The Work of the Spirit and the Life of Faith
The readings today from Genesis, John, and Romans displayed that all people need a supernatural and undeserved work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The Holy Spirit causes people to be born again and to transition from death to life. At the same time, the readings call all people to believe in Jesus for eternal life. God is still inviting people into his promise by faith, just as he invited Abram, the Israelites, and Nicodemus. In this season of Lent, we are reminded of these important truths and called to repent of the ways we have failed to live the life of faith.
Read More
The Fast that God Chooses
What is Ash Wednesday about? A better way to ask is: What SHOULD it be about?? The prophet Isaiah gives us huge lesson about this… and what the Lord is truly after with his people as we enter this Lenten season. The question is: Do you have ears to hear?
Read More
The Transforming Power of the Transfiguration
What would change in your life if you truly believed that knowing Jesus is worth more than anything else? The Transfiguration reveals Jesus in his eternal glory - the same glorious Christ we can encounter today. When we truly see him, everything changes: our priorities, our identity, our mission. Are you ready for a mountaintop encounter that transforms everything?
Read More
The Salty, Full of Light-Life!
Are you living as salt and light, or have you lost your flavor? Jesus called ordinary people to be extraordinary - the salt of the earth and light of the world. But what happens when we compromise our values to fit in? Every word, action, and social media post either reveals Christ or shows we've grown dull. The good news? Christ can restore lost saltiness and reignite dimmed lights. In a world filled with darkness and division, are you preserving goodness or participating in decay?
Read More
The Promises of the Beatitudes
The Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 present God's upside-down kingdom where values like meekness, mercy, and peacemaking are blessed rather than worldly strength and wealth. These aren't just future promises but present realities for believers experiencing spiritual poverty, mourning, or hunger for righteousness. Jesus calls us blessed not for comfort but to mobilize us as blessings to others. When we live out these radical values—showing mercy instead of revenge, making peace instead of conflict—we shine Christ's light in darkness. The foundation for this countercultural living is Jesus Himself, who perfectly fulfilled every Beatitude and calls us to build our lives on the solid rock of His teachings.
Read More
The Call of Jesus
Today’s sermon was recorded at home due to a winter storm.
But the premise is that when darkness seems to be winning and hope feels lost, that's exactly when God's light breaks through most powerfully. Jesus didn't start His ministry in comfortable places - He went to the backwoods region where people desperately needed hope. Are you ready to let His light shine through your ordinary life into someone's desperate situation?
Read More
Knowing the Lamb of God
How well do you really know the God you claim to follow? What would change if you knew Him with the same intimacy that meaningful human relationships require?
Read More
The Waters of Baptism
In today’s sermon, a story was shared of three young men who went to Israel living carelessly…but everything changed when they reached the Jordan River. What happened in moments leading up to a sacred moment of baptism transformed not just their lives, but their entire families' futures. Could the same life-changing power that marked Jesus' ministry be waiting for you? The promises God makes in baptism are unbreakable - and they're still available today.
Read More
Will You Follow the Light?
As we enter a new year, the celebration of Epiphany offers us a profound question that cuts to the heart of our faith: What do we do when Christ's light appears? This ancient feast commemorates the manifestation of Jesus to the world, particularly through the visit of the wise men from the East. But more than a historical remembrance, Epiphany challenges us to examine our own response to the light of Christ.
Read More
Consider These Things...
What if the very moment your life falls apart is when God is preparing to do something extraordinary? The Christmas story shows us that God often works through disruption, not despite it. Joseph and Mary faced impossible circumstances, yet their simple yes to God's plan changed everything. When life gets turned upside down, are you willing to trust that God might be up to something amazing? Sometimes our greatest setbacks become the setup for God's greatest work in our lives.
