Andy Talks

Throughout the season of Advent, we’ll have a weekday reflection based on suggested scriptures from a great resource entitled The Common Rule. You can find a calendar of the daily readings here - https://www.thecommonrule.org/advent-readings Today, the prophet asks us a question. Why are you spending money on that which is not bread and laboring for that which does not satisfy?  We are busy, we ar...

Throughout the season of Advent, we’ll have a weekday reflection based on suggested scriptures from a great resource entitled The Common Rule. You can find a calendar of the daily readings here - https://www.thecommonrule.org/advent-readings .   Today, we hear the words of Isaiah, “Comfort.”  I recount how, as I kid I was always puzzled by Mr. Rogers putting on comfortable clothes at the beginning...

Advent teaches us so very much.  It teaches us hope. And peace. And joy.  And love. But above all else, it teaches us trust. Advent, at its core, is about waiting and it is about trust. It is about trusting in God to make all things wait. Advent is about when we remember the waiting of the people of God for Jesus’ first coming. And it is where we wait now for His second coming. Today, we’ll talk a...

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent. What does that mean?  For some of us, we may be familiar with Advent, but we aren’t sure what it is really about. For others, we may have no idea. Advent is the first season of the church year, and while we talk about it (more tomorrow), today we talk about the church year. What are the seasons?  How do they work? What are they about?  Why should we even c...

In our Traditional message for the first Sunday of Advent, we look at this truth - Jesus is hope. Not that Jesus brings hope, but that hope is found in the person of Jesus. Andy shares with us from 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9.  Join us as we learn hope is found fully in Jesus!     

We often see Palm Sunday as an act of humility by Jesus. It was, yes, but it was kingly humility. Jesus is declaring for all to see that He is the Messiah. He is the one prophesied about. And when He rides that donkey into town, all can see He is declaring Himself King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As one of my mentors once told me, Palm Sunday was the most messianic thing that Jesus did upon the ea...

This is a beautiful example of how the Bible all fits together.  Hosea is reminding us of Israel’s past, how God called them out of Egypt back to the promised land in the book of Exodus, while also pointing to Jesus.  In the same way that Israel fled to safety in Egypt, Jesus and the Holy Family fled to safety in Egypt.  We see this beautiful connection.  In Israel, we see that pointing to the wor...

The prophet Malachi says that a prophet will come before the Messiah to make things ready. We see this in his prophecy today.  In Matthew, Jesus specifically quotes that prophecy when talking about John the Baptist.  He says that John is Elijah. In doing this, Jesus does two things. First, He shows us that John is the fulfillment of that prophecy. But secondly, if John is the one who will make thi...

The Wise Men come looking for the new King of the Jews. They didn’t know where He was born, so they went to the place that seemed appropriate, the palace. When they got there, they found out from the religious scholars that the prophet Micah, centuries ago told us that Bethlehem is where the messiah was to be born. O Little Town of Bethlehem. It would be easy to miss if you weren’t paying attentio...

Isaiah wrote hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. Yet today, we see one of the most beautiful images of what it was that Jesus did upon the cross.  He was beaten, bruised, and died for our sins.  He suffered for the sins of many.  Today, through Jesus, our sins are forgiven.  He has atoned for our sins.  He has paid the price that we could not pay. We are forgiven.  God’s wrath is satisfie...

Today’s Psalm is a Psalm of active praise. The Psalmist tells us to praise the Lord.  Praise Him with all that we are. With voice, with action, with everything.  Of the best ways that we can increase our praise, increase our thanksgiving, and increase our heart for God is to be active in our praise. Today, name what it is that you are thankful for. Name God’s goodness and mercy. Name what God has...

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today’s Psalm repeats itself over and over again. The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. I love that this repeats itself so often because, if we are going to be honest, there are times when we forget.  We can forget what is true. We can forget who we are. We can forget who we are. We repeat the truth to ourselves, even when we don’t believe it.  We repeat the truth to...

