Mendham Hills

James, the brother of Jesus, asked what I think he believed to be a rhetorical question: "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" The problem is that I'm not so sure his first century audience knew the answer. I'm pretty sure that his twenty-first century audience doesn't know either. Do you? Why do we fight and how do we stop? A method for relational reset - this Sunday at Mendham Hills.

This summer, we heard Jesus say some pretty challenging and counter-cultural things. This Sunday, we hear him say something downright offensive. "They" seem to say all roads of religion lead to the same place. Jesus begs to differ and makes a pretty exclusive claim. Are all religions really the same? How small is the gate, how narrow is the road that leads to life? And how do I find it? Gates and...

We were never meant to do this alone. Maybe a few of us could manage to build a hut on a mountain and live alone. Sometimes we like to think we can, but we were never meant to live life alone. We were built for community at some level. Yet, while living in the most densely populated state in America, we can be very lonely. This week, we will explore narrowing the distance between us and unpacking...

Who is right, who is wrong? What is right, what is wrong? Is it my way or the highway? In an increasingly divided society, we have learned to fight and argue over just about anything. How can we actually reduce the space between us? Do we just give in? Do we fight for our rights? This Sunday, I will show you the most excellent way!

Yes we are. Well, at least Jesus is. Some of you may be familiar with basketball great Allen Iverson's aversion to practice. Spoiler alert - he didn't see much value in it. Truth is that not many of us do, either. Have you ever had to try and convince your kids to practice less? Yet, Jesus sums up his famous Sermon on the Mount with one final counter-cultural teaching: It's not what you know, it's...

Sunday services at 9 & 10:30am A THIRD WAY You and I have been conditioned to believe a lie. At very deep levels, we have come to believe that in the face of opposition, oppression or persecution, we have only two choices: fight or flight. When someone comes hard against us, at work or school or even at home, we either get even or get out. The truth is, and you know this if you have lived long eno...

Few words in the Bible have provoked as much anger and debate as these: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The Lex Talionis. The Law of Retribution. Atheists claim it proves the Bible contains internal contradictions. Gandhi said it would leave the whole world blind. For the Pharisees, it was a loophole allowing them to serve up cold-hearted revenge. Jesus acknowledges that many have weigh...

In a world that is sometimes upside down, people say rewards are based on impressing people that you can see in real-time and in real space. In our summer series, Jesus goes the other way: focusing on the reality of the unseen. Lots of things are unseen, but we know they exist. Air. Internet. Wind. Gravity. In the land of mirages, what isn't seen turns out to be real; what seems to be real can be...

Rewards are powerful things. Lose your wedding ring...I feel bad. Lose your wedding ring and post a reward...I start looking! Our ability to overcome even the most difficult of circumstances is often directly related to our perception of the reward to come. Rewards matter. The Scriptures teach that the "ancients" understood this and it fueled faith and transformation. Have we "moderns" forgotten t...

I had a friend last week who, while in Guatemala, went to visit a ministry that serves children who are born both blind and deaf. All of us can certainly understand the desperate nature of their conditions. Yet, my friend told me his understanding paled in comparison to their reality - a reality that became his for a morning as they blindfolded him and placed earplugs in his ears. That reality cha...

...but money talks and actions speak louder than words. So, as good cynics, when someone tells us they'll do something, we wait to see if they follow through. And, we love to lay the blame for this particular transgression at the feet of lawyers and politicians. But the truth is that the human race as a whole has a tenuous relationship with the truth. Jesus has a new challenge: Say what you mean a...

Living life seems like a mad dash. Racing the clock, looking over your shoulder, and trying to make time-sensitive turns can leave us gasping for air. We jump into the fray Sunday morning in our talk, unpacking what "they" say and what Jesus says. How do I keep my soul from being shattered in the process of just doing life? They say, but I say - this Sunday at Mendham Hills.

John, one of the disciples of Jesus, declared that Jesus dwelt among us full of "grace and truth." It's a good thing He was full of grace because often times we can't handle the truth. This Sunday, as we continue our series on conventional wisdom vs. Jesus' teachings, we come upon a pretty controversial one: marriage. In fact, it's so controversial that after Jesus spoke on it, He got all "Jack Ni...

A new summer series starts this Sunday! Jesus just switches things up. He tells crowds, "You have heard that it was said, but I say..." Not small things, but colossal things! The world says this, but I say that. The paths diverge and lead to different outcomes. This week, we drill down on how to extinguish the sources of anger in our lives. We are tackling a huge human condition and showing the pa...

"And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." Taking a turn on our Jersey roads can be exhilarating, sometimes frightening, or just an adventure. Leaning into the turn with hands on the wheel usually keeps us on the road, despite the potho...

Have you ever lost something really, really valuable? I was at a football game once, not long after I was married, and I was playing with my wedding ring. I was still not used to wearing jewelry, so I was constantly twisting and turning it and - you guessed it - off it went. I heard the "ding" of the metal hitting the concrete below, and then it was gone, never to be seen again. I was able to get...

It's probably not possible to look at the forty most influential chapters in the Bible and not land in the third chapter of John's gospel. Within just a couple of lines, John records probably two of the most famous sayings of Jesus: "For God so loved the world..." and, "Lest a man be born again..." Sound familiar? Yet, the story of the man Jesus spoke those words to is so unknown. In many ways, hi...

Sometimes we wonder where God is. We face issues in life and it all seems puzzling. There are times we can point to His striking awareness of our circumstances, but then there are times when He just seems aloof. Is He too busy for us? Are we just numbers on a list? This next segment in our "40 For 40" series will revolutionize our view of God and challenge us with an awareness we need to ponder de...

Unfortunately, the followers of Jesus have become known for one character trait more than any other...and it isn't love. You have probably heard the old preacher's joke in response to this unfortunately common charge. When challenged by someone in the community with, "I would never go church, it's full of hypocrites," he smiled and warmly replied, "Yes! And there is always room for one more! Why n...

This Sunday, bring your mom to church as we celebrate and honor a mother's love. Samuel Coleridge wrote, "The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father." I think he was on to something. There is just something different about the heart of a mom. The photo booth will be open for family pics this Mother's Day, as we reflect on what has to be the strange...

In a world of few moral absolutes, uncertainty seems to reign. Truths that once seemed foundational now seem optional. What about for you...personally? What are your core convictions? Do you have any? How far is too far? Where do you draw the line (if there is one)? Discovering the power of personal convictions in your life before it's too late, this Sunday at Mendham Hills.

The last words of Jesus were, "It is finished." Unfortunately, most of us live like the war still rages, like nothing is really finished at all. We live lives of caution, fear and regret, hoping to not become a casualty in a war that ended long ago. Jesus won the war over sin and death...but have you? Living in the light of victory - put another way - walking like the winner you really are, this S...

Good Friday services at Mendham Hills Community Church

The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think. If the greatest battle we engage in is the battle within, then perhaps our greatest enemy is the need for approval. What would it be like to wake up one morning and realize the whole thing never really was a competition? Tired of a life striving for a constantly moving finish line? Imagine the freedom of living as if you ha...

It seems we live in a world bent on war and filled with rumors of war. Nation against nation and brother against brother, hate seems to be the order of the day and civility is a long-dead casualty. The Bible's chock full of wars, too, leading many to wonder if God is a God of war. It is not God, though, who created humanity to live in violence, but humanity who chooses violence. It is our history,...