Andy Talks

In our Sunday sermon from May 18, 2025, Andy shares with us from Acts 11 1-18, the Lord pushes Peter to be uncomfortable, and to love people who can be hard to love. Let us not look at the world and see enemies where the Lord sees a harvest. 

Gideon is chasing the Midianites and stops to ask for help. He is refused. No one will give him bread. And this is after being fussed at for not letting a certain tribe come to the battle. We see here that everyone is after their own interests. No one is thinking about how to help one another or how to pull together. They are all only thinking about themselves. We see that remains true in the New...

We see Gideon’s battle today. But it isn’t what you may expect. First, there’s no battle. Gideon and his troops are standing, blowing their trumpets, smashing their jars, but not fighting. The Lord confuses them, and they actually turn on each other. But what is even more is the Lord culls Gideon’s herd, leaving him with the smallest, the worst, and the weakest of all the troops. There is no way t...

Bless Gideon. Over and over, he must have worn the Lord out, because he keeps testing the Lord. He asks the Lord to do this, then to do that. He says to the Lord, If you are really going to do this, then do this. Then he says, Well, do that. Over and over, he tests God. Now, I’m not saying that you or I should do this. But the Lord’s patience is something, because the Lord knows that Gideon’s stor...

We see more of Gideon’s story. Gideon’s story is our story. Today, we are going to read that he gets it right. He blows the horn, he rallies the troops. He is faithful. Now, yesterday, he didn’t exactly get it right. And he isn’t going to do great tomorrow. But today, he was faithful. We are like that. We are Gideon. Some days, we get it right. Some days, we don’t.  But we are reminded, it’s not a...

Today we meet Gideon. He is called a mighty warrior. He is anything but that.  He is hiding when the Lord comes to him. He eventually does what the Lord wants (after testing the Lord), but he does it at night because he is afraid. But how does the Lord greet him?  As a mighty warrior. The Lord sees something in Gideon that Gideon doesn’t see in himself. The Lord is with him.  Today, as we look bac...

We see in Judges 6 the same pattern we have seen so often thus far. The people sin, and they fall into slavery and oppression. But we see something different today. We see a prophet warn them not to worship the gods of their neighbors. They are told to worship God alone. But the challenge is hard. It’s hard for them to lose everything.  It is hard to hold onto God when things are hard. Faith is ea...

After the victory, we see Deborah and Barak sing. This is a song that recounts the battle that was just fought, and adds some additional context. This is an important thing for us to see in scripture, singing is a vital part of faith. So often in the Bible, something will happen, and the people will begin to sing. We should follow that pattern. The hymns and songs we sing in worship, we are not th...

We see one of the more well-known stories of a judge today, the story of Deborah.  In this story, we see three people who have different responses. We see Deborah and Jael, who use God's gifts to be faithful and overthrow the evil king and general. But we also seek Barak, who God uses, but because of his lack of faith, God cannot fully use him as God may like. The people that God can fully us...

We see the story of Ehud today. He is an interesting judge. He is a left-handed judge, and while the Bible doesn’t necessarily say that is a bad thing, it does seem to be a little different. He used that to his advantage today.  He snuck into the king's chambers, and with his sword being a place the guards would not have checked, was able to kill the king and lead the people to freedom. This...

Today, we see that pattern that we talked about truly emerge.  After reading this passage, you’ve pretty much read Judges. But as we see the pattern of freedom, sin, captivity, repentance, and a judge begin, let’s pay attention to two things. First, we see where it all starts. They forgot God.  We forget. How do you remind yourself of God’s goodness every day?  And second, the land rested. When wa...

In our Traditional message from May 4, 2025, Andy shares with us from John 21: 1-19. We see Jesus restore Peter. He forgives Peter's sin and restores him.  He calls Peter by his name. Today, Jesus will restore. Listen for Him calling your name.