We are looking today at my favorite Psalm 121. This is a Psalm I just find myself quoting over and over again. It always seems to be on the tip of my tongue.  Part of the reason is because when I was a younger Christian, I found myself singing this Psalm over and over again. I’m including a link to the version I used to sing along to. In that, this Psalm became a part of my deep spiritual life. I...

Today we look at Psalm 107. This Psalm has a heading, “Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles.”  This Psalm looks at the many troubles that the people have gone through and how it was always God’s steadfast love that delivered them.  It is important for us to remember what the Lord has brought us through. There’s an old Steven Curtis Chapman song - “Remember Your Chains,” that this Psalm...

As we start our week of Thanksgiving, we begin with Psalm 100. This is one of my personal favorites of the Psalms because it tells us this. We are loved by God. But not only are loved by God, but we are worthy of being loved by God because He made us. We are His. We are the sheep of his pasture. He has made us, He has formed us, we are His. We are loved today.  So, we enter His courts with praise...

In our message from November 19, 2023, Andy shares with us from James 1:17.  We are reminded that all good gifts are from above.  If it is in your life and it is a good thing, it is from God. All of these gifts of grace, they point us to the love and salvation of our God. All good things point us to Jesus!     

It is easy for us to read the Bible, like ancient history or a fairy tale at worst.  We can forget that these were real people whom God worked through. Paul was just flesh and blood, just like me and you. And the same God that worked through Paul to do such things is the same God who works through you and I, if we will allow.  These are real people with real stories and real life.  This is not mak...

After many hard days, Paul finally made it to Rome. Here is where he will spend the rest of his days teaching, preaching, and sharing the gospel - Jesus is Lord. That is the gospel; that is Good News. Jesus is Lord.  Because of Paul and how God uses him, we see that the Good News will take hold and spread throughout all of Europe.  As Tim Keller has taught us, Christianity is the only religion who...

Today, we see they have made it to the island of Malta. It is there, under the kindness of the residents, Paul is by the fire and bitten by a snake. This seemingly tragic incident shows God’s hand of provision and protection upon Paul.  And then as we read this story, it’s a neat thing to look at how this passage goes back to the “longer” ending of the Gospel of Mark. We see how the end of Mark an...

Everything that Paul told the crew would happen has happened. The ship has wrecked. They nearly died. It has been a hard journey. Paul’s words have proven true.  You know what this means?  Everyone on this ship now knows and believes that Paul is a man of God. His words have proven true. They believe him. It is important for in our lives to make sure that our walk matches our talk so that when we...

Paul sets off to sail for Rome, and he sees early on that the trip will have troubles. Things will not go well, including the potential loss of life. And no one listens. What do we do, when we see those we love make bad choices?  What are we to do? We know that God is at work in all things, even pain and consequences. So, we pray, trusting in God to teach, protect, and guide. We trust in God, even...

In our Traditional message from November 12, 2023, Andy shares with us from James 1: 2-4.  We will have suffering. We will have a crisis of faith. But through these things and by God's grace, we are drawn closer to God and each other. We become who God is making us to be, as our trials help make our faith whole.       

Agrippa asks Paul if he is trying to make Agrippa a Christian. Paul says yes, on God’s timeline. Conversion, that’s is not up to us. Salvation, that’s in God’s hands. Our job is to be faithful, to preach, teach, and invite. But we don’t save people. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. So, today, be faithful, no matter where you find yourself. Pray for others. Pray for the Spirit to move.  Our job...

Jesus asks Paul why does he kick against the goads.  We’ll talk about what this phrase means today. The goads were things the Romans used to keep animals and people walking on the right path.  They kept them on the road. It hurt to step on one.  There is this image today of Paul kicking against it. How often in our lives do we kick against the path God is leading us on? This only causes us needles...

When you read the Gospel and Acts, you see “King Herod” mentioned a lot.  Herod the Great, Herod Antipas.  Agrippa. Agrippa again. Who were these kings? How were they related? What did they do?  Who was really in charge? Today we are going to take a few minutes and look at who these kings were. What was their role? What did they do?  Join us as we learn about all the Herods in the Bible. Join us f...