We tend to think of relationships as transactions: we give to get.  But if you have put your trust in Jesus Christ alone to deliver you from sin and lead you, you have experienced grace – getting something that we neither paid for nor ever have the capacity to repay.  You have experienced what it means to be grace built. The gift, however, is not meant to stop there.  God has blessed us to bless others.  In the Bible, in the book of Ephesians, God said, “we are His [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God …

What is your faith system like?  What is yours like?  Is it big enough to answer the hard questions?  Can it sustain you when the bottom falls out in your life? We all have a faith system. Whether it is secular humanism, which puts faith in things like chance, the goodness of man, and the ability of science to answer our questions, or whether it is a faith that believes in one or more deities, we all have faith in something.  This message is about faith in the God of the Bible.  Faith that is based on what God’s Word …

This week we wrap up our series with an in-depth look at one of the most essential elements of God’s training for us.  Some people take full advantage of this crucial aspect of Christianity, others despise it, to their own loss. I am speaking of the church.  As believers, we are all part of the universal church, made up of all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture.  Most of the time, however, when the Bible uses the Word Church, it refers to the local church.  God intends for us to function in locally organized assemblies.   We are told not to …

Do you sometimes feel confused about God?  You wonder where He is or what in the world is He doing?  You wonder why He is letting certain things happen to you or why He isn’t relieving the pain you experiencing.  Please know that God never abandon’s His own, but He does let them experience difficulty as part of the prosses of conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29). While “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our His ways our ways” (Isaiah 55), He does give us quite a bit of insight into many of the methods …

Our world is filled with poverty.  While we in the Western world know prosperity like never before, the majority of the world’s population struggles with many dying of starvation on a daily basis.  The problems are staggering and more than any of us can handle, if we only look at the whole. If however, we each do what we are able, it can make a huge difference.  The problem is, many don’t.  Also, many big efforts that are made are misguided and once again there is division and controversy on what to do.  Once again, however, the Bible speaks and …

In this continuing look at issues of injustice, we come to questions regarding the LGBTQ community: Should they be a protected class?  What special accommodations should we be giving them?  Do we need to reconsider our traditional views of what it means to be human, to be male or female?  How should Christians be responding to all the cultural upheaval that is coming from this?  Does God give us any answers or insight? This message will seek to address these questions, largely by looking at the underlying beliefs and assumptions that accompany this debate.  It will seek to give some …

July 25, 2021 – Previously we looked at the problem of racism in the message found here; now we want to talk about how we should address it. It is good that there are many conversations being held in our country discussing this very topic, unfortunately, some of the conclusions being drawing are at least as damaging as the problem they purport to solve.  Sadly, it is one of these erroneous conclusions that is getting the most attention. Listen in to find out why this is, and to learn of a better way that takes into account the condition of every …

July 18, 2021 – Racism has been a major issue in the news for decades, but especially these past 12 months.  The topic is hot and the views on it are many.  Some say its all fake news, that racism is not an issue in America.  They say it is just a created illusion being used for political purposes and to drum up viewers for the news stations.  Other’s say that it is persistent, systemic, and will never go away and all whites need to fess up to their lifelong racism that is inherent in their “whiteness”. What is true?  How …