Posts by Pastor Wes

Walk With Me And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. (Leviticus 26:12 ESV) Leviticus, for many of us is a challenge. What’s going on in the text? There’s so many instructions that seem to be pointless. When you offer a wave offering or a grain offering, or a sin offering, you have to do it this way. And somewhere in the middle of all this my brain clicks into drone…

  Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. (Matthew 2:7) What would you do if you were the wealthiest person in human history? Would you buy a nice house, standing on a high hillside overlooking the city? Would you buy influence in the political sphere with gifts of support? Would you travel the world viewing the magnificence of various cultures and their storied histories? What would you do? Herod was…

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11 ESV) It was a little wire-bound notebook that would fit easily into a shirt pocket. Mine was green and I used an eraser to mark the green cover with two words—Bible Principles. I was either fifteen or sixteen years old at the time and each morning we would read a short passage of scripture and have some time to consider what thought…

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. There was a season in our lives together that Cas and I went out on a date once each week. I looked forward to those times when we would sit across the table from each other and allow the conversation to flow easily from one subject to another, laughing, listening, learning, and growing. We had kids in the house…

Galatians 2:13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, (Peter) so that even Barnabas was led astray by their (Christ-following Jews’) hypocrisy.   Something beautiful happens when people share a meal together. The church, from its inception, has been aware of this. Eating together seems to be baked into our DNA as something we just do. There is an early church tradition that seems so typical that it gets confused with the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Communion).…

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)   My grandkids are close to the top of my list of the most wonderful gifts in my life. When they want my time, I bend my schedule, however I must, to spend a little more time with them. Whenever we’re together with some of them, a…

You’ve heard it and so have I; it sounds like a truth statement that comes right out of the Bible. Guess what? It’s not in there. Does that mean it’s not true? It sounds a lot like the Scriptural statement, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) These two truth statements are not the same. I can believe something that is not true. If I trust the untrustworthy, the power which I am searching for…

The Bible is the most popular book of all time. One book that has been read in whole or in part by people for thousands of years. Sixty-six books all of which we describe as “God breathed,” inspired, and good for instruction and guidance for all of us. Moms and dads have been using quotes from the Bible throughout the generations to provide the authority for their teaching so their children and grandchildren would be able to grasp healthy, and…

That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love…Colossians 2:2 I visited a coffee shop recently and as I was enjoying a beverage with several members of my family, an eclectic gentleman entered, purchased a cup of coffee and sat down on a couch just slightly to my left. I noticed him when he first entered because of his unique garb. He was wearing dingy trousers, too short for him, but too long to not be considered pants;…

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and…

Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”   These words show up twice in the Bible, here in Luke and in Isaiah 61. Jesus read these words from Scripture on the appointed…