A Place Of Grace

Last week I spoke in error at one point in my message to you… As I shared with you that our BELIEFS CREATE BEHAVIOR I pointed to the scriptures and said, “ at least they should. ” The truth is that OUR BEHAVIOR will reveal and reflect what we truly believe… not what we merely give lip service to. Last…

I expect and hope that this week you read Ephesians through at least once. Reading through once a week as we study through this letter in Scripture will solidify the theme of BELIEF CREATES BEHAVIOR … In your reading of this letter you are fully aware that this morning we are looking at some very powerful…

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a letter… There is an author or writer of the letter There is an audience or those receiving the letter…

LIGHT… it is just fitting around this time of year. In the winter months we seem to miss the light more than ever. In our home we have a tradition where we load up in the car, sometimes we pack hot chocolate, we turn on Christmas music and we go driving around looking for Christmas lights. Something…

Love … a word that has such a vast range of meaning whether in the scriptures or in our culture today. I love a good cup of coffee early in the morning as the sun is coming up or as the snow falls to the ground I love a tender steak grilled just right with a side of mashed potatoes and grilled corn with…

We come to the Advent or Coming of JOY… HOW DO DEFINE JOY??? That which brings gladness It is something found in the heart of a person The heart’s state of BEING It is a condition of the heart (it is an emotion, something felt) It stems from a CAUSE or SOURCE!!! Here is a question to begin with today...…

On this Sunday looking at the Advent of Peace… I have posed a question. Is PEACE Attainable?… I ask this question on your behalf because of my childhood. My understanding of things warped how I viewed the scripture and things God stated in His Word. When I think of Peace… (or love and joy) the song,…

Growing up, moving all over traditions seemed to be few. One tradition I have discovered that many celebrated in thier church growing up was Advent. Since I never have I thought it might be interesting to approach this season in my preaching looking at Advent. During this Season we will look at: Hope,…

When we take time to look at the world we live in, even just in the recent past year you see: Unrest in the middle east and around the world There are school shootings, mass shootings, assassinations Christians are slaughtered around the world for thier faith We continue to see the mass murders of unborn…

Today as we get near the end of our CORE Church Concepts series we will be looking at the concept of Family and the church as a FAMILY OF FAMILIES. I felt it would be fitting to introduce you to my family… [ FAMILY PHOTO ] This here is our bunch… introduce [ WEDDING PHOTO ] Our family started on January…

The Church… to this I am referring to the people of God. Those who have placed thier faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, trusting in Him for thier salvation. To those followers of Christ, it is Christ who is building His church, drawing to Himself those who are lost in sin. Scripture at various…

A new family walks into the church. They are new to town, they have a few kids elementary age and one teenager… WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR? A newly retired couple walks through the doors on a Sunday morning. Excited about this new stage of life... WHAT DO THEY HOPE FOR IN A CHURCH? A young single newly…

As the oldest of six children, you may be shocked to know that I was (sometimes, ok maybe frequently) the reason for disagreements among us siblings! As oldest I should decide… I knew best… or I didn't want to… You get the picture… and each time my mother would direct me to a passage of scripture ( read,…

Good health is not always indicated by the absence of disease, some infirmity, or negative conditions in one’s life. Good health can also refer to what is present and observed. An area in the believer’s life that can be observed and serve as a VITAL SIGN of their spiritual health is prayer. Frequent…

“Context, Context, Context…” our youth give me a hard time because I say this so often. I also often say of our youth… “our youth are not the church of tomorrow, but rather the church of today!” Imagine saying something so frequently people use the statement “ Remember what Jesus would always say...…

As we look at these CRORE Concepts for the Church… you will begin to notice how many of these Concepts overlap. Christ is building His Church, and instruction in scripture is interwoven together to build a strong, healthy church body. IF we are to be strong and healthy, THEN there needs to be healthy…

There was a statement I read the other day that bristled the hair on my neck and then I realized that it may actually be true… well, for America anyway: “ The Bible is the world’s number one best selling coffee table book ” Many coffee tables/end tables have a dust outline Sadly Christian lives and homes…

When my family moved here in 2011 we noticed a foundation that had been laid over by Wal-Mart. Not having much knowledge of the area or history we watched the foundation area in expectation and wonder of what we might see be built. And we waited, and waited and waited… Christ is building His Church……

Paul would write to the church in Romans 10:13-14 these words… and Paul ask some good questions… HOW can they believe without HEARING? HOW can they HEAR without someone TELLING or sharing with them?! Paul would write to the Ephesian church that it is the Pastor’s job to: “ EQUIP the saints for the work…

This is the last Sunday I will be sharing my heart concerning the things God really laid on my heart and challenged me with over my sabbatical. While away I definitely had my concerns for those I shepherd, I prayed faithfully for you, but God gave a peace as well. He is the One ultimately in control,…

I WAS TERRIFIED… as I stood there, a 14 year old young man, shy, and not a huge fan of doing anything upfront of people, I opened up this Bible to deliver my first sermon! There was this pastor… Charlie Hornick who was convinced I could do this. Shaking in the knees and I am sure voice as well I read…

Gratitude... Thank you for these last seven weeks of rest. I am overwhelmed by the grace and love of this church and our leadership that you allow your pastor to take a sabbatical every seven years. It was a blessed time / very restful I was able to read some books that I have desired to for some time…