Andy Talks

Paul today answers the question he asked yesterday. What can separate us from God’s love?  Nothing.  Nothing in all of creation can separate us.  Even live, even death. Angels. Rulers.  Nothing. We also take a moment and look at Psalm 139, where we see that we cannot flee from God’s presence. No matter where we are, God is there.  You are loved, today, friends.  You truly are. May you know that lo...

Today we hear something that we need to drill down, deep into our souls. God is for us.  Never forget that.  Internalize that, right now. God is for you.  I spent a lot of years in my life believing that God was against me, that God didn’t like me, that God was going to get me.  Today, we are told that if He did not withhold His son, what will He withhold from us?  If God is for us, who can be aga...

We look today at Romans 8:28-30.  When we finish today, we will have solved the long standing debate about free will versus God’s sovereignty.  Spoiler alert: there is a mystery there that we will never understand.  We also spend time with one of my favorite verses, Romans 8:28 - all things work for good.  This doesn’t mean all things are good, but all things work for God. God can bring good out o...

We see today in Romans that sometimes the words of prayer do not come. Sometimes, we don’t know what to pray, how to pray. Sometimes our words fail us. We see today that when our words do not come, we can have confidence, for the Spirit of God, which saves us and points us to Jesus, the Spirit of God intercedes on our behalf. The Spirit of God, sometimes without words, sometimes with groans, inter...

We don't like death.  Or sickness.  Or pain. We hide from these things. We do them in private. But this has been a hard season for our church. And today, we stop, and we lament. For us to heal, we have to sit with our pain and name our pain.  We lament what we have been through and what we have lost.  We lament the pain and the hurt.  But we also have hope.  Morning by morning, new mercies we...

Today, we see the reason behind everything wrong in the world. Paul tells us that all of creation groans as if in child pain.  Creation was subjected to futility because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Their first sin didn’t just corrupt them, but it corrupted all of creation.  Because of the fall, because of their sin, we see that we have the sickness in the world, the disasters in the world, all of...

As we continue in Romans 8, today we look at verses 9-17. We see that we have within us the Spirit of God. Through this Spirit, we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  Abba is best understood as the word “daddy.”  The title Daddy is not biological; it is relational. I talk today about how my daddy is not blood kin to me; I’ve been adopted as God adopts us and makes us His. His Spirit joins with ours, that we...

Guess who's back?  Before we return to Acts, we are going to walk through my favorite chapter of the Bible, Romans 8!  Here we see Paul talk about the reality of our struggle with sin and the hope that we have in Jesus!  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!  Remember that in Him, we know peace, forgiveness, and love.  In Jesus, we find our very lives!  Join us for our d...

In our Joint service from September 3, 2023, Andy shares with us from Exodus 3: 1-15. We see God call to Moses from the burning bush.  Fire in scripture often points to purification.  God called Moses, purified him, and used him. Our tests and trials purify us, and God wants to use them, and all things, for something beautiful.   

In our INTERSECTION service from August 27, 2023, Andy shares with us from Matthew 16: 13-20.  This passage tells us that the gates of Hell will not triumph against the church.  No matter what happens,  we do not have to fear; the Christ of God will triumph!         

In our Traditional Message from August 20, 2023, Andy shares with us from Matthew 15: 21-28.  We see in this passage a mother in need, and she prays boldly. We should never, ever be afraid of praying boldly to our Father!  

Paul wanted to preach in a certain place. But the Spirit would not allow. Then, he wanted to go to another place. But the Spirit would not allow.  We see why.  Macedonia. God had bigger plans for Paul.  He was calling Paul to a new place, to a new place, and to bigger and even better dreams.  God has big plans for us, we just have to be faithful. And know that God’s plans for us are always better...

Paul is now with Timothy.  Timothy is uncircumcised, and the church has said that it is not required.  Yet, Paul takes Timothy and has him circumcised.  Why?  Why did he have this done?  It wasn’t required, that’s right. But Paul knew that there would be some people who may not be able to hear Timothy’s words if they knew he was uncircumcised.  Timothy did not live just for himself. He lived for o...

