Andy Talks

He is jealous of me; His love’s like a hurricane; I am a tree.  Those are famous words from a well-known praise song, “He Love Us.”  Today’s passage talks about how God is jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. We talk today about what that meant biblically in that time, but we also move it forward to this day to think about what it means to say that He is jealous for us. What does it mean to say tha...

Our life, our schedule, and everything else are dictated by the immediate. By the urgent. That’s what we worry about. That’s what we focus on. On the immediate and on the thing that is happening right now, at this instant. Today, we see the prophet Zechariah remind us of God’s call in the past to return to Him, and this reminder is that His word is constant and true. His word is eternal.  We shoul...

We see God’s word through Haggai about what He is going to do for the people. There are so many wonderful glimpses today that point us to Jesus. We see the people told they will be blessed, since they have dedicated the Temple. This reminds us of Jesus; when we seek first God’s kingdom, these things will be added to us. Likewise, we are told that at this moment, the clean cannot make the unclean r...

Verse 9 today is at the heart of this prophecy. Haggai tells us that the temple that is to be built will be even greater than the first temple that was built. That’s hard for the people to understand because Solmon’s temple was so great. But it is right; the temple that was built was even great. And we know, of course, that the greatest temple of all is the glorious Body of Christ.  As Christians,...

In our Summer series "Marks of the Church," Andy preaches about the mark of being "One."  We have one Lord, one Faith, one baptism. But what does it mean when the Nicene Creed says that the Church is One?

So often, it’s easy to give God what is left of our time, not the best of our time; it’s easy to give God what is left of our resources, not what is best of our resources. Haggi tells the people today that after the Exile, they are comfortable; they have much, but they have neglected the house of the Lord. The time has come to rebuild. That is the same for us.  It is easy for us to be comfortable...

Today, we see what we always see in the prophets and in all the Bible. We see grace. We see that God intends to save His people, to give them life and goodness.  God’s way is good, y’all. God is good. He will renew us with His life. He will rejoice over us.  He delights in us. But the path of life that God offers is a path of humility. Life is not found in power or in greatness. Life is found in h...

Being corrected is one of the hardest and most important things in life. The Lord tells Jerusalem that He has tried, repeatedly, to correct them. To call them back from sin.  But, each time He calls, they refuse to listen. The more He calls, it seems, the less faithful they are. Correction is a painful, hard thing. I know I’ve never enjoyed it in my life. But it is essential. We cannot grow, and w...

Today, in Zephaniah, we see the word that there will always be a remnant. God will bring judgment against those who stand against Him. He will always, always have His remnant.  It’s tempting for us to think it’s just us. We are Elijah; we are all that God has left. But remember the Lord told Elijah that He had thousands reserved for Himself.  God always has something up His sleeve. As one of my pr...

We often misunderstand what idolatry was in the Old Testament. Today, we see what it actually was in Zephaniah. The people never stopped worshiping the Lord.  They continued worshiping God. But, they did not fully trust in God. They doubted, they feared. So, they would worship this idol, too, just to be safe. Our idol is not some wooden statue on top of our mantle. Our idol is the thing that we ar...

In our combined worship service on May 26, 2024, Andy shares with us from Romans 5: 1-5. We talk today about the Trinity.  While there is much we do not understand, over very salvation is a Trinitarian act.  We are made right with the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.

There is a difference between worship and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is when we name or thank God for what He has done and the things in our lives that God has given us.  It’s when we name our blessings. This is a good thing for us to do. But that is not what worship is.  Worship is when we name who God is and praise Him for who He is. Thanksgiving is about what God has done; worship is about who...

In chapter three, we see what prayer does. In chapter one, Habakkuk was complaining to God about everything, about evil, all that was happening, and was questioning God. God, why haven’t you fixed it?  God, why isn’t it better? God, why are you making me see all of this?  In chapter two, he prays, and while his circumstances haven’t changed, his heart and his outlook have. God has given him a deep...

Habbakuk 2:20 is one of my favorite passages in all the bible. The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before Him.  We bring our many concerns, our many worries, our many fears, all these things to God. God, as a loving Father, longs to hear our worries in the same way we, as parents, hear the worries of our children. But our Lord also reminds us of this. He is in His Holy Te...

Habakkuk does something that is hard but necessary. He wrestles with God. He asks the hard questions.  He wrestles with God. What is he to do with the evil in the world?  How does God look by when so much evil is happening?  Why does God allow it to happen?  How can this be?  Does this sound like a familiar line of questions to you?  Are these these questions that we struggle with?  In the book, w...

There are things, I believe, in scripture that are there to be a warning to us. I think Nineveh is one such thing. We see the judgment that is coming to them. This chapter ends by telling us that no one escaped their cruelty. They lived by the sword, and now they die by it. As Christians, we do not believe in karma; we believe in grace. But within that, if we live a life dictated by values and dec...

In our Traditional message from Pentecost Sunday, Andy shares with us from Acts 2: 1-21 and Genesis 11: 1-9. God is a God of restoration.  He restores all things. When we catch on fire with the Spirit, amazing things happen! 

Today, we see Nahum talking about something that the Jewish people did not believe could ever happen - the destruction of Nineveh. There’s no way that could happen.  They were too big, too strong, too much. Not possible. But God was going to bring judgment against them. He would. He was going to make all things right. That’s a reminder to us today. We don’t have to make all things right. We don’t...

Nahum is a prophet speaking a word against Ninevah. We saw in Jonah the evil that was in Ninevah, how the prophet didn’t want to go preach because he didn’t want God to forgive them for their great evil.  He knew they were evil and needed to be judged.  We see in Nahum a little of what this sermon may have looked like. Evil is there, and it will destroy. We need to be careful, very careful of evil...

All throughout the Bible, we are told about God’s signs and wonders. That’s a constant theme in Acts and is a constant theme in the prophets. Today, at the end of Micah, we see the greatest example of God’s power, the greatest example of signs and wonders. God’s grace. His mercy. His forgiveness. Vengetance is easy. But, mercy, mercy takes strength. Mercy takes power.  Mercy is amazing. That is th...

Today, we see two sections held together by a key verse. The first part is about the corruption of the world and the judgment that is coming. We see how bad it is, how people are not living or leading with integrity, taking bribes, stealing, and abusing.  Contrast this with 6:8, with God’s call to do justice.  The second section is about God’s restoration and hope. But in the middle is verse 7, wh...

In our Traditional sermon from May 12, Andy shares with us from John 17: 6-19.  Jesus doesn't pray that we be removed from suffering but that we will be protected. In the real world, we will find troubles. But, through His graces, these trials and grow us even closer to our Savior.

The Lord tells the people about the judgment that is coming to them, and it is this judgment. They will have all they want, they will eat, they will save, they will have all of this, but it will never satisfy them. They will have it all, but they will find that this is not going to give them life, and the more they have, the less they are satisfied.  Our abundance can be like salty water. The more...

Today is another passage we all know very well: God has shown us what He expected of us - to do mercy, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. But what does that mean?  What does that look like?  What would it be like for us to live out the heart of this passage? This is a beautiful passage and a beautiful call for each of us! Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short min...

Today, we see the famous passage in Micah, cited in Matthew to the Wise Men, telling us where Jesus was to be born.  That’s a very well-known passage, but as I read, I found myself pulled more to verse five, which tells us this, “He is our peace.”  I love that so much.  Peace is not a concept. Peace is a person: Jesus. We do not pray or read the Bible to make God give us peace; we do these things...