(March 14, 2021) “Redeeming Our Mess: Guilt and Shame”

from 2 Samuel 12:1-10, 13; Psalm 51:1-4, 10-12; John 8:1-11

The season of Lent is a time of reflection. It is an opportunity to examine our lives before God and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal to us those things that are hindering our relationship with God and with those around us…and it is an opportunity to invite God to go to work in our lives…the hope which makes all of this possible is the Cross of Jesus toward which we are journeying. 

But what if Lent wasn’t just about seeking forgiveness for and repentance from our sin…what if God was able to take our mess and redeem it? What if it’s not just about doing away with something, but about God taking our lives and turning them into something beautiful for His Glory?

In our 4th week of Lent, we consider perhaps one of our greatest obstacles to our relationship with God and with those around us…the unbearable weight of our guilt and shame. What if, in being honest about those things for which we are guilty, we could find freedom from the shame that keeps us far from God and isolated from others?

w/ Vern Collins

“Questions God Asks: Do You Love Me?” (April 19, 2015)

*This week’s message includes the announcement about our senior pastor, Jason’s Byassee new appointment starting July 1st.  We are incredibly grateful for his leadership, we love he and his family deeply, and pray God’s blessing on their faithfulness in this call.

from John 21:15-19

People do crazy things for love…quit jobs, move half way around the country, get tattoos, change lifestyles…what do you do to show love to those you in fact love?  What are you willing to do to show love to someone?
Are you willing to protect them, willing to commit to them, willing to challenge them…would you be willing to jump out of a boat for them?  Peter did all of these things for Jesus.  Perhaps, the greatest example of Peter’s we have to follow, however, is his willingness to meet Jesus on the shore of his need for grace, hear the question, “do you love me?” and be willing to follow Him once more into a life of surrender to the cause of the Gospel.
What are you willing to do?
w/ Vern Collins