“Disordered Love: Pride” (April 9, 2017)

from Matthew 21:1-11

Pride affects not only our relationships with others, but our relationship with God.  It divides and pits us against the One Who came to meet us at that very point of our weakness…at the point of our need to be at the center…that our lives and our love might become rightly ordered.

w/ Vern Collins

“Advent Conspiracy: Give More” (December 11, 2016)

from Luke 3:7-18

There is something about Advent that begs the question, “why?”

“Why would God send His Son to this earth?”  More specifically, perhaps, “what is it in my life that I am incapable of taking care of on my own?”

In our Advent passage this morning we find John the Baptist in the wilderness, in light of the Christ Who has arrived and is about to begin His ministry, calling people to repent…to turn from what they thought gave them worth, and turn to a new understanding of who they are and what life is meant to look like.

And in this we catch a glimpse that the Gospel might just be about more than the individual…that maybe it is about those around us too.

w/ Vern Collins

“As For You: Submit” (November 13, 2016)

from Ephesians 5:21-6:9

How are we meant to respond when there is disagreement with those around us?  How are we meant to prove our point?  How should we go about winning the argument?  How are we supposed to convince others to see things the way we see them?

What if, even in the face disagreement that is so difficult, our goal is not to win the day, rather to offer a new way forward…not a way born out of a rock solid argument, but out of choosing a different posture?  A posture of submission…of service.

Perhaps the key to navigating relationship is not guarding what is right, but pointing to what is Good.

w/ Vern Collins

“As For You: Grace” (October 2, 2016)

from Ephesians 2:1-10

We have somehow allowed the life of a Christ follower to be boiled down to doing more of the right things and less of the wrong things in hopes of looking like one is at least moderately connected to Jesus.  We make plans and ask God to bless them, and we go on living our lives keeping Jesus just close enough so that He is accessible in times of trouble.

What if, life were less about what you can get out of it and what you can accomplish and more about embracing the weight of the grace by which our small lives were saved?  Then perhaps it would be less about achieving your 5 year plan and more about realizing you have something to live for no matter where you land.

w/ Vern Collins

“Rhythms: Generosity” (March 13, 2016)

from 1 John 3:16-18

Ad campaigns that promise more with the purchase of a product only to leave us wanting more, political campaigns that promise something new is coming only to see things remain the same.

In a world full of empty promises talk has become cheap.

Has the Good News of the Gospel of Christ and the hope of new life found in Him suffered the same fate?  Has the claim lost its power?  Has the promise been diluted to simply another option for a different kind of life?

You have something to say about it.  The church has something to say about it.  A life lived poured out on behalf of the world around it points to something worth living for and invites the world to encounter Jesus…the hope of something new.

w/ Vern Collins

“Foundations: Serve” (November 15, 2015)

from Joshua 24

Options.  Many live in a culture full of options.  Options for clothing, cars, the way you spend your time…upgrade options, warranty options, media options, options for the way you connect with others…it is a culture that caters to the consumer.

What if, however, we have become so accustomed to crafting this life to be the most comfortable it can, that we have made optional things that should not be?

Take serving and loving others for example…Jesus never presented it as an option…even in our Old Testament passage from Joshua, we see that amidst the options of lesser gods, Joshua makes it clear that those options are no option at all, really.

What if the way you served was a life style, not simply another option on your list?

w/ Luke Edwards

“Foundations: Worship” (November 1, 2015)

from Revelation 7:9-16

Silent Mediation.  Old Hymns.  Traditional.  Contemporary.  Praise and Worship.  There are as many different opinions about what worship should be as there are people worshiping…or as there are people in church.

As we begin our “Foundations” series by looking at both foundations of the faith and foundations of who we are as a church and how we accomplish our mission of, “Loving our Community and inviting all to discover life in Christ,” we begin with worship as being a vital piece of that identity.

What your worship were not a matter of preference of style, but was the, “True Worship,” Jesus refers to in John 4, and that we catch a glimpse of in the vision of the throne in Revelation 7?

 

w/ Vern Collins

“Questions God Asks: Do I Drink the Blood of Goats?” (May 17, 2015)

from Psalm 50:1-15

Do you often feel like you “miss the mark” in your relationship with God?  Perhaps you feel like you work and strive and bring things to the table and still feel as if God is not responding the way you would like…
In our passage this week, God calls to question our understanding of worship and sacrifice, and most importantly our view of Who He is.
Maybe you are working too hard to hit a mark that God is not asking you to hit.
w/ Vern Collins

“Questions God Asks: What Will it Profit?” (May 3, 2015)

from Mark 8:31-38

What does a new perspective of Jesus mean for any who seek Him?  It means a deeper understanding of why He came and what life with Him is meant to be.
In this week’s passage, the Disciples come face to face with some shocking news that means everything for them is about to change…perhaps more should change for us as well.
Is the life you are pursuing with Christ truly a life WITH Him, or is it a life that seeks only to fit Him in to the places that are safe…the places in your life where He will do the least amount of damage?
Jesus is calling you to more.
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