Andy Talks

Today, in our Traditional service, Andy shares with us from John: 12 20-33.  We see that we struggle with our greatest temptation - to make our lives completely about ourselves and not about God.  To find life, we must die to ourselves.  

In our Traditional message from March 10, 2024, we look at John 3: 14-21.  We are told that people love darkness more than light. We wrestle against the dark, every day, the darkness that tries to pull us down. But, in truth, darkness can never overcome the light. We have nothing to fear; we stand in the light of Jesus!

Paul reminds us today that we weren’t always a Christian. What does that reminder do for us?  It made me think of one of my favorite contemporary Christian songs from the 1990s by Steven Curtis Chapman - Remember Your Chains.  This song, like Paul’s words, is a reminder to remember that our salvation is not something we have earned, but it is a gift. And we should remember that and remember who we...

Paul continues to give Titus advice about how he should train the Christians in Crete.  One of the words he continues to give to Titus is self-control. This is mentioned several times in chapter two.  Why?  Why, for Paul, is this such a big deal?  We see that Paul is trying to teach Titus the importance of that self-controlled life, in contrast to the people of Crete, who seem to be doing whatever...

We meet Titus today.  He is a Gentile Christian leader, someone brought into the faith by Paul.  Paul trusted him to be the pastor of a church he loves - Corinth, and we see today that Paul left Titus in a very hard place for ministry. He left Titus in Crete.  Paul tells Titus to work on appointing leaders for the church there, and of all the things that Paul tells him to look for - look for this:...

We see Paul end this letter to Timothy with someone he does at the end of nearly every letter he writes - he thanks people. I sometimes call it his shoutouts. Romans 16 is my favorite example of this. But what he is doing is greeting and giving thanks to all the people who make his ministry possible. It is a reminder we walk together. We need each other. We do not walk alone.  Today, I need you. ...

One of my favorite prayers that I pray from the Morning Office says this - “For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, and in us you will show forth your goodness.”  Today in 2 Timothy Paul tells us that people will turn from the truth and turn to teachers who only tell them what they long to hear. We all want someone to tell us that we are “good” and they are “bad.” What we need to hear th...

In our Traditional message from March 3, 2024, Andy shares with us from  Mark 2: 13-22, where Jesus cleanses the temple.  Jesus was faithful to His mission no matter what others thought. For us to be faithful, we must wrestle daily with our pride.

We read these words today, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”  But what does that mean? We’ve read this passage a million times.  But what does this mean?  What is scripture? What is its purpose?  Why does it matter? Why sh...

Today, Paul tells us that in the last days, things will not get better; in fact, they will get worse.  People will sin more; things will be harder and more challenging.  It won’t be easy.  Is working for good a hopeless task? Will we be able to accomplish anything worthwhile?  Is it even worth it to try?  We are reminded today that while we can’t change everything, every small act of faithfulness...

Paul today is not writing to social media users in 2024, it just seems like it.  He tells us to be gentle with our words, not quarrelsome, but seeking to answer all with gentleness.  He says for God may lead them to repentance and a turning from their sins. Isn’t that our point y’all?  Isn’t that what we want to happen, what we want to occur?  Do we not want to persuade people to follow Jesus?  No...

Paul compares the struggles we face to those of a soldier or of an athlete or a farmer. There will be difficult days, but if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, we are called to that deeper life that our souls ache for. We know there is more out there; there is something deeper that makes all that we go through worth it.  We are not called to these earthly things, but we are called to something tru...

Paul mentions the word “ashamed” three times in these few verses today.  I always try to pay attention when something is mentioned repeatedly, so what is the Word trying to tell us today?  Don't be ashamed of following Jesus today, either afraid of what folks outside the church may think or what folks inside the church may think. Follow Jesus.  And don’t be ashamed of each other. As Christian...

In our Traditional message from February 25, 2024, we look at Mark 8: 31-38.  Peter has to learn this lesson; we all must learn. To get out of his own way. Sometimes, the hardest battle we must fight is with ourselves and our desire for control.

Paul loves Timothy as a son.  We see this as we begin 2 Timothy together.  Paul tells him to rekindle the gift of God, to remember his family, and to know that he was not given a spirit of cowardice but of power, of love, and of self-discipline. I think it’s so interesting that love is there in the middle of those gifts. When we are full of God’s spirit, we will have that power and that discipline...

Paul gives Timothy some final words today: fight the good fight.  He contrasts the way that Timothy (and all of us) are called to live with the way that others live. We are to fight that good fight and hold fast to our confessions.  Cling to life that is really life.  There are so many things that claim to be life, but they are not. Do not give in to those. Fight for what is truly life. It’s hard...

Paul talks to us today in 1 Timothy 6: 1-10 about the dangers of desiring and chasing after wealth. But before that, in verses 1-2, he talks about slavery. We take a few minutes to unpack what that means in Roman culture compared to American history. Then, we look closer at why the love of money is the root of all evil and how, if we are not careful, it can cause us to lose our souls.    Join us f...

In the February 18, 2024 message, we looked at Mark 1: 9-15. We are looking specifically at the temptation account. We expect spirited careful to be grand and glorious. But normally, it is the ordinary, common battle of putting our pride to death and following Jesus. 

Paul is often seen as gruff and sometimes very harsh. And that reputation is well deserved, at times. But today, we see him offer fatherly advice to Timothy. We see him encourage Timothy in some way to help his ailing stomach. We also see Paul remind us that sins, as well as our good works, are known to God. Because of this truth, we should always be people of repentance and of humility.  Join us...

Today, in 1 Timothy 5, we see Paul give Timothy some words about how we speak to each other.  We live in an age of much harsh language; Paul tells Timothy to speak with kindness towards each other, to those who are older, as well as those who are the same age as you.  Our language should reflect our charity. Then, Paul gives words of advice for how the widows in the church should live and be treat...

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Lent is the forty-day period that starts on Ash Wednesday and leads to Easter.  It is a season where Christians will take time to fast, pray, and remember our Lord's sacrifice upon the cross.  It is a season that focuses on repentance (turning from sin and turning to God) and on our spiritual disciplines.  We take some time in our Rooted in Ch...

Today, we see Paul’s words on training. We are to train for Godliness. Paul does a great job of telling us exactly what that looks like. He tells us to understand that we have been called and gifted by the spirit. But also, we are to examine ourselves and examine our teaching. We have a calling and a gift.  But we also need to be held accountable.  If we can hold these two things together, we can...

Paul today continues a conversation that he has over and over again in the New Testament.  What are we to do about marriage?  What about food that has been sacrificed to idols?  Are we to eat?  Are we to avoid? What are we to do? Paul reminds us, as he always does that the food is not the point and not a big deal. What matters is this.  Are we loving God and loving our neighbor?  Legalism seems so...

In the last of our series, "Balance," we look at Genesis 32: 22-32 and examine what role it is that reason plays in our faith and our theological method.  If you would like to see my notes for this message, you can click here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1opBox7wHj73rcOj_oVs9aWwFutuMoxtLpRqX9-nAZ4A/edit?usp=share_link

Paul gives us some truth about what we believe. He defines some of our key and core doctrines about who Jesus Christ is.  He gives us some powerful words for us to stand on. But do you know what he said right before?  Great is the mystery of our religion. We want everything to make sense. We are the children of the Enlightenment.  We want it all to make sense and be able to be understood so very e...