PassageWay Church

What makes you happy? Perhaps you enjoy a quiet evening sitting in front of a fire, reading a book, while sipping hot cocoa. Or maybe the idea of going out with friends, talking and laughing sounds like a real party. If you’re married, what makes your spouse happy? What makes your kids happy?  As we continue on in our salvation story we read what makes God happy. All of heaven rejoices when even o...

In this year’s Super Bowl the Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to make history by winning their 3rd straight NFL title. Under head coach Coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes the Chiefs have amassed a considerable following. Chiefs kingdom is huge. Of course another reason for their popularity doesn’t have anything to do with exploits on the football field. It’s because TE Travis Kelce is dating t...

Our son and his fiancé recently sent out invitations to their wedding, which is set to take place this coming June. As parents of the groom, we helped create the guest list. The wedding party was at the top of the list followed by our immediate family, then grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and life-long family friends. Of course we had to make some difficult choices. There’s limited space...

At 8:33 am on April 24, 1990, the three main engines of Space Shuttle Discovery roared to life. Almost immediately, the massive 17-story tall twin solid rocket boosters ignited, each capable of burning 12,000 pounds of propellant per second. 6 seconds later, STS-31 left the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. In her cargo bay was an incredible feat of human engineering, the joint product of NASA a...

In his classic apologetic work, Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis describes the core beliefs of historic Christian faith. In chapter 8, entitled “The Great Sin,” Lewis writes,  “I now come to the part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else and...

If you’re like most Americans you’ve already abandoned your New Year’s resolutions. This year, Friday, January 10th was officially Quitter’s Day. The term originated from research done in 2019, which found that 80% of people who make resolutions have already given up by the second Friday in January. Maybe you purposed to save more money, eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight, or spend more tim...

Perhaps you’re familiar with the 2019 college admissions scandal. William Singer was an independent college admissions counselor in California who worked with wealthy families hoping to get their kids into top schools. In addition to his college counseling business, Singer operated The Key Foundation, a charitable organization, which Singer established to “unlock the door to academic, social, pers...

Around 700 BC the Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote about a coming king. He wouldn’t be just any ordinary king. He would sit on the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there would be no end. His name would be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. This Advent season we’re considering each of these five names ascribed to the most conseq...

Have you ever felt stuck? As if you were made for something more? Something bigger? One Christian author described this feeling when he wrote, "We are big dreamers hemmed in, behind and before, by a small job, small church, small town, small life.” We are, generally speaking, aspirational people. We have a strong desire for success and achievement. Yet this longing for more can cause us to ov...

Around 700 BC the Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote about a coming king. He wouldn’t be just any ordinary king. He would sit on the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there would be no end. His name would be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. This Advent season we’re considering each of these five names ascribed to the most conseq...

Some time ago one of our adult children experienced a sudden and tragic loss. As this news was shared with us their emotional pain was plain to see. My heart ached for them. I’d never seen one of my children suffer like that. When they were little they’d scrape a knee and come running. Oh the tears. I’d scoop them up, hold them tight, and clean the wound. Later on the coach would stick them in the...

Napoleon was a brilliant military leader who enjoyed many successes on the battlefield. As Emperor, he made France the dominant power in Europe but all of this went to his head and led him to make one of history’s most notorious military blunders. He decided to invade Russia which turned into a colossal defeat and marked a turning point for the French Empire. Not only was Napoleon’s reputation sev...

Biblical names conveyed meaning. Some of those meanings are explicitly stated in the text. For example, Abraham and Sarah named their son, Isaac, which meant “He laughs.” Because as Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” The prophet Hosea was told by the Lord to give his children names that were meant to be messages for the wayward people o...

There is perhaps no better description of a cynical, ill-natured, and mean-tempered person than the Grinch.  You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel. Mr. Grinch, you're a bad banana... You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch. Your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders. You have garlic in your soul...

Harvest is the culmination of the growing season for farmers whose financial success hinges on the outcome. Hopefully, the weather cooperates, machinery breakdowns are few, and progress continues smoothly. Timing is key. According to the Farm Bureau about 80% of Nebraska's corn crop is harvested between October 1 and November 18. Harvesting too late can lead to poor grain quality due to mold...

Dr. Ron Rushing

In case you hadn’t heard, this Tuesday there’s an election going on. We’re blessed to live in the oldest democracy in the world, which means that we have the privilege of casting a vote for our preferred candidates and our preferred policy measures. Everyone in the community comes together to express the collective will of the people. It sounds so wonderful. Yet, we are a deeply divided nation. Th...

Watching and waiting, if you’re a big game hunter you can relate. You’ve been watching, checking your trail cameras for awhile now, waiting for firearm season to start in just a matter of weeks. The real sportsmen have already been out with their bow since the beginning of September.  Bow hunters sit for hours in their tree stand watching and waiting for that trophy animal to pop into view. Don’t...

I remember well the day that I brought home my new car. New to me anyway. It had just 12,000 miles. All our married lives we’d driven clunkers. The most important characteristic had always been that it have at least six seats to fit us and all the kids. But now, since they were mostly out of the house, we could get more for our money. We found a sporty little Peugeot hatchback. Midnight blue. Insi...

Guest Speaker: Jake Loftis, PassageWay-supported missionary with CRU What is our relationship to our things? We might have to dig deep to answer truthfully on this one.  Most of us would probably all say the right things on the surface. “Relationships are the most important things in life,” “Don’t let the things you own own you,” and “You can’t take it with you” are all things we’ve heard, if not...

What are you afraid of? It’s October and all the Halloween decorations are out. Creepy spiders, bats, zombies, skeletons, headless horsemen. If you want to scream you can spend an evening out at Scary Acres or one of those other haunted attractions in Omaha.  This is the time of year that horror films are released, characters like Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jason from Friday the 13th,...

A number of years ago Amee and I were enjoying dinner in the home of some dear friends. Our host was an avid cyclist. He regularly rode Ragbrai. When he wasn’t on his bike he would go camping and fishing. At home he liked to work in the yard, landscaping and clearing trees. Though nearly 60, my friend appeared to be in excellent physical shape. But that evening as we talked, waiting for steaks to...

“God, just give me a sign!” Maybe you’ve cried out those very words or something similar in a season of doubt, wondering if He was even there. Perhaps you've had to make an important decision; like a career change or whether or not to continue a relationship. Don’t you just wish that God would write out his plan in neon lights across the night sky? That sure would make life a whole lot easier...

On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000 others. The worst foreign attack on American soil in our nation’s history. Nine days later President George W. Bush addressed a joint session of congress, vowing to use every resource available to defeat global terrorism. He issued an ultimatum to Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers: turn over Osama bin Laden, the...

No matter who you are, you've probably prayed. Maybe you have whispered a silent prayer before an important exam or job interview. Perhaps you have read or recited a prayer at the funeral of a deceased loved one. Maybe you’ve cried out to God spontaneously in a moment of desperation.  Prayer is a universal practice amongst all varieties of religions and peoples as an attempt to communicate wi...