Andy Talks

In our Traditional sermon from August 4, 2024, Andy shares with us from 1 John 3: 7-8.  Jesus gives us this mission - to destroy the works of the devil. When we take the good news of Jesus with us, wherever we are, the light drives out the dark!

What does it mean to be a welcoming church? What does Jesus' Table look like? Who gets to come?  We see today that Jesus loves and invites the entire world. That means we have to as well.

When we are found in Jesus, we will be like calves, skipping out of their stalls. We will have joy.  Joy is a beautiful thing. It is not based on circumstance. That is happiness. We are happy because we have this or that. I am happy when my team wins. Joy is deeper. Joy is not found based on what we have, but joy is found in who we are, or perhaps better said, based on whose we are.  We have joy b...

In our reading today, we see the Lord say that those who revere Him, those who ponder Him, He sees, and remembers them. On the day of judgment, they will be His special possession. He will treasure and care for them. We need to root ourselves in that reality, that He loves and He cares for us. And we need to be reminded that our safety and protection do not come from anything in this world, but it...

Today’s reading looks at something that isn’t always fun to talk about: tithing.  This is a subject that I think has a lot to teach us, but it’s something that is often misunderstood. Today, we’ll look at the original context of what is happening in this passage, along with the spiritual reality of what it can mean for me and for you today. As I’ve heard it said before, tithing is God’s path to fo...

We are told today that the Lord will send His messenger to prepare for His coming judgment and His coming salvation. We are told to turn from our sins and return to the Lord.  When we return to God, He returns to us. The Lord is never too far. When we take a step towards Him, He comes running towards us. God's grace is always there. God’s goodness is always there. God is always there. No matt...

Today, we see Malachi echo themes in Ezra and Nehemiah. The people need to be very careful where their allegiances lie. They are cautioned to avoid relationships that pull them away from God. That is what happened to the people before the Exile, and it is a danger in this new world. The same is true for us today. We need a variety of relationships. If we, as Christians, do not have any relationshi...

In our Traditional service on July 21, 2024, Andy shared with us from John 14: 5-6. We are an evangelical church. That label is thrown around a lot in our world. What does it mean to say that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father but through Him?  Let's be careful to build our church only on the rock of Jesus.

Today we see the Lord remind the priests that they have lost their reverence of Him. As much as we need to know the gentleness and kindness of God, we need to understand the fact that He is “other” than us. He is different from us. He is not human.  We need the proper reverence for who God is.  As Job says at the end of His book, “I put my hand over my mouth, I have spoken much too soon.” We need...

Today, the Lord condemns the priests for how they lead worship.  They have despised the Lord’s table by bringing sacrifices that are not worthy of the Lord. As you’ve heard it said before, I’m sure the Lord deserves our best. Now, I was raised that means our best clothing.  I still can’t go to church without a sports coat. But it means more than that. It means the posture of our hearts. It means o...

Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. These words from Romans are originally found in Malachi.  These are some of the hardest-to-understand words in all of the Bible. What does “hate” mean here? What does this say about who God is?  What does this mean for our faith? What about free will? Where does this all fit together? Trust me, many folks much smarter than me have tried to understand these words. While...

C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”  Today in Zecharia...

Today, we see a word about idolatry in Zechariah.  The people were worshiping idols because they did not trust in God to take care of them. They worshiped the idols as a “backup” plan against the dangers of a failed harvest or  infertility.  They worshiped idols because they didn’t trust.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.  Our faith grows when it is tested. That is the second part of...

In our INTERSECTION service from July 14, 2024, Andy shares with us from Philippians 2: 12-13.  What does it mean to say that our church is "Wesleyan?"  Why should that even matter?

In our July 7 sermon, we continue our series "The Marks of the Church."  Orthodox or Orthodoxy is a word we hear tossed around a lot. It's an important word, and orthodox theology is one of the foundations of our church. But what exactly does that mean?

In our reading today, we see a verse that inspired one of my favorite Christian hymns, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood.”  I know these images of “blood” are sometimes difficult for us to hear in our modern context, but we need to understand the “power in the blood” and “nothing but the blood of Jesus” can restore and save us.  Through the atonement on the cross, Jesus paid all the debt for...

Sometimes, God calls us to things that do not make sense to us. These are the hard times, but these are also the times when our faith really comes alive and really grows. In Zechariah, he is called to shepherd a flock that will be slaughtered.  This makes no sense; he isn’t even paid his correct wage. We see here we have no control over whether people receive our faithfulness and grace, all we hav...

Today, we see another well-known passage: “The sheep wander for need of a shepherd.”  We see that the shepherds are not leading the sheep well at that moment. They are living for their own desires, not for the needs of the sheep.  At this point in my life, I am no longer looking for dynamic or charismatic shepherds, for even the devil has those skills. I am looking for a shepherd who has the Fruit...

Today, we read the prophecy that we see fulfilled on Palm Sunday. Jesus, humble, riding a donkey. But we often misread this. We see this as only Jesus being humble, which He was. This wasn’t just Jesus being humble; this was also declaring who He was for all the world to see. He is declaring here that He is Messiah, that He is Lord, that He is king. Now, of course, as we see with Pilate, His kingd...

Zechariah continues his joyful words today.  We are told that there will be fasting, but it will be joyful. It will be a celebration We are to be joyfully obedient. But then we see that our joy will be infectious. People will grab the people of God by the garment and say, “We will go with you because God is with you!”  Isn’t that a beautiful hope and desire that people will know that God is with u...

Today’s passage is full of good stuff. My entire bible is highlighted today.  The Lord has a word of hope for us today.  He is going to make all things right in His due time. He is going to restore the remnant. He is going to give life where life has been taken,  He is going to make all things as they are made to be. We have this HOPE. And if we have hope, we have strong hands to work, to build th...

We see the Lord explain why He judged the people today. We see Him tell the people how to live. But His instructions may surprise us, and we may find them harder than we expect. He calls us to kindness today. To mercy today.  Those are hard for this age; we show kindness and mercy to “our side,” not to others. He calls us to take care of the weak and needy. To avoid hate in our hearts. To be diffe...

In our Traditional message from June 23, 2024, Andy shares with us from Ephesians 2: 19-20. We see that the church is founded upon the teachings of the Apostles. That is what it means to be "Apostolic," to be part of that lineage. But what does that actually mean?

After the Exile is over, several of the people from Bethel go to the prophet and ask this question. Do we still need to fast?  They are asking because the people are back home, and the Temple is being rebuilt. So, must they continue to lament? And the prophet asks this question. Why did you fast?  Why is it that you did what you did?  For God, or for some other reason? Why do we fast?  Why do we d...

Today, we see a high priest given a crown. At first, you may think that this crown is one that has religious significance. But this is the kind of crown that goes to royalty.  In this passage, Joshua is crowned “the Branch.”  All of this this points us to Jesus.  He is the Branch (John 15: 1-8).  He is prophet, priest, and king.  He speaks the Word of the Lord, He is our high priest, and He is Kin...