I want to welcome Rev. Robert McKenzie to our service. Rob has been the pastor of the same area church for over 30 years. I met him 15 or so years ago at a pastor’s fellowship and am honored to call him a friend. Since he has recently retired, I was eager to invite him to fill the pulpit for me while I was away. I hope you will come out in person to hear him or join here if you can’t. Rob will be preaching from John 7 on accepting the authority of Christ.
Have you set any New Year resolutions? Do you have some big hopes? Or have you long ago given both up and look at January 1st as just another date on the calendar?There is a lot of pressure to make big goals for the New Year and to right down action steps that you are going to follow, and for some people these are very helpful, but for others, they just lead to more burdens and discouragement. The realm of spiritual growth is no exception to this. January is a good time to purpose in your heart that you will …
This last message in the series looks at the integral part we have in completing God’s plan. It’s nice to talk about God’s love for us and His hand on our lives, but we must remember, it is not just about us. We must turn our eyes outward to the many others that God is drawing to Himself. We must remember the Command that He gave US, to go and make disciples. Today we take a fresh look at that aspect of God’s plan.
We continue looking at the real meaning of Christmas; that it was all part of God’s amazing plan to save fallen humanity from their sin.God’s plan for salvation is woven throughout the entire Bible, with prophecies from many books and prophets coming together to reveal the Messiah’s identity, lineage, birthplace, and purpose. Join us as we take a brief look at some of these key prophecies and discover how God orchestrated the events leading to that first Christmas. It’s truly remarkable to see how He directed both political and personal circumstances to fulfill His plan—teaching us profound lessons about God’s …
In the first installment of this series, we looked at the necessity of divine intervention in man’s existence. Today we look in depth at the audacity of God’s plan to bring about this salvation. To borrow the lyrics of the group “Downhere”: How many kings step down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? And how many gods have poured out their hearts To romance a world that is torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? This message will explore the wonder and …
This Christmas season we are going to spend the month of December looking at God’s plan to save the world.This first message focuses on the why. Why does the world need saving? Why did it take such extraordinary measures?Many believe that we as humans have the capacity to save ourselves, with just enough time, effort, and cooperation. Part of the problem with that view is a misunderstanding of what we need to be saved from. I hope you will join our service today to find out the root of all our problems and why only God can save us.
Today is a highlight of the year as we gather, pray over, and send off our collection of shoeboxes. These gift boxes, packed with the love and prayers of our congregation, get distributed to very needy children all over the world. Operation Christmas Child blessed 11.9 million children in over 100 countries last year and we are excited to once again participate is this incredible ministry.
While being a follower of Jesus is an indescribable blessing that offers us “joy unspeakable” and “peace beyond understanding”, it is by no means easy.As we seek to follow our Savior’s commands and live the life He has called us to, we are bound to face discouragement, disillusionment, and the sense that we are at times, powerless. These are not only the inherent hazards of living in a fallen world, but they are also compounded by the demands of the life God calls His children to live. As a result, we may be tempted to give up, and we may …
We are excited to have our missionaries, Jim and Susan Cook, sharing with us today. Susan and Jim began missionary work with children over 20 years ago, traveling to 35 countries and teaching missionary kids from all over the world. They are devoted to training international children’s workers — many of whom live in restricted-access countries — to reach children through chronological Bible teaching. Jim wrote the curriculum “99 Adventures in the Bible’s Big Story” which is available as a free download in five languages (soon to be nine). As part of the Live Global team, Jim and Susan are continuing …
As political parties become more polarized, we can find ourselves falling into the “all or nothing” acceptance of a particular party’s platform. In the process, we find ourselves adopting hard stands on issues that call for a much more nuanced approach. In all of the changes that have happened in the past ten months, we need to stop and evaluate what policies are biblical and what policies a Christian should speak out against. This message seeks to raise our awareness on one of the hot topics that I fear Christians are accepting an incorrect view on. I hope you can …