We see several interesting things happening in our text today. First, like yesterday, and like tomorrow again, we see the dangers of being influenced by the world.  We have to have our identity and being deeply and firmly rooted in Jesus, first and foremost. He is where our life is found. But see another warning. The people drifted away after Joshua because they put too much of their identity in h...

We see a pattern emerge in the book of Judges. It is the same pattern we struggle with today.  We see the people have freedom, but then they fall into sin. After the fall into sin, they are captured and oppressed by their neighbors. They will eventually repent and cry out to God for help, and God will raise up a judge. That judge will lead them to freedom, and they will be free for as long as the...

We see several interesting things happening in our text today. First, like yesterday, and like tomorrow again, we see the dangers of being influenced by the world.  We have to have our identity and being deeply and firmly rooted in Jesus, first and foremost. He is where our life is found. But see another warning in this text. The people drifted away after Joshua because they put too much of their...

As we move back into the Old Testament, we’ll take some time to walk together through the book of Judges. This is a very interesting book; it has some stories we all know, as well as some that we are unfamiliar with. We see in this book that God can use anyone to accomplish His will, but we also see the danger that comes when we become too enmeshed in the world. Judges is our warning to be in the...

We resume our week by looking at the post-resurrection accounts of Jesus and seeing his encounter with Thomas. As you’ve probably heard me say before, I think Thomas gets a bad rap because of his doubt.  Most, if not all, of us will doubt at some point; this teaches us the power of finding faith, even in our struggles. Thomas, though, has to let go of his hurt and disappointment to truly find God’...

We continue looking at Jesus’s post-resurrection encounters, and today we see Him coming to the disciples in John 20. This is one of my favorite passages from John. It talks about the disciples meeting together, but their doors were locked out of fear. I think that’s such a powerful image. How often do we lock the doors, especially the doors of our hearts, out of fear? But even there, Jesus can fi...

This week, we will look at five different encounters that people have with Jesus after the Resurrection. Today, we’ll start by looking at the Walk to Emmaus. In this story, two disciples are walking, and Jesus walks alongside them. They tell Him (Jesus) all that has happened in Jerusalem, and Jesus then unpacks all the Bible, and shows them how it is all pointing to Him. Shameless plug: here’s a l...

In our Easter sermon from our Traditional service, Andy looks at the story of John, Peter, and Mary, and how they came to believe in the resurrection. We don't need any gimmicks. We have the greatest story of all time, as Christians. He is Risen!  He is risen indeed! 

As we wait for Easter Sunday, we take a few moments to consider Holy Saturday. There is no direct biblical example of what happened on Holy Saturday, but in many traditions, this is the day when Jesus “Harrows Hell.” In some versions of the Creed, it says He “descended to the dead” or “descended to hell.” We’ll look at several biblical passages to unpack a little of what that could mean. Shameless...

In our Maundy Thursday service, Andy preaches from John 13. Before He goes to the cross, Jesus leaves with His disciples, and each of us, three things. An example of service. The promise of presence. And a new command. 

Good Friday is essential to Easter. We cannot rush through it. We must not rush through it. It is not easy. It is not fun to sit with and in our sin.  We don’t like it. We don’t like that way because of the way that it makes us feel. But if we do not sit with and realize our sin, we cannot truly feel forgiven. Without Good Friday, without the cross, without this, we truly don’t realize or experien...

Maundy Thursday is one of my “favorite” days of the church year. I put that in parentheses because it’s also a hard day. The day Jesus was betrayed. The day the journey to the cross really picks up speed. So, before He leaves, Jesus shows us what matters.  Service. Presence. And Love.  They will know we are His disciples not by our opinions, our politics, or our worship. But by our love. That was...

As we continue walking through Holy Week, Wednesday marks a subtle but significant turning point. Monday and Tuesday were filled with teaching, challenge, and public presence. But today, we move quietly yet definitively toward the cross. Though Scripture doesn’t give Holy Wednesday a dramatic narrative like the days that follow, it carries a deep spiritual weight. Some Christian traditions even re...