From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Why We Need Thanksgiving

Have you ever bought something you already had, because you forgot you have it?  I am thinking right now of a tool for my chainsaw I have hanging on the wall in my garage unopened.  Why?  Because after I got home with it and finally got around to using it, I discovered I already had replaced that item!  There was no need to buy a new one, yet I had and it was well past the return window. Now I may be worse than some, but the fact is, we humans are forgetful and we need to be reminded of …

Christmas / From the Pastor's Desk

Shoebox Sunday!

Today is one of our favorite Sundays of the year.  For the past several weeks (and much longer for some) we have been packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to send the love of Jesus to children around the world.  All the hard work and sacrificial spending of the church culminates on this day when we remember what we are doing and why, then spend time praying over the shoeboxes we packed.  We pray that God will put just the right shoebox into just the right child’s hands.  If you can’t be here in person for this special day, we hope …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Hamartiology – The Doctrine of Sin

Where did the idea of sin come from?  Is it just some old-fashioned idea that was created to help keep humans in line?  Is guilt just a social construct? It would be nice to think that sin and guilt were something fictional that we made up, but I think we all know that is ludicrous.  But that doesn’t answer all the questions we may have – like if there is a good, Almighty God, how did sin come to exist?  Can a good God create sin? This message looks at sin, its origin, its nature, and its effects.  We will …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Foundations of Our Faith – Anthropology: the doctrine of man

So when we think of anthropology, we tend to think of history and archeology and maybe even sociology or science.  The truth is, the study of anthropology has many subsections, but today we want to look at the most important, the origin and purpose of man as taught by God in the Bible.  This study will provide a biblical foundation to help you properly interpret all the other disciplines that help us understand who we are as humans and what our place is in the universe.  We will look at the three most important questions – where did we come …

Fun Stuff

Political Issues and the Church

A few years ago I preached a series of messages on topics that are often considered “political” and therefore not discussed in polite churches.  It was my desire in those messages to point out that many such topics are actually issues of morality and the bible has much to say about them, therefore the church should as well. As we get ready to vote on Tuesday, I wanted to make those messages easily available for you to review as you prepare to vote.  I believe the privilege of voting is actually a trust God has given to American citizens and …

From the Pastor's Desk

Foundations of Our Faith Series – Demonology

In the previous message we looked at the doctrine of Satan.  He is indeed our enemy, and he is a very powerful one at that.   This message is really a continuation of the doctrine of Satan as it addresses the doctrine of demons, Satan’s minions who help him in his rebellion against God.  Together they are hard at work in the world deceiving and attacking.   I trust that this message will provide you with a fuller understanding of our spiritual enemies, where they came from, and why they do what they do.  I also desire that you will grow in …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Foundations of Our Faith – Satanology

September 11 and October 7 – these dates have some things in common.  Two different peace-loving democracies learned a hard lesson on those dates – that you cannot underestimate the power and evil of your enemies. Christians need to learn this lesson as well, but we should avoid learning it the hard way.  In this installment of our Foundations of Our Faith series, we are going to be looking at the doctrine of Satan.  He is indeed our enemy and he is a very powerful one at that.  As with most doctrines, there are people at two extremes: one extreme …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Foundations of Our Faith – The Doctrine of Angels

What do you think of when you hear the word angel?  Do you think of little cherubs floating around, or maybe of cupid?  Do you think of gentle creatures with wings?  Do you think of them as deities, helpers to call on?  Or simply figments of people’s imaginations?  Let me tell you that if you think of any of these things, you are picturing something far different than what is true.  The Bible paints a far different picture than what art of the past few hundred years has made popular. As we continue our study on the basic doctrines of …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Foundations of Our Faith – Theology Proper part 2

In this second message on the nature of God, we dig into six more attributes or perfections of God.  We will take a look at His omniscience, His righteousness, simplicity, and truth. We will also look into two attributes that are a little tougher to fully comprehend: His unity, which deals with the Trinity, and His sovereignty, which delves into the relationship of His decree and our responsibility.  I hope you will join us, not just for this message, but also the in-person only Sunday School next week that will go deeper and seek to answer your questions on these …

Foundations of Our Faith / From the Pastor's Desk / Sunday Sermons

Foundations of Our Faith – Theology Proper

What do you believe about God? Everyone has some form of “God Belief”.  Your God Belief may be that there is no God – you may be an atheist.  Your God Belief may be that there are many gods, so you would be considered a polytheist.  Or, as Jews, Muslims, and Christians believe, your God Belief says there is one God.  Those are the big categories of God Beliefs, but let’s get a little more specific:  If you believe in one God, how big is He in your mind?  Is He weak or all powerful?  Is He good or evil; …