December 24, 2024
Tonight is such a special evening. It is so great to see the church filled with people soon to be lighting candles as we sing Silent Night. It is quite sentimental as we stand by our family or friends and sing and worship God. It is a moment when, to use the words of the… Read More »
November 10, 2024
I am going to conclude the series on the church with this sermon today as we talk about the church as the family of God. This is perhaps the richest and most personal metaphor of the church because it strikes at the root of our belonging. Several years ago, Bill Gaither made popular a song… Read More »
October 27, 2024
We are continuing in our series on the Church. The Church is the Temple of God, and we are living stones in the temple. Last week we talked about the Church as the Body of Christ and how each member, though different makes one body. Today we are looking more closely at the same passage… Read More »
October 20, 2024
As I begin, I want to review from a moment. We began this series speaking about the origin and foundation of the Church in Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ. Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church”. Last week we talked about the church as the Temple of God and… Read More »
October 13, 2024
As we think about the Church as a Temple and each of us being living stones…I could not help but think about the significance of stones or rocks in the biblical history and major events that involve rocks or stones. In the OT book of Joshua 4 there is the amazing story of the Israelites… Read More »
October 6, 2024
First, let me say this is more of an overview of the church. Over the next few Sundays, I will be preaching sermons on the church and different aspects of the church from a biblical perspective. This will include the origin of the Church…the missional nature of the church for today. But we will be… Read More »
September 22, 2024
I am going to read this passage again in the Message paraphrase version I hope for even greater effect: 1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside… Read More »
September 15, 2024
We are continuing in our series on the book of James. James focuses a great deal on Christian practice, that is how we practically live our lives from day to day. Last week we highlighted the relationship of faith and works. Our faith will always carry us to perform good works. Now James is tackling… Read More »
September 8, 2024
I mentioned in a recent Newsletter article about the placement of James in our holy bible with some difficulty. Luther called it a book of straw because of this passage which seems to contradict the great teaching of the Church and the scriptures on salvation by faith alone. This avoids what is often called “works… Read More »
September 1, 2024
I included the first verse of James because it identifies the recipients of this letter. The 12 Tribes scattered. These would be Jewish Christians who have been persecuted or displaced, living like refugees. These were people whose lives had been totally disrupted and in very difficult circumstances. James is obviously writing them to encourage and… Read More »