Paul and Barnabas separate today. After all they had gone through, after all that has happened, they are driven by a different vision. One for the mission, one for the relationship. Who was right? Which side was right?  What do we hope for and cling to in the midst of disagreement, especially when the disagreement is sharp? There is much we can learn in this passage this morning.  Join us for our...

We see the church in Jerusalem now write to the Gentile believers about what is required for them to become a part of the church.  It is reaffirmed to them that no matter what they’ve been told, they are not required to become circumcised. But there are some requirements for them, and honestly, for all of us. Worship God alone.  Respect life. Be holy. We are saved by Jesus and Jesus alone. But Jes...

These verses today are some of the most important verses in church history. What does it mean to be a Christian?  Must you first become Jewish?  Do you have to follow the Law?  The early church had to settle this - what does it mean to be a Christian?  How do you become a Christian?  After much prayer and conversation, it was decided this - Jesus saves!  We are saved not through the Law or keeping...

Paul finishes his first missionary journey. He works his way back to Antioch, praying with churches and raising up leaders. But then come comes home. He comes back to Antioch, where he was commissioned and sent out. These are his people. He is home.  He can rest. He can kick his shoes off.  He is home. Where is home for you?  Is it a place?  A person?  Where is home?  And how can you provide hospi...

This is one of my favorite stories in Paul’s ministry.  We see a couple of neat things happen here today.  First, Paul and Barnabas perform a miracle, and the people think they are the Greek gods who come down to earth.  Paul stops them and says, no, they are humans, just like the crowd. This is a great example; praise can be one of our greatest temptations.  As Tim Keller said, don’t let the prai...

Today, Paul faces opposition again.  He gets run out of another town. We see the same pattern emerge for Paul and Barnabas.  They go into town, they preach, people respond, they face opposition, and are run out. This is a great warning and reminder to us. We will face opposition. We will.  The Christian life is not a fairy tale. There will be troubles. That is why we need to truly be faithful to o...

Paul and Barnabas effectively share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the community today. Because of this, some religious leaders are jealous, which leads them to drive Paul and Barnabas out of the town. When we fill ourselves with our pride and stuff, jealousy is produced. We find joy when we are like the disciples and filled with the Spirit. Today, what are we being filled with?  Pride or the...

Paul is speaking to a Jewish audience today. So, what does he do?  He goes back to the Old Testament, tells their faith stories, and how those stories point to and are fulfilled in Jesus.  We see him quote Psalms, saying that Jesus did not experience corruption. What this means is this.  Sin leads to death. Because Jesus was not sinful, he was able to overcome death. Through Jesus, our sinful acti...

In our Traditional message, Andy shares with us from Matthew 14: 13-21.  We see Jesus give the disciples a problem they could not fix - feeding the 5,000.  He tells them, you do it. But the way they solve the problem is not their own strength, but they take them to Jesus. It is not for us to figure out; it is for us to follow His lead.        

Yesterday was a mountain top for Paul and Barnabas.  Today was a valley.  Yesterday, they saw and experienced revival. They saw and experienced the goodness of God. Today, they face opposition.  They faced trials.  We need both mountains and valleys.  It is on the mountain that we are revived. It is in the valley that we grow. We need them both. So, today, no matter where we find ourselves, mounta...

Today, we see the local church in Antioch, through the Holy Spirit, sees something in Saul and Barnabas. This church commissioned them and sent them off to do ministry. The church is in an imperfect body. We all know that. We’ve all felt that. We’ve all experienced that. But you know what?  We all need the church. We all need a local church to belong to. To be a part of. And to believe in us. Find...

Today, we see Herod meet his end.  He was king, yes, but he was not the TRUE king. God is king.  One day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We should remember that. If we are in a position of influence, let us never think too highly of ourselves. And let all of us remember where the true power lay. Not with any person or any or...