Illuminate Community Church

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been reading from Romans chapter one. The apostle Paul paints a bleak but realistic portrait of what happens when people reject God. There is a very predictable trajectory that leads to dark places and practices including idolatry and sexual perversion. However, in chapter two he makes an abrupt, unexpected, and shocking turn. It only makes sense if you understan...

Three times in this passage Paul uses the phrase, “God gave them up”. So what does this mean? Simply put: God will allow men and women to go as far down the path of destruction as they desire. If one continues to deny God then what follows is all kinds of perversion. For example, one of the most popular genres of porn today is incest. Paul tells us there are consequences to depravity. These reverb...

The apostle Paul minces no words in proclaiming his attitude toward the work of Jesus on the cross… For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 Can you say the same? There is power in the gospel because it brings salvation to all who believe. And yet, many don’t believe. In fac...

It is with great excitement that I write this update to you! Beginning this Sunday, we start a new verse by verse study in the book of Romans. This is one of the most life-changing letters in the entire Bible. We will be swimming in the deep end of the spiritual pool. If you come each week I promise you will understand God more and your faith will significantly increase.  It was Romans that brough...

This Sunday we bring our series on heaven and hell to a close. Perhaps the best way to do this is to hear from Jesus as he tells us what we can do here and now in order to prepare ourselves for the day we see Him face to face. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says this... “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up...

This Sunday we’ll discover a person and a force that is entirely devoted to keeping people from entering heaven. If you paid attention in World History class you remember that as Hitler’s appetite for power and territory grew, his army began to march across Europe. In some cases, the fight could hardly be called a battle. The German army rapidly advanced, with its tanks and technologically advance...

We are nearing the end of our series on eternity (eternity lasts forever and this series will not) so this Sunday we read a remarkable parable from Jesus. Think of a parable as a short story that leaves a profound impact. It’s found in Matthew chapter 25 and it reveals the goal for every Christian. The goal is hearing Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your mast...

“There is a preacher of the old school but he speaks as boldly as ever. He is not popular, though the world is his parish and he travels every part of the globe and speaks in every language. He visits the poor, calls upon the rich, preaches to people of every religion and no religion, and the subject of his sermon is always the same. He is an eloquent preacher, often stirring feelings which no oth...

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  (Ephesians 2:10)     You are the crown of God’s creation! He has taken great care in uniquely designing you. And the way in which God has crafted you determines what He intends for you to do. You have been created in Jesus with purpose and significance in His Kingdom,...

Our eternal residence is described as having streets paved with gold, gates of pearl, life without pain, sorrow, temptation or loss. Hard to imagine that kind of existence. However, that’s not the best part. The beautiful and peaceful environment is secondary to the person because we will be in the very presence of God almighty. Let me give you an illustration to help you understand what this mean...

This Sunday we’ll be looking at the words of Jesus as he speaks about a place called Gehenna. I mentioned it last Sunday and again some have asked, “Do we really have to talk about this?” Well, it seems like everyone is talking about eternal places except for Christians. For example, those who don’t know Jesus use the word “hell” all the time; and shouldn’t we be talking about the things Jesus tal...

I often hear people say, “I never hear sermons about heaven and hell and what happens when you die.” Okay, let’s do it. Beginning this Sunday, we’ll start a nine week series asking and answering common questions...  Are heaven and hell real places, and if so, what are they? How can you reconcile hell with a loving God? Will we be rewarded in heaven?  Will we have "heavenly” bodies, and if so, how ...

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden is light because he bears it with us. On our own, the burdens feel unbearable, but with Jesus it can b...

Matthew chapter 10 contains preparation for what is to come. If you are boldly speaking the name of Jesus you need assurances in the face of opposition. God gives you three. Assurance #1 The opposition is no judge. God is. "So have no fear of them for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” -Matthew 10:26 Man’s approval or condemnation is not what counts. H...

This Sunday is Mother's Day and for some it’s much like Father’s Day in the sense that it can be difficult. The parent child relationship is a dynamic that is felt both positively and negatively over the course of one’s life. Of course parenting is one of, if not the most rewarding, exhausting, joy and tear-filled relationships a human can experience on earth. Being a Mother is a sacred thing beca...

I was talking with a friend this week about how the most terrifying stage with kids is when they learn to say “no.” He followed that up by expressing how his kids would typically say “no” about either seemingly irrelevant things or just super dangerous things. When he would ask them, “Please do not walk into the street,” his toddler would respond with a resounding, “No,” and would then dive headfi...

Jesus is so good. He always gives us what we need to accomplish what he has called us to do. Sometimes the provision includes a warning. That’s exactly what we get in Matthew chapter 10. Jesus has called us to make disciples and according to him the road will not be easy. Consider these words... "Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against p...

Jesus met people in their moments of need. Perhaps the most remarkable, humbling and dignified thing about it is this: Jesus wants our help in spreading God’s compassion to those who are hurting. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” -Matthew 9:37-38 The harvest...

In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus brings the Sermon On The Mount to an end. Previously he has spoken of two gates. One is narrow and the other is wide. The narrow gate is restrictive (only one way and few enter) but it leads to life. You can’t earn your way through and you certainly don’t deserve what’s on the other side, but by God's grace he opens it for you through Jesus. The wide gate is broad and ea...

For several hundred years the church has spent the Sunday before Easter observing the triumphal entry of Jesus. He arrives in Jerusalem during Passover week on the back of a donkey. This event is commonly referred to as Palm Sunday. Luke chooses not to record the actual waving of palm branches but Matthew does. This is the kind of praise fit for a monarch. When a victorious king rode into town on...

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6  This Sunday we’re going to look at what might be the most controversial statement spoken by Jesus. It’s the very thing that had him killed. If you ask people living in the Valley what they think about Jesus, most will tell you they like him. From what they understand, Jesus seeme...

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." -Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus is concluding this amazing sermon on the Galilean hillside. He speaks of two very different gates. What does it mean? Context is important. All through...

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the...