Illuminate Community Church

Let’s go back to where it all started. The city of Jerusalem is packed with Jews celebrating the festival Pentecost. Peter takes his place and delivers a stunning sermon about Jesus being God’s Messiah who was rejected by the people. There is massive conviction upon the listeners and Christianity spreads from a couple hundred to three thousand responding in faith. The church is born. What happens...

I’m a self-confessed sermon junkie. For me, a great sermon is like a work of art. Of course the greatest sermon of all time was given by Jesus. We know it as the Sermon on the Mount. Next to this, Peter delivers a masterpiece of his own, inspired by the Holy Spirit and found in Acts chapter 2. The response is overwhelming. Christianity expands from about 200 to over 3000 followers in one day.  Pre...

Have you ever wondered how Christianity spread from just a handful to many millions? Or what about this movement called the church? What’s the purpose of that? We have answers. There’s a “Part 2” in the Jesus story and it picks up immediately following the empty tomb. The events are investigated by a physician named Luke and written in the book of Acts.  It may surprise some to know Jesus’ final w...

The significance of Easter is all about victory over death. Jesus’ resurrection was the confirmation of all that he said and did. It gave undeniable proof that he was the Son of God. But there’s more. His resurrection means eternal life is granted to all who believe in Him. Now that’s reason to celebrate!

“It is finished.” – Jesus So many things in life seem to go unfinished. So what do these final words from Jesus actually mean? He wasn’t simply referring to the end of his pain and suffering. It means the plan of God to redeem man has been completed. There is nothing left to do. (Read that last sentence again.) When Jesus finished his work on the cross your work was done also. You can stop trying...

Our Palm Sunday message this year comes from Hebrews chapter 12. After reading the text you might be thinking it’s an unlikely place. As you know, the world is tumultuous and things are always changing. Circumstances, careers and relationships are often not what we want them to be. As you get older the challenges seem to come at you daily. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that first day of the we...

Jesus takes his place... There's a small detail included in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 1, but it has huge implications. Let's see if you can spot it.. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, I'll give you a clue. It has to do with the posture of Jesus. Yes, he is seated. That's key.  One o...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrew...

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one....

Growing up I took pride in the fact that I did not need glasses. My three siblings, as well as my mom and dad, all wore glasses, and I viewed them as inferior. I didn’t realize any problem with my vision until I started driving. I wondered why it was so difficult to read street signs, but I just assumed that everyone had the same problem. It wasn’t until someone pointed out how timid of a driver I...

I was spending time the other day with friends who have toddlers. Little kids can be so darn funny and cute. I think it's because of their immaturity. They say and do whatever comes to mind with little regard for the consequences. There are parallels in our spiritual lives. We start our journey with Jesus as spiritual babies. We may not know much, and we may ask simple questions, but we are drinki...

You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:13-14   I grew up drinking a lot of milk. The good stuff. Whole. Milk is necessary and good - especially for babies. But a...

I feel so much better if I get eight hours of sleep. The thing is, it just doesn't happen. We can forsake our rest because of packed schedules or worries about our families, jobs, finances, ministries and just about everything else. These are areas in which God desires to lead us to rest, rather than leave us to trust in futile works of the flesh. You see, God's rest is more than physical. It give...

"Look to Jesus," "fix your eyes on Jesus," "see Jesus." The author of Hebrews is attempting to emphasize something. The only way to thrive in this life is to focus on Jesus. The second chapter of his sermon contains a vision that will change the way you live - See Jesus as your "merciful and sympathetic high priest." Back in the day, a Jewish priest was someone you went to for help. So let me expl...

The book of Hebrews is a Christological masterpiece. There might be no higher view of Jesus found in the Bible. And that's exactly what early Christians needed. You see, like us at times, they were asking the question – If God loves us why is our life so hard? The answer – the Christian life is a journey from weariness to rest, it’s a journey that started with being alienated from God to being in...

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 The Bible is unique. No other book has been attacked like it, scrutinized like it or criticized like it. Neither has there ever been another book that has stood its ground like the Bible. The critics have passed on through the centuries, but the Bible stands as strong today as ever. It is an amazing book....

Last Sunday we talked about the massive changes that have occurred as a result of 2020. One thing is for sure, things will continue to change and that change is going to come faster and faster and some of these changes are going to shock us and some will encourage us but if you know the unchanging God you are ready for whatever happens.   The story is told of Lloyd Douglas, author of, "The Robe"....

2020 has taken a lot from us. Suddenly, we realized how quickly things can change. Some have lost freedoms, jobs, family interaction and even personal relationships. You need to be reminded that some things never change. For example, God's love for you never comes to an end. And yet, many don't live in this love. Instead they continue loving that which can so easily be taken away and are therefore...

As human beings, we need things in our future that give us excitement and optimism. I actually believe God implanted within each one of us this innate need. Of course the ultimate fulfillment of this is the hope of heaven. The Christmas story reminds us that heaven is attainable through faith in Jesus. Therefore hope and faith are inseparable. The author of Hebrews explains. "Now faith is the assu...

What's the most important thing? This question was put to Jesus. His answer seems rather simple - Love God and love people.  And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39 Loving God and loving others...

Do you sometimes find it hard to fall asleep at night because of the things racing through your mind? Thoughts that are angry, fearful and anxious often accompany our last and first moments when our heads are on the pillow. Perhaps personal resentment is the biggest taker of mind space. What do you do with all this? Jesus reminds believers to make an exchange. "Come to me, all who labor and are he...

I was thinking about this Christmas season and its potential for greater impact than many others. The reason is simple - we are a world and a country that continues to be filled with anxiety. What is the cure? The cure came 2000 years ago but not in the way anyone anticipated. A world changer would be expected to come from behind palace walls and certainly from a family of great influence. Instead...

No other faith crosses more social, racial, ethnic, and geographic borders than Christianity. In all of our diversity there is a powerful thread of unity. Do you know what the word “university” means? It's a compound word meaning unity in diversity. The same idea is printed on American currency, E Pluribus Unum "out of the many, one." Now, let me ask you, what is the one thing that brings unity in...