Posts from 2018

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:11-14 This year at our annual Santa’s Workshop…

We refer to this time of year as the “Christmas Season.” It begins the night before Thanksgiving and ends the Monday after New Year. It is a stretch of the year when we seem to go from holiday to holiday. Most of us experience this time as a mixed bag. On the one hand there are things we look forward to and enjoy greatly. On the other, most of us have things about the season we dread. How do we…

“Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.” (Proverbs 28:14) This Sunday, as we continue to look at the life of Elisha, we will look at 2 Kings 3. My desire is that we can discover that faith isn’t just something you talk about. It’s something you do. Faith is only activated when we act. We have faith in God when we do what he says. Proverbs 28:14 says, “Always…

My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. (John 10:27 CEB) This past Wednesday we started our next youth group discussion topic. Our question is, “How do we hear God’s voice?” This thought-provoking topic aligns with the fall all-church focus on prayer. To tackle this question I’ve enlisted the help of some experts on the subject of hearing God, specifically the late Dallas Willard.  In Willard’s book Hearing God he points out what he calls…

Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him. He said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21 CEB) This verse comes out a familiar exchange recorded in three of the Gospels.  Often called the story of the Rich Young Ruler.  All three Gospel accounts tell us he was rich, in Matthew’s account we learn he was young,…

3 Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, I tell…

“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:23-24 (NLT) If you are going to deal with worry and anxiety, the first thing you have to do is face reality. In Matthew 8 we see the reality of the situation that Jesus and the disciples faced. As they went through the storm it shows us the reality…

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised about the fiery trials that have come among you to test you. These are not strange happenings. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share Christ’s suffering. You share his suffering now so that you may also have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are mocked because of Christ’s name, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory—indeed, the Spirit of God—rests on you. (1 Peter 4:12-14) The New Testament book of 1 Peter has always been one of…

It’s a famous phrase at our house.  When someone is obviously asleep, one of us will say in a rather loud voice, “Are you awake?”Seriously?  They were NOT awake. But someone had something to say, and wanted to be sure their important thought was heard.  I’m not going to say which family member I am talking about.  🙂  “Stay awake, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong.  Everything should be done in love.”  I Corinthians 16:13 (Common English…

This last weekend Chris and I had a little weekend away. As usual we like to seek out adventure and hopefully not get ourselves into too much trouble.  This trip was a typical one for us, it did not disappoint on the adventure side of things.  One of the days we set out to kayak in the Gig Harbor area, more specifically between Raft Island and Cutts Island.  As many of you get to know me you will realize I…

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 As we have studied 1 John on Sunday mornings we have learned that we are called to love one another. John says this over and over again. However there are some times when this is a difficult thing to do and the only way we will fulfill God’s plan for our life is to rely on God’s strength. And…

22 Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch and heal him. 23 Taking the blind man’s hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around.” 25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s…