From the Blog
-
The Word of Distress
Are you thirsty today? Would you admit your thirst? What are you thirsty for? What desire goes unsatisfied, so that you thirst for it always? As Americans, we rarely go thirsty for basic needs. Food, water, clothing, housing… most of us have these needs met. Yet, our thirst remains. Have you tried to quench your thirst with material things? You spend money you do not have to purchase things that will not satisfy. Yet, the thirst remains, so you keep spending. You thirst for love and relationship, so you give your body away, and settle for sexual lust rather than waiting for covenantal love. So your thirst remains. We thirst for significance, for meaning, for happiness, yet the more we have, the more we drink from every worldly fountain, the more we thirst!
Jesus cried out with the constant cry of all humanity, “I thirst.” Jesus took on our thirst that we might be satisfied. He poured out his life that we might be filled. -
The Word of Despair
In this sermon, we will be looking at the fourth of His last sayings, the word of despair. We will consider Christ’s questioning cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Have you ever cried out to God like Jesus did? Have you ever felt forsaken and alone? Have you ever felt distant from God? Have you cried, “God, where are you?” We all feel lonely at times. We all want acceptance. We want to be accepted and approved. But instead, we often feel rejected and alone. The truth is, if we would rightly understand how our sins have separated us from our Creator, we would cry out with a deeper feeling of despair than we’ve ever felt. It was for this, that Christ took on our despair, that we might receive in exchange, His oneness with God.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus cried out in despair to God as He experienced the extravagant exchange that it cost Him for our reconciliation. We can understand the cost of this extravagant exchange. -
The Word of Care
Have you ever wondered whether God cares? Especially asking, “Does God care for me?” I’ve heard some say, “I’m sure God has better things to do than care about my little problems. Shouldn’t He be busy solving world hunger or peace on earth?” What do you think? Does God care for the details of your…
-
The Word of Salvation
Last words – we will all someday speak them. The seven last words of Jesus on the cross were recorded in the four gospels. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus responded with a promise of salvation to the criminal hanging on the cross next to Him, who had called on Jesus to remember him. In…
-
The Word of Forgiveness
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
In the gospel of Luke, we have the record of Christ’s first word on the cross and it was a word of forgiveness. It was a prayer to His Father, that He would forgive those who were crucifying Him. In this prayer, Jesus revealed the boundless forgiveness He has for us. -
Be a Disciple-Making Church
Our desire is to be a disciple-making church. Pastor Gary laid out the strategy we have been working on for the past year to be a church full of disciples who are making disciples through our Life On Life Discipleship process. We are following the pattern established by Jesus to pour his life into a…
-
Be a Disciple Maker
Disciple making begins simply by telling others about the things that you have seen and experienced in your own relationship with Christ. Despite the barriers many of us feel, we are all called and equipped to make disciples of others. In the book of Matthew, Jesus gave all of his disciples a command to make…
-
Know Your Financial Condition
Jesus told a parable that illustrates how our spiritual condition and our finances are linked. We know this story as the parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable is often taught to warn us against rebellious living or illustrate the love of the Heavenly Father and both of those applications are correct and useful. But…