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#DarkHorse

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

I’m not a runner. Never have been; never will be.  The only running I have done is while playing baseball or basketball; running to the bathroom; or running after my girls when they wanted to play. I tried running once. ONCE. I didn’t have the right shoes to start with. I didn’t have the right technique.  I didn’t have the right clothes. And I had balky calf muscles that didn’t like running outside on uneven surfaces or on hard surfaces. So that lasted all of about one week. 🙂 But call me for supper, pizza, or ice cream and I was all there! In fact, I was there as quick as you can say, “Roadrunner.”

My theme for 2024, as you can see, is Run with the Horses. I “borrowed” it from a book by that title authored by Eugene Peterson. A book I have not read to be honest. It is a play on Jeremiah 12:5. The whole idea was that if Jeremiah was tired from daily life, how can he expect to run with the horses when the going gets tough?  Truthfully, I believe life in 2024 is only going to get tougher for those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ. My desire this year is to prepare us as well as I can to life with all its muck and mire, so that we won’t get bogged down and be unable to run with the horses.

Please join me/us each week as we pursue this goal.  We have two services every Sunday (unless it is changed for a reason). One at 9:00 and the other at 10:45. Both are live streamed. If you desire to and are able to join us in person, we would love to have you visit.

The Role of a Lifetime

Thursday, December 14th, 2023

 Aspiring actors and actresses are everywhere. I went to high school with Jeff Goldblum. My senior picture is on the same page in our yearbook as his. I had no clue Jeff would leave our high school and head to New York for the stage and ultimately to a TV show named TenSpeed and Brownshoe, and then on to Jurassic Park, Independence Day, multiple other movies, and finally back to TV with Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

For every successful actor there are hundreds, maybe thousands who never make it. At best, they are two-bit players. Truthfully, some people are looked at that way. Many overlooked. Many seen as hacks. It happens all the time, in every profession. Sunday’s sermon will be dealing with two groups of people. One, is seen as little people. The others are seen as big people. Well…at least as the world looks at them that way. But in God’s eyes, there are no little people and there are no big people.

Shepherds and Wise men. The have’s and the have not’s.  The clean and the unclean.  The “welcome-to-my-world” versus those who are “not welcome anywhere.” The stories are familiar but I will be praying we all might learn something new this week. I look forward to seeing you in person at 9:00 and 10:45 or via live stream.

WhatAHeritage!

Thursday, December 7th, 2023

We are rapidly coming to the close of 2023, but before that happens the focus must be on Christ and what Christmas means. One of my favorite subjects to talk about is GRACE and the lineage of Jesus is GRACE IN SPADES. My sermon Sunday is from Matthew 1.  You know…that boring lineage you, me, and thousands of others pass over. Let me rephrase that: USED TO PASS OVER until I studied it in depth and realized that it is filled with phenomenal people. All of them are important, obviously, but there are a few who stand out. Before I tell you who, I thought I would give you a fun fact: My original sermon title but5 Women and a Man. I received word that might not be a too appropriate of a title. So…being the humble man I am (AHEM) I changed it to the title you will see at the end of this post.

Now…back to the originally scheduled post.  Five Women and a Man. Here they are:

Tamar- a Gentile who dressed as a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law Judah.

Rahab- a Gentile from Jericho who saved two spies but then was saved from Jericho’s destruction. She married Salmon and they had Boaz.

Ruth- a Moabitess (mortal enemies of the Israelites) who followed her widowed mother-in-law back to her hometown. Ruth met and married Boaz.

Bathsheba- described as the “wife of Uriah” in the lineage. Committed adultery with David (she may have not had a choice).

Mary- a teenager (probably) engaged to be married to Joseph, pregnant out of wedlock. It was sort of like the scarlet letter.  But WOW! The mother of Jesus impregnated by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph- a godly man who was going to do the “right thing” by silently divorcing Mary to avoid scandal for her.  But his heart is seen in his decision to stay with Mary and being the earthly father to Jesus.

That is the sermon. I’ve entitled it What a Heritage! I hope to see you Sunday at 9:00 or 10:45 in person or listen via live stream.

 

Memory Loss

Monday, December 4th, 2023

MEMORABLE LOSS

By Karen Martin

Copyright 2023

 

Ask different people what they would say is the scourge on our society these days when it pertains to health, some will say cancer; some will say Parkinson’s; some will say MS or one of a thousand others. Having firsthand experience with the subject of this book, I might be inclined to name this one.

Over four+ years ago my sister-in-law began experiencing “being lost.” Forgetting to take her insulin. Not buying food to eat. Being a diabetic, both are incredibly important. The last incident of 500+ sugar and being on the floor for-we-don’t- know-how-long, precipitated admitting her to the hospital and then a nursing care facility. It was not long after that when she really began exhibiting signs which, were very vague to start with, but then escalated quicker than anyone realized. Compounding the issue was diabetes and kidney dialysis. Over time her Dementia went into full bore Alzheimer’s.

