Pride and thankfulness don’t mix.  Thankfulness acknowledges that you have been given something, something that someone chose to give you.  Thankfulness acknowledges some form of exchange that you came out ahead on.  On the other hand, pride tends toward the attitude that someone owes you something.  Pride is demanding, it says people owe me. The other side of this coin is the fact that humility fosters thankfulness and thankfulness fosters humility.  They tend to build on each other.  The more we focus on what we have been given from God, the more humbled we become by His generosity.  This is …

Today is a special day on our church calendar and one of our favorites.  For the past several weeks we have been collection shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Today we will be praying over them and dedicating them to the Lord’s use.  These shoeboxes have been known to literally change the life of a child and we pray God gets just the right box to just the right child to do just that! Our service will be very different today, with the children remaining in the auditorium with us for the whole service.  We will be celebrating children, giving, and …

Standing out can be a good thing…or a bad thing.  It all depends what you stand out for.  I remember a classmate in college that would often walk into class late with his thick hair sporting a serious case of pillow head.  He stood out! It is much better to stand out for a good reason, like being godly.  We are looking at Philippians 2 and when Paul finished describing the example of Jesus Christ coming to earth as a man to die on the cross for us, he makes an application for us.  He tells us to “work out” …

It has been the goal of Satan down through time to rob Jesus Christ of the glory that He deserves.  He not only works to keep unbelievers from the truth, but is very active deceiving believers.  Some of his most destructive work is causing confusion and false teaching in the church. Our passage for today in Philippians 2 speaks to the heart of the Gospel, the deity of Jesus Christ and His current position on His throne in heaven.  The truths of this passage cut to the heart of some of the most damnable heresies of Satan.  It also addresses …

We live in a “Me” centered world.  While we talk about kindness towards others, we are at the same time saturated with a “Me First” mentality.  It is promoted in nearly every corner of our culture, sadly even in the church at times. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, there is no such message.  Paul’s letter is meant to counter that corrosive mentality head on.  Not only are we taught to put others first, Paul takes us to the greatest example ever of this truth, Jesus Christ.  I encourage you to explore the rich, Christ-centered text of Philippians 2:5-8 with …

It seems we live in a time marked most by disunity.  Over the course of 2020 and the years following, we as a society have become more and more polarized.  Sadly, it has been true in the church as well, and that is a tragedy. At the heart of disunity is pride.  We all think we know better and ARE better than everyone else.  I remember once, many years ago, a political cartoon mocking one of the many presidential candidates.  It showed him holding a sign that said, “Everyone else is an elitest pig”.  That about sums it up for …

Every big business has a mission statement.  McDonald’s is “to make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone.”  Burger Kings is ” “to offer reasonably priced quality food, served quickly, in attractive, clean surroundings.”  “Chick-fil-a’s mission statement is “To be American’s best quick-service restaurant at winning and keeping customers”. But Chick-fil-a goes even further.  They also give a purpose statement: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”  Isn’t that great? Today we are going to talk about our mission and …