Shelbyville Community Church

The Psalmist said: “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD;” (Psalm 24:1, CSB). Throughout Scripture, God is seen as the owner, while we are given a little time and a little opportunity to manage his resources. When you recognize whose stuff it is that you manage, it is changes everything: attitude, behavior, and habits—at a very profound level. Anyone re...

Three of the guys on our staff team are into grilling. I mean, really into it. They will baste, smoke, marinade, and even time the various meats they cook. To them, it’s a science. In fact, I want to say that they are obsessed with it, but I don’t think that does it justice. And frankly, I don’t get it. I mean, that is what restaurants are for. I will grill if it’s necessary or if my wife makes me...

Baptism is a picture of a new life! This weekend we have the amazing opportunity to celebrate what God is doing here at SCC through the ancient practice of baptism. We’re used to thinking that baptism day is about us or the other people who made their declaration of faith alongside of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of s...

David Foster Wallace was a Post-Modern author who was widely admired and respected. He was an academic, not even close to a follower of Jesus. He was giving the commencement address at a liberal arts college shortly before He died (he took His own life at the age of 46), and this is what he said: “… in the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing...

Have you ever followed, or even loved, a sports team? Many people who do buy a jersey, learn all the information they can about that team, and grow as a follower of that team. When it comes to a team jersey, the big life lesson is not letting the name on the back become bigger than the name on the front. That is hard when players are called to become great and the greater they are the better their...

For thousands of years, people have gathered on Easter Sunday to proclaim a central and powerful truth. They’ve not gathered to say, “The Stock Market has risen” or “The dollar has risen”. They haven’t come together to say “the Housing Market has risen”, or “the value of my 401 K has risen.” The one hope that has held people and cultures and countries together all over the world in the face of pov...

If you ever go on vacation to Massachusetts and find yourself on Nantucket Island, there is a museum there that centers on the efforts of an organization that is centuries old. Two hundred years ago, travel by sea was very dangerous and—given storms in the Atlantic and the rocky coast of Massachusetts—a lot of lives were lost just a mile or so away from the coast. So a group of volunteers went int...

If you are in town this weekend, I hope you will come and worship with us in person. If not, I hope you will join us online as we continue the thought, “We are Better Together.” While Jesus Christ was on the earth in a physical body He was committed to that truth. As He began His earthly ministry, one of the first things He did was to gather together His small group! Mark 3:13-15 – And He went up...

A few years ago, I learned about a type of long-distance backpacking called thru hiking. In the U.S., we have three long-distance scenic trails that people try to complete in one continuous footpath. The Appalachian Trail, the shortest of the three, is 2,200 miles in length. It spans 14 states, and starts at Springer Mountain in Georgia and ends at Mt. Katahdin in Maine. There is a phrase that thr...

Consider this your invitation to live the rooted life. The rooted life is an anchored life and a nourished life. We’ve chosen to describe the rooted life this way: Live a Rooted Life Prayer, Scripture, and Worship are at the heartbeat of our relationship with God. Through Scripture and prayer, we seek God’s presence, listen for His voice, and align our hearts with his will. Through worship, we res...

When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, He would almost always use a parable. A parable is a made-up story from the real-world Jesus often used to illustrate life in the Kingdom of God. I would like to tell you a true story to illustrate relationships in the Kingdom of God. And, borrowing from Jesus’ approach to how He introduced parables, I will begin like this: The Kingdom of God is like a f...

When I was growing up, there was a game show called “Let’s make a Deal!” Its host was a man named Monty Hall. At the end of the program, Monty would show the two winning contestants three doors. There was something behind all three doors. It may be a donkey eating a piece of fruit or it could be a new car or even an expensive vacation. But the contestants had to choose the right door. Choose the w...

As we prepare to wrap up our series in the gospel of John, we’re going to take a look at Peter. At this point in the story, he is no longer one of Jesus’ disciples. He had denied Jesus and gone back to a life of fishing. Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter finds himself face-to-face with the person he denied. Can you imagine the feelings of shame and regret that washed over Peter at that mome...

I remember hearing the story of 4 people that were sitting across from each other in a little stall on a train. On one side were a college basketball player and his coach. On the other side was a beautiful college-aged girl with her grandma. It was clear that there was an attraction between the basketball player and the young woman, as they exchanging flirtatious glances at one another. Then sudde...

The accusations hurled at Jesus paved the way for you and I to live free of accusation. In Romans 8:1, we are told “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Part of what that means is that Jesus does not accuse us, that through Him we are accepted by God even in our sinfulness. About 25 years ago, rumors began to spread about a certain Catholic woman who was having vi...

Baptism is a picture of a new life! This weekend we have the amazing opportunity to celebrate what God is doing here at SCC through the ancient practice of baptism. We’re used to thinking that baptism day is about us or the other people who made their declaration of faith alongside of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of s...

One of my first experiences with betrayal happened when I was about 13 years old. A woman hired a friend and I to clean out her garage, and had told us that anything we found in her garage we could keep. As we were rummaging through her junk, my friend found the stock or the handle of what looked like a very old rifle of some kind. It would turn out to be the stock of a gun used during the Civil W...

In 2024, my wife and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a trip to Alaska. What I learned while there was that their motto, "Alaska: the last frontier," lives up to the hype! This state, larger than California, Texas, and Montana combined, is immense. Mountains, glaciers, rugged coastline, and wildlife are abundant. We spent 11 days traveling the wilderness in a camper van. We...

We all need a fresh start, and a new year usually brings that opportunity. So, what do you want 2026 to look like? What’s one thing you want to do differently? How do you want to act? Will you take a relationship with God into the new year? If you have a relationship already, will you grow more in that relationship in the coming year? The truth is, there are moments in life when the ground under u...

Every Christmas, we celebrate by giving gifts. Some say the tradition began with the Wise Men, who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn King. Others point to the story of St. Nicholas, known for quietly giving gifts to children. But long before either of those stories, the true tradition of Christmas giving began with God Himself. Christmas started with a gift from heaven — when Go...

In John 13, Jesus gives His disciples a new command. “Love one another.” That wasn’t actually a new command. What made it new was what Jesus said next: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This was a raise the bar, sacrificial kind of love. And His followers took this command very seriously. First century Christians developed a reputation for taking in abandoned babies. Infanticide...

Relationships in the Kingdom of God are of the highest value. Nothing is more important. Seriously. If you don’t believe me, check out what Jesus teaches in His biggest sermon. “So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sist...

Have you ever had someone pray for you? How did that make you feel? Did that have an impact on you? Jesus did that for YOU! He took time out of His life to stop and pray for YOU. Take that in for a moment. Jesus not only loved YOU so much that He went to the cross for YOU, but He showed YOU He loves YOU by stopping to pray for YOU. In John 17, Jesus knows His time has come. Prior to this moment He...

In John 16:33, Jesus said: “in this world you will have suffering.” My oldest son is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. His job is to predict the weather. It’s a good job, because nobody expects him to get it right all the time. If my son, the meteorologist, was giving a forecast for our lives, here is what he would say: “There is a 100% chance that trouble will come into your life...

Throughout the book of John, Jesus just can’t stop talking about the Holy Spirit. In fact, when you get to John 16, Jesus says something that is jaw-dropping. “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7, CSB) Jesus, what did you just say? Imagine for a m...