This book by Karen Martin, entitled Memorable Loss, is a story of friendship in the face of Dementia/Alzheimer’s. Mrs. Martin (Karen) has written a very touching, but very informative account of her more than a decade journey with Kathleen, a very “stately” woman whom she met at church. As their friendship developed, Karen began to spend more and more time with Kathleen and then watched the heartbreaking entrance of Dementia into her life. To her credit, Kathleen stayed as active as possible thanks to Karen, even though they both saw evidence that things were changing.

Mrs. Martin lives and writes in the UK so the following statistic refers to that part of the world. The Alzheimer’s Society estimated there are about 850,000 diagnosed cases in the UK, many more are affected by the detriments associated with the disease. It is a disease that steals families with consequences for everyone (p.15). One consequence Karen was sure to show was the surrender of Kathleen’s independence and ultimate reliance on Karen. Fortunately, Kathleen had made provision for her future needs in both providing a will and also the adequate funds to be cared for if needed. The “Bluebell House” (not the real name due to confidentiality) became their choice. She had Karen to take care of her and visit full-time, but she also had two nephews whom she trusted and one guided her affairs. Tragically, many are not prepared and often watch their world fall to pieces as a result.

I could write more, but I think it would be much more meaningful if you allowed Mrs. Martin to tell you in her own words. If you work with an organization or a nursing facility who takes care of Dementia/Alzheimer’s patients, I would suggest you read this book. If you know of someone who has exhibited symptoms or have family members who have been or will probably be diagnosed with this disease, I would suggest you most definitely read it. Warning: it is an easy read, in that it flows well and Karen’s experience with Kathleen (and love for her) shine brightly; but it is also a hard read because of the obvious heartbreak you know of or may soon experience. It is published by Christian Focus and you may order it from them, or you may order it from Amazon like I did.

I personally think it will be worth your time to read and learn from Memory Loss.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61oAKuE67mL._AC_UY218_.jpg

#GoBacktoGoForward

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

TV shows are inundated with commercials hawking this-or-that (purpose of them to begin with) telling us our life will  be better if we do this or take this supplement. You get the idea.  “I was once where you were but since I started using (____) my life is changed.” They want to let us know that our life will improve drastically.

Don’t you wish getting control of fear and anxiety were that easy? “Here, take this magic pill or do this simple thing and all your anxiety will disappear.” While no commercial can promise a 100% success rate, neither can I claim to solve the issue of fear and anxiety with a simple formula. As I said in last week’s message, the solution to worry is not a plan, but a Person.

The 4:8 Principle (Philippians 4:8) will work well, but we still have to remember the Person behind it all.  There is another verse that plays into this: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion…and take every thought captive to obey Christ. The Bible reminds us that we choose what we focus on. We can focus on our problems or we can focus on Jesus who will help us deal with those problems.  The key is remembering all the amazing things God has already done in our lives. Remembering what God has done for us is a massive weapon for defeating anxiety and depression.

Joshua is the poster child for this scenario. Remember what God has brought you through and remember what God has promised you. Go back to go forward. That is my sermon this Sunday. Please join us in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.

 

#WhoMe?Worry?

Thursday, May 18th, 2023

After a one-Sunday hiatus due to Mother’s Day, I will be back this week continuing the series I’ve entitled Faith Over Fear. This will be sermon #2 in the series and as you can see by the title of this post it is called “Who Me? Worry?” My Scripture is Matthew 6:25-34.

In Googling the “Top 10 Anxieties for 2023” the most recent statistic came from December of 2022. According to Ipsos, the top vote getter was inflation. It was followed by poverty and social inequality, crime and violence, unemployment, and financial and political corruption. Climate change tied with worry about taxes. Coronavirus is still at one of the lowest levels since it was added in April 2020. That is quite a change from the list I found from 1990: AIDS, drug abuse, nuclear waste, the ozone layer, famine, homelessness, the federal deficit, air pollution, water pollution, and garbage. Added to all lists is since 9/11 global terrorism has been one of the leading causes of anxiety.

I realize a list is just that…a list. All lives are different and our stressors and stress levels are different. But we are all human and one commonality is stress and anxiety. Different levels to be sure, but it is there nonetheless. This passage in Matthew is quite a treatise on Jesus’ ideas on worry. My hope Sunday is to enlighten us all to the truth and hope Jesus gives us when it comes to worry.

I hope to see you this Sunday at 9:00 or 10:45. If not in person then via live stream.

 

#ItIsFinished!

