Mendham Hills

Thanksgiving Sunday - Thanks - Giving // John Isemann by Sunday Podcast

Let There Be Light - Passing The Torch // John Isemann by Sunday Podcast

Let There Be Light - The Christmas Lie // John Isemann by Sunday Podcast

Let There Be Light - Let There Be Light // John Isemann by Sunday Podcast

It's pretty simple - I like people who like me. I like people who are like me. I like people who think like me and act like me and look like me. I don't like people who hurt me, betray me, disappoint me or disagree with me. In my efforts to be with people like me, it often leads me away from (creates some space between) people who are not like me. This Sunday, we discover the key to two giant rela...

Jesus held a worldview that you and I don't share. It was the kind of worldview that would allow Him to say things like "do not worry about what you will eat or wear" or "sell all you have and give it to the poor." These kinds of things seem radical at best, and irresponsible at worst. Yet Jesus didn't seem to think so. He lived His life (and encouraged us to live ours) with an abundance mindset a...

Do you ever feel like you can see exactly what is wrong with the world and with those who lead it? In this time of crisis, as many herald the end of Western culture and civilization as we know it, how should we respond? Closer to home, the things that are broken in our communities, families, spouses, and children are easily perceived. Most of us respond in one of two basic ways: apathy or activism...

This fall, we focus on "The Space Between Us." As Americans, there are few things we value more than our independence. Yet, there is something deep within us that craves companionship and community. I am rarely asked to pray for "more autonomy," and most frequently asked to pray for broken relationships. How do we grow closer and heal relational wounds? And why is it that we fight so much anyway?...

There is a well-worn path towards isolation. It's not paved with responsibility and ownership, but instead by blame and shame. Something happens, something hurts, something's broken - but it's not my fault. Shame is always looking for someplace to land. For may of us, it's on others. Painfully, for too many of us, it's on ourselves. Few things cause more relational breakdown than the cycle of pain...

This summer, we heard Jesus say some pretty challenging and counter-cultural things. This Sunday, we hear him say something downright offensive. "They" seem to say all roads of religion lead to the same place. Jesus begs to differ and makes a pretty exclusive claim. Are all religions really the same? How small is the gate, how narrow is the road that leads to life? And how do I find it? Gates and...

James, the brother of Jesus, asked what I think he believed to be a rhetorical question: "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" The problem is that I'm not so sure his first century audience knew the answer. I'm pretty sure that his twenty-first century audience doesn't know either. Do you? Why do we fight and how do we stop? A method for relational reset - this Sunday at Mendham Hills.

This summer, we heard Jesus say some pretty challenging and counter-cultural things. This Sunday, we hear him say something downright offensive. "They" seem to say all roads of religion lead to the same place. Jesus begs to differ and makes a pretty exclusive claim. Are all religions really the same? How small is the gate, how narrow is the road that leads to life? And how do I find it? Gates and...

We were never meant to do this alone. Maybe a few of us could manage to build a hut on a mountain and live alone. Sometimes we like to think we can, but we were never meant to live life alone. We were built for community at some level. Yet, while living in the most densely populated state in America, we can be very lonely. This week, we will explore narrowing the distance between us and unpacking...

Who is right, who is wrong? What is right, what is wrong? Is it my way or the highway? In an increasingly divided society, we have learned to fight and argue over just about anything. How can we actually reduce the space between us? Do we just give in? Do we fight for our rights? This Sunday, I will show you the most excellent way!

Yes we are. Well, at least Jesus is. Some of you may be familiar with basketball great Allen Iverson's aversion to practice. Spoiler alert - he didn't see much value in it. Truth is that not many of us do, either. Have you ever had to try and convince your kids to practice less? Yet, Jesus sums up his famous Sermon on the Mount with one final counter-cultural teaching: It's not what you know, it's...

Sunday services at 9 & 10:30am A THIRD WAY You and I have been conditioned to believe a lie. At very deep levels, we have come to believe that in the face of opposition, oppression or persecution, we have only two choices: fight or flight. When someone comes hard against us, at work or school or even at home, we either get even or get out. The truth is, and you know this if you have lived long eno...

Few words in the Bible have provoked as much anger and debate as these: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The Lex Talionis. The Law of Retribution. Atheists claim it proves the Bible contains internal contradictions. Gandhi said it would leave the whole world blind. For the Pharisees, it was a loophole allowing them to serve up cold-hearted revenge. Jesus acknowledges that many have weigh...

In a world that is sometimes upside down, people say rewards are based on impressing people that you can see in real-time and in real space. In our summer series, Jesus goes the other way: focusing on the reality of the unseen. Lots of things are unseen, but we know they exist. Air. Internet. Wind. Gravity. In the land of mirages, what isn't seen turns out to be real; what seems to be real can be...

Rewards are powerful things. Lose your wedding ring...I feel bad. Lose your wedding ring and post a reward...I start looking! Our ability to overcome even the most difficult of circumstances is often directly related to our perception of the reward to come. Rewards matter. The Scriptures teach that the "ancients" understood this and it fueled faith and transformation. Have we "moderns" forgotten t...

I had a friend last week who, while in Guatemala, went to visit a ministry that serves children who are born both blind and deaf. All of us can certainly understand the desperate nature of their conditions. Yet, my friend told me his understanding paled in comparison to their reality - a reality that became his for a morning as they blindfolded him and placed earplugs in his ears. That reality cha...

...but money talks and actions speak louder than words. So, as good cynics, when someone tells us they'll do something, we wait to see if they follow through. And, we love to lay the blame for this particular transgression at the feet of lawyers and politicians. But the truth is that the human race as a whole has a tenuous relationship with the truth. Jesus has a new challenge: Say what you mean a...

Living life seems like a mad dash. Racing the clock, looking over your shoulder, and trying to make time-sensitive turns can leave us gasping for air. We jump into the fray Sunday morning in our talk, unpacking what "they" say and what Jesus says. How do I keep my soul from being shattered in the process of just doing life? They say, but I say - this Sunday at Mendham Hills.

John, one of the disciples of Jesus, declared that Jesus dwelt among us full of "grace and truth." It's a good thing He was full of grace because often times we can't handle the truth. This Sunday, as we continue our series on conventional wisdom vs. Jesus' teachings, we come upon a pretty controversial one: marriage. In fact, it's so controversial that after Jesus spoke on it, He got all "Jack Ni...

A new summer series starts this Sunday! Jesus just switches things up. He tells crowds, "You have heard that it was said, but I say..." Not small things, but colossal things! The world says this, but I say that. The paths diverge and lead to different outcomes. This week, we drill down on how to extinguish the sources of anger in our lives. We are tackling a huge human condition and showing the pa...

"And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." Taking a turn on our Jersey roads can be exhilarating, sometimes frightening, or just an adventure. Leaning into the turn with hands on the wheel usually keeps us on the road, despite the potho...