MCC Podcast

Streaks are something that you want to do (or not do) intentionally and consistently because it gets you somewhere you want to go. They are not something someone or something can do for you. You actually have to do it. It’s not something that can be set on autopilot. It requires action on your part.   Last week we began with the disciplines that surround scripture. By far, the number one cata...

This weekend we will begin a series called Streaks. The idea for this series is that there are habits or disciplines that, as disciples of Jesus, we need to develop that will have their greatest impact on our lives if we do them consistently and often.  Daily is what we should be shooting for.  Hence - streaks.   During this series we’re going to look at what God uses in our lives s...

As we start our year I want to remind you that when we say disciple at MCC we mean someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.   So this Sunday I want to talk about chairs.   Have you ever played musical chairs? Probably when you were younger, maybe at a birthday party? Everyone is in a circle and there is one less chair then there ar...

We will remind ourselves what Jesus has brought into our lives and still offers to people today, a message of hope.   This year we will have 3 Christmas Eve services:  December 23 at 7:00pm  December 24 at 5:30pm and 7:00pm   I’d like to ask a favor. When you determine the service you intend to be part of, please RSVP.  There are 3 ways you can do that:  - our website...

This Sunday Rich will continue our Ugly Christmas Sweater series talking about “the blues.” Christmas can be a time seasoned with disappointment. Perhaps you have heard me say that Christmas is the Great Exaggerator. Whatever you are feeling the rest of the year - at Christmas time - the volume gets turned up.

This year we are approaching the Christmas season through a series that we’re calling Ugly Christmas Sweaters. Now, while ugly Christmas sweaters are funny, we know that Christmas brings with it, for many people, an ugly side of life. We try to bury it with colored lights and music and Christmas specials and Hallmark movies that begin in October, but people, maybe your friends, maybe you, deal wit...

Family gatherings are always stressful. Each time we gather together we are bringing in both our expectations and our brokenness. But what if our family gatherings could look different. This week we will look at scripture to see how putting Jesus at the center of our families can actually change the way we view our gatherings and how we treat each other.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and many of us will be getting together with family at some point. AND because the next day is Black Friday and the following Monday is Cyber Monday, we thought it was good for us to be reminded of what Paul reminded the early church. This is the official beginning of the holiday season that will take us through New Year’s Day.

This week as we begin our series, Family Feels, I want to remind us all that children are awesome. Our responsibility to them as parents (and all of us who have children within our sphere of influence) is awesome too.   Christian psychologist Gary Smalley co-wrote a book with John Trent entitled, “The Blessing.” They wrote: “ While we may say out loud that we don't care what other people thin...

This weekend we are going to conclude our Life Is Hard, God Is Good series by looking at the last 3 chapters of Job’s story. As a reminder, last week we looked at chapters 3-37 which contains the conversation that Job’s 3 friends had with Job, mostly accusing him of doing something wrong that prompted God to punish him so heinously. It also contained Job defending himself and complaining about how...

There is an organization from Europe known as BLTC Research. The company was founded in 1995 in order to promote what they call “paradise-engineering.” One of their stated goals is to deliver “genetically pre-programmed well-being.” According to their scientists - using our “super-minds” and genetic engineering - mankind can abolish both physical and mental pain altogether. They plan to create sup...

Job lived 4500 years ago. And the book of Job was probably the first book in the Bible. He predated Moses who wrote the first 5 books of the Bible.   Q: Why, you may ask, am I telling you that?  A: The first divinely inspired book written deals with humanity’s age-long mystery; why do good people suffer? Some things never change.   There comes a time in every life, just like in Job’...

If you’re one of the 115 million Americans who heads to work in a vehicle on a daily basis, odds are there are few things that frustrate you more than getting stuck at a red light. According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, the perfect amount of time for a light to remain red is between 60 and 90 seconds. That means that, ideally, an urban driver would spend an average...

Conflict is a universal experience with all people.    It doesn't matter how well you get along, it doesn't matter how much you love each other, it doesn't matter how mature a Christian you are, there is still going to be some conflict in your life.   In fact, in any relationship with another person, no two people are going to see eye to eye on every issue. The more time you spend t...

Dr. Louann Brizendine is a neuropsychiatrist and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. She wrote the books, “The Female Brain” in 2006 and “The Male Brain” in 2010. She states that, “A woman uses about 20,000 words per day while a man uses about 7,000.” Now there is a lot that could be said with that type of statistic. But I won’t say any of them. But I...

We continue our series through the book of James which we’re calling Achilles because, regardless of how mature we are in our faith, we all have at least one, Achilles’ heel (weakness). Maybe more than one. I’m going to bet that most of us think that what James talks about next, that we have totally under control. This is not a problem for us. And big picture, maybe it’s not a problem here at MCC....

On any given weekend, I think it would be fair to say that, some of us who gather for worship come looking for answers and you know God’s Word has those answers.  I would think it is equally fair to say that the majority of us are here because, at some point, God’s Word did change our lives. And we were determined to give ourselves to Him.  And, there will be some in worship, online or i...

Achilles; Do you know who he was? Do you know what he was famous for? There is no evidence that Achilles was a real person, but he was the central character of Homer’s Iliad. You’ll understand why I want to make that disclaimer in a moment. Achilles was one of the greatest warriors and heroes in Greek Mythology. He was considered a hero because he was the most successful soldier in the Greek army...

We believe we should be a church of disciple-makers, who look for opportunities to restore the world around them in service, and who pray every day for clarity, insight, and strength as we trust that God is in control and we are doing the best we can to follow Him well. But, what does that look like as the church gathers each week? What does that look like when we serve in ministry areas? How do w...

June 27, 2022, offered a vivid reminder that Americans believe in prayer.  On that Monday, the Supreme Court’s decision in Joseph Kennedy v. Bremerton School District supported the former assistant football coach’s right to pray in public. For seven years, Kennedy took a knee on the football field after games, and as Washington Post reporter Robert Barnes stated, “From the stands, it might ha...

Paul would write this to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:7b-8) - train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.   Look at that: Physical training is of some value. We all know that.  Lifting weights, cardio, yoga, martial arts training, running, swimming, etc…all of those hav...

What we’re going to talk about for the next few weeks, let me just say that there are 3 words that strike fear in some people’s lives. If you had to guess what those 3 little words are, what would you say? Some of us, when we read those 3 words, we just…sit back and stare at them. We sweat just a little. When you buy a grill at the hardware store, those words are right there. You buy a crib for yo...

“Therefore, go,” Jesus said. We’ve all heard the verse that closes Matthew, yet too often, the nature of that commandment is lost on us. There is a depth and a historical resonance to what Jesus is telling us to do. He is telling us to make disciples. Disciples that obey. Obedience to his last command means that, by definition, we aren’t genuine disciples until we’ve made a disciple that obeys eve...

This week we had a guest speaker, Justin Gravitt, who joined us and talked about how Jesus taught relationally.    Justin is the Director of Innovation and Advancement with Navigator Church Ministries. In his role, he helps churches all over the area grow and develop disciple-making cultures.    This week he spoke about how Jesus' disciples.    The disciples of Jesus...

In Luke 19 we find the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who Jesus goes out of his way to step into the story of and as a result Zacchaeus walks away from the encounter changed and begins to follow the way of Jesus. Zacchaeus story doesn’t change if Jesus doesn’t step in. This is true of the people around us as well. Like Mike talked about last week we are called to be disciple makers and part o...