Andy Talks

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...

When I read today’s passage, it first made me scratch my head and think, “huh.”  I didn’t really understand exactly what it was saying at first, but after using a tool I really like for Biblical interpretation (the NET Bible), it made a lot more sense. In this passage, this vision points to peace. In time, peace came as Persia defeated Babylon. But, also, in the Lord’s time, peace will come when t...

Today’s vision is from Zechariah 5, which took me a minute to read through and think through. I read several commentaries, and there was one that I really liked. I thought it helped make more sense. In this passage, we see the deeper truth of previous visions.  In previous visions, we see the consequences of sinful action.  But in today’s vision, we see that the deeper issue is not the actions tha...

In our Traditional sermon from June 16, 2024, Andy shares from Revelation 5:9-10 and Matthew 28:19-20.  We continue our series "The Marks of the Church."  We look at at what it means to say that the church is catholic.  When we make Jesus the center of life together, we find that our differences are beautiful.   

We see a vision of judgment today. Those who steal and those who lie are removed from the community. That’s a harsh judgment to be removed from the community.  But that is what sin does. The ultimate purpose of our faith is to love God and love our neighbor. Sin destroys that; it destroys our walk with God and with each other.  This is why these sins have one being cut off from the community. That...

Today, we see one of the most well-known verses in this book of the Bible.  When faced with the task of rebuilding everything, the Lord shows this lampstand that will never run out of oil, for the Lord will provide. We are told that the victory is won not by might nor power but by the Spirit of the Lord; that is how the battle is won.  One of the greatest blessings we can ever have is a challenge...

Today’s reading is full of some good stuff. Some really good stuff. First, we take a little journey down Methodist history and unpack the famous Wesleyan story of John being a “brand plucked from the burning.”  Then, we see a powerful image of the high priest Joshua wearing filthy clothes. This English translation doesn’t fully capture what the Hebrew is saying. These are vile, disgusting, human e...

We see a word for the people of God today. They are told that the Lord will rebuild and restore Judah.  He will restore what the enemies have taken because His people are the open of His eye. But then we are told who His people are, all who call on upon His name. All the nations will turn to Him, and He will dwell in their midst.  This, to me, turns my mind to Revelation and to where I will be pre...

Today, we look at Zechariah 2, but when I read it, I was drawn to Revelation 21. Both passages show a vision of this “new” Jerusalem. Many things are said about it, but the primary thing is this. God is in the midst of it. God is there. God dwells there. He is the glory within. This future hope, it is a now, but not yet thing. It is now because now, you, me, and all of us who are Christians have t...

In our INTERSECTION service from June 9, Andy shares with us from Ephesians 5:25-27 and Revelation 19:7-8.  As we continue our series "The Marks of the Church," what does it mean to say that the church is Holy?

Today, we see Zechariah’s second vision. It’s a unique vision, as most visions are.  In this, we see four horns representing the ones who have scattered the people. But we also see four blacksmiths who have come to terrify those horns. What in the world?  What does this all mean?  We talk about this vision today, and we learn this.  Our job is not to fix everything.  Our job is to be faithful.  Jo...