Church for Normies

The Great Reformation brought with it ground-breaking changes to the Church, symbolized by three Latin phrases: Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), and Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). What was NOT changed, however, had negative consequences that are still being felt today. The concept is "the Priesthood of the Believer" - which should have done away with an elite sacerd...

Easter is about the Resurrection of Christ after he laid down his life as The Atoning Sacrifice for our sins. But have you ever thought about the particular days in "Holy Week"? Thursday has a special title: Maundy Thursday; Friday has a title: Good Friday; Sunday is Easter Sunday ... but Saturday is left nameless. That is the title of Rick's Easter Message and the topic of this week...

On Palm Sunday, the people in Jerusalem laid down palm branches and even their cloaks on which Jesus and the donkey he rode on could trample. We would say, "rolling out the red carpet" - in Jesus honor. Biblical Commentator William Barclay observed: "It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we...

Jesus Christ gave a command that is profoundly powerful: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35) To serve each other - not for our own satisfaction but the help of the other - is not intended to be purposely conspicuous, but by nature of i...

Have you ever heard of a "dummy tank"? No, it's not a place where you stick your little brother or sister. During WW1 and WW2, armies on both sides would use decoy tanks to try and fool the enemy into thinking they were moving in one direction while they were really amassing a lethal movement elsewhere. This was famously done in North Africa to draw forces away from Normandy during WW2. Sometimes,...

If anyone knew of the shadow of the complexities and paradoxes of our Universe, it was Albert Einstien, who was quoted - quite astutely, I might add - as saying: "Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." If the Jordan River Rules tell us anything, it's that there are things beyond our control and beyond our underst...

On July 20, 1969, the LEM or Lunar Excursion Module, Eagle , touched down on the moon. The LEM had two parts: the top part was the ascent stage that lifted off after their mission was over, to join up with Columbia , and head on home. The bottom part, the descent stage became a permanent structure on what became Tranquility Base . NASA, knowing a bit of decorum was in order, placed a plaque on one...

I was first, astounded by his height (5'7"), but then I was dumbstruck because I knew who he was: Felix Baumgartner - the first man to break the soundbarrier ... while skydiving . He had been training in Roswell, NM for his death-defying jump from space on Oct 14, 2012, and now he was getting a cup of joe at Starbucks like any other "Joe". I applauded his effort and tried to buy him coffee, but he...

Do you know what 32.1ºF means?  How about 211ºF? It's just before water either freezes or boils - before H2O changes from a liquid to a solid or liquid to vapor. One degree is all that makes a difference. And when it comes to making a difference for God, it just takes that degree of faith to move toward the direction that God intends for us to go. What will it be?  Do you want really col...

Psalm 32:8 gives an incredible promise: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." How about it: do you believe God meant that? Do you believe he can tell no lies and that he'll do just that? This morning, did you walk out the door counting on the fact that he would do that? As we reach the fifth marker of the Jordan River Rules, we...

It seems that great things happen when there are two men and a woman: Lewis, Clark and Sacajewa; Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma; Sponge Bob, Patrick, and Sandy ... even Superbowl LVII with the Kelce's: Jason, Travis, and Donna (go Chiefs!). And as we examine this week's portion of the series, The Jordan River Rules, we see that pattern again: two spies and a prostitute!   Wait - what? Yes, that's...

Ever heard of Ronald Wayne? Not surprising. But he was one of the co-founders of a little know computer company (in 1976) called "Apple". It was Wayne who  drew up the first partnership agreement, wrote the Apple I manual and even drew the logo. BUT he sold the his 10% share for $1,500 ... today, that would be $55 billion. You read that right. The moral of the story: there is such a thing as...

Did you know that the phrase "be strong" is found 30 times in the Bible?  That's what Robert Morgan found. And he needed to know where every one was found because he needed to companion his wife through the final stages of disease. Have you been there? Maybe not experiencing a family member's death, but maybe when a dream died, a job loss, failure of health, or whatever it was that made you w...

JP Morgan was quoted as saying: "The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are." Whether you're talking about investing, planning a work work project, planning a vacation, or what you're going to cook for dinner, you have to start moving - you have to take a step. The Bible is FULL of journey metaphors and and this message by our Children's Pastor, Al...

A guy named Arthur Ungnome said "Never let the past spoil your present or govern your future." I don't know who Arthur is, but he's right, don't you think? And I'm so glad that when it was time for Moses to let go of the riegns and let Joshua take over, he did so knowing the best was yet to come. And we saw it happen! It's literally history. But what about you? Do you believe that - while the past...

"Christmas" has had a long time to develop a socio-cultural construct all it's own. American Christmas is tied not only to its Jewish foundation, but a millennia and more of european influence plus the steamroller of twentieth century advertising (ever thought: where did the fat red Santa come from? Think: Coke adverts from 1931!). Rick's message series beckons us to give an honest look at the mea...

The term "salvation" is not restricted to the Judeo-Christian faith. Most religions have at the core of their beliefs a narrative of why the world is in the mess that it is and why their solution is the best. But "Followers of the Way" (Acts 9:1-2), disciples of "The Way, Truth and Life" (Jn 14:6) have always said that it was not WE who found the Person or designed the Path - it was HE who reveale...

A stunning aspect of the coming of Christ is that no one saw it coming . Oh, people had their guesses as to what tribe and region he'd come from (Judah and Judea), but it was simply a surprise. The surprise gets thicker: the only other people whom the Father would reveal this with other than Mary and Joseph were some shepherds. Shepherds?! Talk about a strange choice: no one cared about what they...

"To deny your pain is to refuse God's power to help you recover. You will never find healing from your hurts, hang-ups, and habits, until you confront your pain." ~ Johnny Baker When we think of the besetting problems we have in the United States, alcoholism, crime, drug abuse, opioid addiction, suicide, etc., substances get the focus. But substances - or any  maladaptive behavior - are simpl...

Faithful trusting in God our Father is not the same thing as having faith that your favorite sports team will make win the World Series or the Super Bowl. Believe me - Cleveland fans know this is true! God is not interested in building a fan base or making "fan boys" - he wants trusting children who believe that "timing" doesn't matter: God will always honor his purposes, promises, and people who...

Probably every world religion has something to say about facing your fears. For some, fear is an illusion to be meditated out of existence. For others you take a saying or proverb and do your best not let it become overwhelming. But that is not what Jesus says: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He didn't deny fearful things existed, nor did he say, "...

The dictionary defines initiative as: (1) the ability to assess and initiate things independently; (2) the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do; (3) an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something. When it comes to living our lives out as disciples, we must daily - and in fact, moment by moment - take the initiative t...

Stephen Covey wrote "All things are created twice. There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things. Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us.” This isn't just hype or mawkish self-help blather - it's true. If the great explorers had never imagined a world over the horizon; if pioneering doctors had not imagined p...

Author CS Lewis wrote: "God can’t give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing." What do you think of that? The Bible does promise much of the opposite: that when we trust God for all our peace and happiness, we will have more than we could ever ask or imagine!  That was the topic of Rick's message and that's the topic of ep. 153. Recorded on the road, while S...

In 1873, Rev. Henry Varley made friends with a young American evangelist. They were cut from the same cloth because they both cared deeply about those who did not know Christ as Savior and a church that seemed sleepy about the whole affair. Varley said to his young friend: "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him."  The Holy Spirit challenged that man's f...