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

I suspect all of us from time to time have heard or even used the expression, “Famous last words.” We use them to sorta say, “Yeah. So you say.”  “I’ll clean my room” or “I’ll take out the garbage” or “I’ll clean the garage.” And we say? “Yeah, yeah, yeah, famous last words.  As I prepared for this message and was thinking about Jesus’ last words, I decided to do a little research, aka Google it, on famous last words.  🙂 I found some irreverent ones. I found some thoughtful ones. I found some ironic ones. And I found some sad ones.  (I would encourage you to look them up yourself).  I’m actually going to give some examples during the introduction part of my sermon.

Jesus’ words “It is Finished” are loaded with meaning, often misconstrued. Each of Jesus’ last words tell a story, a truth, to know and remember. My desire this Sunday is to explain what that phrase means and why it is so important for us to get it right.

I just want to say this: In His dying moments, the mind of Jesus was filled, not with hopeless despair, but with a sense of accomplishment. His imminent death was not something inflicted upon Him by others, but something He Himself had achieved! That is why He could say, “It is Finished.”

Please tune in if possible. In person or via live stream.  Our services are at 9:00 and 10:45. They are live streamed on the church’s FB page and also YouTube. You can find those links at the church’s website.  I’m looking forward to preaching on these last words of Jesus.

 

#TheStingofFailure

Thursday, March 9th, 2023

Quick: Word association. Disciple of Jesus. Failure:

PETER

It is hard to disassociate Peter’s name from failure.  But the fact remains: all of them failed. All of them ran. Peter gets notoriety because his was so public. Brash. Bold. Boisterous. Braggart.

Peter is not alone though. We all have failed. We all have made promises to be faithful and to stand tall, only to see ourselves do a face plant.  History is marred with failures. So is Biblical history.

But failure is not the end. You have heard it said in some way, I’m sure: “Falling is not failure; not getting back up is.”  But the great part about Peter’s failure and what he realized is that there is forgiveness in spite of failure. 

I’m guessing that no one’s failure is more highlighted than Peter’s.  I’m preaching on The Sting of Failure this Sunday. But I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of leaving Peter flapping in the breeze. Jesus didn’t and I certainly won’t. Nope…Jesus restored him and made him the leader of the ragtag band of disciple/apostles.

Please join us at 9:00 and 10:45 either in person or online as we live stream our services. I know many will be traveling this week due to Spring Break in our school system, but I hope you will join us via the live stream.

ONE MORE THING! REMEMBER TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME.

 

 

#UnexpectedNews

Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

Talk about unexpected news! How about good unexpected news!

The weather event that was supposed to come starting last night (Wednesday) and affect us through the whole week is not materializing (at this point). The cold temps (single digits)? Yes. The blanket (more like a heavy comforter) of snow? No. I’m okay with that!!

We will be offering both a Christmas Eve and a Christmas morning worship to our folks. The CE service is from 6-7:00 and the Christmas morning service is from 10-11. Both will have common elements. The only difference will be the songs which will be sung and how they will happen.  And if you are unable to attend or would simply like to join in, the Sunday morning service ONLY will be live streamed.

My topic will continue the 4-week series I’m preaching with this being the 3rd one: The Unexpected News. The Gospel is for all people-rich, poor, clean, unclean, whole, blind, deaf, prostitutes, immoral- you name it.  I will be looking at the very familiar Scripture (to most) in Luke 2: 1-17 where the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, then he is joined by a whole chorus.

It is hard to believe next Sunday brings us to the end of 2022. My last sermon in this current series will on January 1. Then I start a series on Revelation. Now that ought to be interesting……Hmmmmm.

Join us this weekend if you are able to. If not, join us on line Sunday morning. You can go to the church’s website for information on directly connecting to the live stream.

#UnexpectedChild

Thursday, December 15th, 2022

There are a lot of truths which make us feel Christian doctrine is confounding. The Trinity for one. Who of you totally understands it? Certainly not me! He is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To understand it is hard enough; to explain it so it can be understood? Above my pay grade. 🙂

God made flesh is one which boggles the mind and has us grasping for answers to understand how God could come to earth in fleshly form. ‘Course it is easy to say, “God can do whatever He wants to do,” but that still does not help us understand it any better.

There are more I can add but I’m guessing none is more difficult to understand, and to wrap our mind around than the two I want to deal with this Sunday. “God made flesh” is one; He was one person with two natures is the other.  He was born of a virgin and He was fully God and fully man.

They might appear to be heavy topics for a Christmas message (and they are), but they are absolutely essential, not only to our Christian faith, but to truly realizing the meaning behind this holiday.  It will not be an easy topic to preach on or to listen to, but one that is essential.

Join me please in person if possible. If not, join us at 9 & 10:45 as we live stream both services. Meanwhile, may I ask you to pray for me, for us? Thanks.