1 Peter 5:1-4 | “Warnings and Reward for Elders”
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Mark 1:2-13 | “The Way of Jesus Christ”
[display_podcast] We Want Something Real Suzy and I watched a show recently about the music of the 1990’s. It brought back lots of memories of high school and reminded us how far God has brought us in our sanctification. A couple things stood out to me. First, the way we dressed in the 90’s was awesome. Second, Canadian singer and songwriter Alanis Morissette said that her music really took off when she started writing songs that described her personal experiences and feelings. She said this was because people in the [...]
Proverbs 24:11-12 | “Rescue Those Who Are Dying”
[display_podcast] A Devastating Night Just after midnight on October 15th, 2018, Jayme Closs woke up to her dogs barking. She looked out the window of her Barron County, Wisconsin home and saw a car coasting down her driveway with the headlights and engine turned off. Thirteen year old Jayme woke her dad and mom up. Dad went to the door, her and mom to the bath room to call 911. Jake Patterson got out of his car, walked to the front door, shot and killed Jayme’s dad, went upstairs [...]
Mark 1:1 | “The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
[display_podcast] A Repeating Radio Wave Many people find the possibility of alien life fascinating. Just this past week, scientists announced that they’ve discovered repeating short bursts of radio waves coming from outside our galaxy. This is the second time repeating bursts of radio waves have been found. Apparently, these millisecond long radio flashes are fairly common in space. But this is only the second one found to repeat. Scientists are unsure what causes them, where they’re coming from, and why these two repeated. One journalist said, “The mystery about [...]
Acts 6:4 | “We Will Devote Ourselves to Prayer”
[display_podcast] Resolutions and Inadequacy Many people make resolutions this time of year. They resolve to do this or not do that. To exercise more, eat healthier, read the Bible in a year, pray more, get out of debt. All of these things are good. But have you ever been discouraged when making your resolutions because you fear that you won’t be able to keep them? Have you ever decided to not make any because then you won’t be disappointed later for not keeping them? Do you shy away from [...]
Isaiah 11:1-9 | “A Perfect King Brings Us to a Perfect Place”
[display_podcast] Joy and Pain at Christmas This season of the year brings with it a full range of emotions. It’s a season of great joy and anticipation. Perhaps more than other times of the year, we feel optimistic about the future, excitement about life, and a contentedness and peace about how things are. We experience joy and pleasure because we get time off from work and time with family and time to rest and think and play and worship. Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year” for [...]
Isaiah 9:1-7 | “The Paradox of Christmas”
Small Presents Are the Best As kids, we thought that the biggest present under the tree was going to be the best present under the tree. We knew that the medium size boxes were clothes so we didn’t get excited about those. And the small boxes were usually extras and add-ons that went with the present in the big box. It’s funny how as we get older we start looking forward to the smaller boxes because they might have jewelry or gift cards or, in my case, books. The [...]
Isaiah 7:14 | “A Sign from God”
Loneliness at Christmas Loneliness is something that we all feel at times. In a culture that is highly connected through social media, we still feel isolated and alone. We’ve all been in restaurants and seen families or friends sitting together around a table but ignoring one another because they’re all on their phones or tablets. This explains the title of a recent book by Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Around the holidays, many of us will struggle with loneliness [...]
Who Does What Around Here?: An Overview of Congregationalism and Elders
[display_podcast] Our church is in a season of adding another elder, so we’re spending a few weeks talking about elders and their relationship to the church. Two weeks ago we discussed what elders do. We learned that they teach, govern, and shepherd the church. Last week we talked about the qualifications for elders, examining 1 Timothy 3:1-7 in order to see who can be an elder. Our topic this morning is how the ministry of the congregation and the ministry of the elders fit together. I’ve adapted this material [...]
1 Timothy 3:1-7 | “Who Can Be An Elder?”
[display_podcast] God’s People Are Like Sheep The Bible, in many places, describes God’s people as sheep. This isn’t a flattering description, but I think it’s an accurate one because we’re unstable and erratic creatures. We’re prone to hurt ourselves. We’re not as smart as we think we are. Our lives are messy and broken. This is good news by the way. Many people think that the gospel means something like this: if I clean up my life, then God will accept me. But that’s not the gospel. The gospel says: [...]