

Understanding the Battle of the Ages

Throughout history their are many examples of oppressed people waiting for deliverance.  One example is that of the French in World War 2 hoping and waiting for the Allies to deliver them from the oppression of the German occupation.  In the midst of that waiting and hoping, they had to continue to live and not loose heart.  The day that those living near the coast saw the beginning of D-Day, their faith became sight as the Allied forces began to drive the Germans back and the uniformed soldiers occupying their land no longer wore the Swastika, but rather the flags …

Revelation / Sunday Sermons

Trusting the God Who Finishes What He Starts

Have you ever promised in advance to do something for someone, but when the time came to follow through, you forgot?  I find it very upsetting when I realize that I have not followed through on a promise to someone.  It is easy to have good intentions on doing something but then mess up keeping that promise, whether through forgetfulness or some other limitation that keeps you from completing it.  It is part of being human; even the best fail sometimes. It is easy to transfer that human weakness to God, especially since in His wise timing, there is often …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Giving Grace to the Very End

Dane Ortland, in his book “Gentle and Lowly”, describes Christ’s desire to show grace with a story about a doctor on a mercy mission. He flies to a remote village that has never had the benefit of modern medicine to bring a cure to their illness and disease. He is traveling with all his tools and medicines, eager to bring them healing and relief. When he arrives, however, the proud and cautious tribesmen will not allow him to treat them, out of fear of the unknown and pride in their own (unsuccessful) methods. Finally, through gentle persuasion, the doctor gets …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

The End of Delay

Psalm 24 tells us: “The earth is the Lord’s and all it’s fullness  the world and those who dwell therein.  For He has found it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.”  It can be hard sometimes to understand why, if the Lord is the master of the world, that it is so dark and evil.  The short answer to this is found in Ephesians 2 where we see that currently Satan is operating as the Prince of the Power of the air and he works in the “sons of disobedience”, those who are not redeemed followers of …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

God and the Forces of Darkness

Have you considered the relationship between God and the forces of darkness, i.e. Satan and his demons?  Is it a classic dualism with both sides fighting neck and neck to win?  Is Satan equal to God?  Where did he come from?  What is he really like? As we continue the study in the biblical book of revelation, we come to chapter 9 and read about “the abyss” being opened and horrible creatures come out and torture many on earth.  This raises many questions about the nature of these creatures, the abyss, and the questions stated above: “Who is Satan?”, “What …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Prayer, Justice, and Judgment

As we dive into Revelation 8 in this message, there are three themes that emerge, themes that have a very significant connection. First is the theme of prayer.  Do you believe God hears and responds to your prayers?  This passage in the biblical book of Revelation shows that God indeed does hear our prayers and they have an impact on His actions, just not always as quickly as we may like. The next theme, intertwined with the prayers of the saints, is that of justice.  Many times we think God is ambivalent to the wickedness and injustice going on around …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

The Goal of the Great Commission

Racism, inclusion, bias; they are all words that are emotionally and politically charged.  Sadly, throughout all of human history, on every continent, nations and people groups have fought each other.  Whether the division is racial, national, or even socio-economic, one group has always been battling the other.  Pride, power, and greed has kept these fires of division burning strong. All of this breaks the heart of God.  The world as He created it was designed for us to dwell together in peace.  The diversity we see among humans was designed as a beautiful thing, an expression of God’s creativity. Sin …

From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Secure in Christ

Psalm 33:16-22 reads: No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  (NKJV) I’m just wondering, where is your hope today?  There is plenty to despair about.  It …