Messages

Sunday March 30:  Baggage:  “Seriousness” Philippians 4:4-9

Sunday March 30: Baggage: “Seriousness” Philippians 4:4-9

I (Bill) grew up assuming that seriousness is deeply connected to Spiritual maturity. The slow ballad worship song was more meaningful that singing Happy Day, that bowing my head in quiet, somber prayer, must be more meaningful than celebrating what God is up to. And yet…..One of the things scripture names that should be core to our identity is joy. That of all people those who love and follow God have more to celebrate, more to praise about, more to be joyful about than any other people.

Sunday March 23:  Baggage:  “Worry” Matthew 6:25-34

Sunday March 23: Baggage: “Worry” Matthew 6:25-34

What you pay attention to, tends to drive you. In Matthew 6 Jesus invites us to worry less about the material world, and focus far more on the Kingdom of God. Not a theoretical reality, but a way of living that contrasts with much of the world we live in. Jesus reminds us that if our focus is on God’s Kingdom, His calling for us, His instructions for life, not the world’s, worry might take a backseat quickly.

Sunday March 16:  Baggage:  “People” Matthew 5:43-48

Sunday March 16: Baggage: “People” Matthew 5:43-48

We live in an angry world. Many news outlets share a little bit of news and a lot of commentary about the bad guys, the people who you should be afraid of, or mad at. Much of our digital and now public dialogue takes on an aggressive, forceful tone. We are told to take a stand, to make our views known, to defend whatever it is we are to defend. Yet Jesus invites us to love our enemies. To love and forgive those who are different than us, and even challenges us that if we are not able to do that, we are no better than our enemies.

Sunday March 9:

Sunday March 9:

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong? Like you weren’t good enough or didn’t live up to the standards that either you or other people had set? In Ephesians 2, we will learn that this is not something that is new to our world. We will see how all were once separated from Christ, not originally included in the promises of God, but that Jesus made a way to extend the invitation to belong to the family of God for ALL people, including me and you!

Sunday March 2:  Baggage:  “Perfectionism” Romans 5:6-11

Sunday March 2: Baggage: “Perfectionism” Romans 5:6-11

We are so good at being good, we have a word to describe individuals who are hyper focused on it: perfectionist. We put attention into all kinds of things, our home, our work, our family, our social media, politics, but what if we were never meant to be perfect, or even pretend we can be close?

Sunday February 16:  Baggage:  “The Burdens We Carry” Matthew 11:28-30

Sunday February 16: Baggage: “The Burdens We Carry” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus says that his yoke is easy and the burden is light. This phrase of a yoke and burden was commonly used by rabbis to speak about the expectations for those who would choose to follow them. Jesus is painting a picture of discipleship that sounds less stressful than the way in which many of us follow Jesus. So why exactly is his yoke easy, and what does it mean for us?

Sunday February 9:  “Trust In Him” Exodus 16

Sunday February 9: “Trust In Him” Exodus 16

The sermon is about God’s patience with Isreal, in teaching them to trust him. In seeing how God treats Isreal we can come to understand the patience that he has with us. How all that he does in our lives and in history is a testament to his trustworthiness.

Sunday February2:  “Practice: Solitude (Encounter God)” 1 Kings 19:9-13

Sunday February2: “Practice: Solitude (Encounter God)” 1 Kings 19:9-13

Growing up, the idea of hearing from God sounded foreign. What did God sound like? How do you know? Do people really hear from God like you would from a trusted friend? Or even if you have a sense of what God sounds like, how does that line up with what scripture shows? In 1 Kings God has an encounter with a prophet, but the way, the place, and the circumstance is nothing like the prophet ever expected.

Sunday January12:  “Practice: Solitude (The Quiet Place)” Mark 1:29-39

Sunday January12: “Practice: Solitude (The Quiet Place)” Mark 1:29-39

Everyone is looking for you! This feels like a common refrain in most of our lives, whether it is said explicitly, or through phone notifications, or asks to join another team, take on another project, do another initiative. Yet, we see in Jesus’ life that he often takes time away from it all to be with God, to be quiet, to experience stillness. To go to a quiet place.

Sunday December 29:  “Getting Back To Normal”  Mark 4:35-41

Sunday December 29: “Getting Back To Normal” Mark 4:35-41

As the holiday season comes to an end, we prepare ourselves for the hurry of school, sports, and work getting back to “normal”. In this hurry we can lose a valuable sense of stillness and peace. Join us as we work through what it means to look to Christ for peace and how presence with him is our ultimate goal.

Tuesday December 24:  “What Child is This?  Good News of Great Joy”  Luke 2:8-20

Tuesday December 24: “What Child is This? Good News of Great Joy” Luke 2:8-20

Tonight on Christmas Eve, we lean into the power of a simple question: why? Jesus became human, embodied and fulfilled countless prophecies and scriptures, and did it all in a way and place that few people expected. But why? The story of Christmas gives us a picture of joy and hope that can and does exist in all circumstances and against all odds.

Sunday December 22:  “What Child is This?  King of Kings”  Isaiah 9:2-7

Sunday December 22: “What Child is This? King of Kings” Isaiah 9:2-7

Our world has an awkward relationship with power and position. Most of us have experienced abuses of power and position being leveraged for less than Christ-like reasons. We often think of power as an over-and-against move, but scripture paints another picture of leader, power, and king. Jesus was to come and be the king of all kings, above and more powerful than all the
previous kings. Yet, he came with humility, seeking justice, and living a selfless life.

Sunday December 15:  “What Child is This?  Savior of the World” Isaiah 53:1-7

Sunday December 15: “What Child is This? Savior of the World” Isaiah 53:1-7

Since I was young, I have heard Christians talk about Jesus being our Lord and Savior. This implies we are being saved from something or someone. Too often, our answers are anemic or at best incomplete. Jesus saves us from going to hell, and one day when we die, we go to heaven with God. Which is all true. AND. Jesus promises that his saving changes our today as well. That he saves us from the narratives of our world that leave us longing for more. That he saves us from a life driven solely by what you can produce or make or earn. Jesus comes to save us not just for one day in the future, but to transform how we live today also.

Sunday December 8:  “What Child is This?  Light of the World”  Isaiah 60:1-5

Sunday December 8: “What Child is This? Light of the World” Isaiah 60:1-5

It is always the darkest just before dawn. The prophet Isaiah wrote to people who felt like the world they had known their whole lives was gone, and that it was gone because God left them. God went quiet, or at best, where was God? Isaiah then speaks of a light that will come and shine into the darkness. Not to remove all of the darkness, but to bring hope, to remind us all that God is still up to something, that God is at work even in the challenges.