Read More
It Happens to Even the "Best" of Us
John the Baptist, despite being filled with the Holy Spirit and recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, experienced profound doubt while imprisoned and facing execution. From his prison cell, he sent disciples to ask Jesus if He was truly the one they were waiting for. Jesus responded not with disappointment but with evidence, pointing to the miraculous signs that fulfilled Isaiah's prophecies about the Messiah's coming. This story reveals that doubt is a normal part of faith, even for the most spiritually gifted people. Rather than disqualifying us, doubt can redirect our focus to seek God more earnestly and discover that His kingdom often looks different than our expectations.
Read More
Finding True Peace in a Chaotic World
In our chaotic world, true peace feels impossible to find. From family tensions to global conflicts, we long for something deeper than temporary calm. Jesus offers a fundamentally different peace than what the world provides - one that passes all understanding and can't be taken away. As the Prince of Peace prophesied by Isaiah, Christ has already given us His peace through the Holy Spirit. While we wait for His complete kingdom, we can experience this peace now through prayer, worship, communion, and being peacemakers ourselves. This peace comes with the reality that Christ will return as both Prince of Peace and righteous Judge, calling us to daily repentance and fruitful living.
Read More
Hope Has a Name, and is Coming: Jesus
While the world counts down shopping days, what if we counted down to something eternal instead? Advent isn't about holiday cheer - it's about holy expectation for Christ's return. In Noah's generation, only one man found favor with God through faithfulness. As Jesus looks upon our world today, does He find the same faithfulness in us? This Christmas season, will you be like Noah building an ark of faith, or like everyone else who forgot about God while pursuing good things?
Read More
Jesus Christ: Our Righteous King
All of the Scripture readings that we ponder throughout the church calendar year culminate in this magnificent Sunday… that Jesus Christ is the King of the universe. He is the Alpha and Omega and so he’s unlike any other king. Every earthly king takes from their people ... Jesus Christ, our King, GIVES… and gives all of himself on the Cross (as we see in our gospel text today in Luke 23:35-43).
Jesus is the promised Righteous One (Jer. 23)—the holy, just, forgiving, merciful, loving King that we all need in our lives … Why? Because we were made by, through and for him (Col. 1) —for his glory and for our ultimate good.
Read More
Behold The Lamb of God
Jesus shocked His followers by declaring that the magnificent temple would be completely destroyed. While they focused on when this would happen, Jesus redirected their attention to how they should live while waiting. This pattern of destruction and renewal runs throughout Scripture, from Abraham's sacrifice to the Passover lamb to Jesus' death and resurrection. The earthly temple had to come down because God was building something greater - a living temple made of believers with Christ as the cornerstone. Rather than focusing on God's timing, we should ask how we can live faithfully today under the protection of the Lamb of God.
Read More
Remember Your Hope!
Do you not remember? This question from Paul hits different when you're facing overwhelming circumstances. We all struggle with forgetting God's faithfulness when bills pile up, health scares hit, or prayers seem unanswered. But here's the truth: your identity in Christ never changes. You are loved, chosen, and called - no matter what you're walking through right now. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is working in your story today.
Read More
Mirror, Mirror... Who Do You See?
When someone calls you a "saint," what's your first reaction? Most of us would probably laugh it off or feel uncomfortable with the title. After all, we know our own struggles, our moments of frustration, and our daily battles with sin. Saints are supposed to be spiritual superstars with halos, right? People who never lose their temper or struggle with doubt. But what if everything you thought you knew about being a saint was wrong?
Read More
Finish!
Paul's final letter to Timothy offers profound wisdom for anyone struggling to maintain faith through life's challenges. Writing from a dark Roman prison, facing his own death, Paul shares essential truths about how Christians can finish their race with faith intact.
Read More
Standing Firm in God's Word
In a world where truth seems increasingly relative and faith is constantly challenged, how do we maintain our spiritual footing? The apostle Paul's letter to Timothy offers timeless wisdom for believers navigating uncertain times.
Read More
When Self-Sufficiency Isn't Sufficient
The story of Naaman the Syrian offers a powerful lesson about the limits of human achievement and the transformative power of humility. This Old Testament account reveals why even the most accomplished among us must sometimes look beyond ourselves for healing and hope.
Read More
