Pastor's Message

From Doubt to Belief

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Doubt is not an act of unfaithfulness. In fact, according to our Gospel today, doubt dealt with in a living faith community will create faith. In our doubt we are called to seek understanding and as Jesus said to Thomas, let your doubt lead to belief, not unbelief. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). Being a disciple is not about having blind faith; it is about having a faith that seeks to understand.

We are Resurrection People!

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Don’t be alarmed! I love that phrase in this story, because it is almost ludicrous. Of course the women were alarmed. Can you imagine what that must have been like for those three women that went to Jesus’ tomb on that first Easter morning? Alarmed? They were terrified!

You Are Loved!

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:00:00 GMT

God loves us so much that he not only willingly let his Son, Jesus Christ, die on the cross for us, he also gave us a meal to share that would forever remind us that we are his, he is always with us, and that we are loved, no matter what.

You Glorify God!

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Do you hear God saying, You glorify me? You are mine and I love you. I know you turn from me often, but as you repent, I forgive and forget. Today, I create a clean heart in you and give you a new Spirit.

We Have All We Need

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Nicodemus, and most of the people of his day, like so many of us now, refused to accept this and so Jesus continues with his teaching to Nicodemus with the verses most of us never read right after verse 3:16. Jesus continues by saying, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (3:17-18). Notice what Jesus says here, eternal life has already been granted to those who chose to believe in him, but for those who do not, they are condemned. This seems awfully harsh. No wonder the signs never read, John 3:16-18. Who wants to remember that they are already condemned?

The Cost of Change

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT

So often we talk about wanting to change, but we just can’t, in fact, we often resist change. We get comfortable in our lives, and we don’t want to deal with the cost of change. There is always a cost to change and we are usually willing to change until we discover that we have to bear the cost, you see change rarely can occur without having to give something up for the sake of something new.

Take Up Your Cross

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT

God’s ways do not make sense. They go against our way of life; yet, Jesus says our way of thinking is about human things, not divine things. Like Peter, we humans love to rebuke Jesus and his ways and say they are impossible, to which I can just imagine Jesus saying, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Hope in Our Despair

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Did you ever wonder if the people of Jesus’ day thought he was crazy, or at the very least an optimistic dreamer? In the Gospel text for today, John has just been arrested, there is violence everywhere the people turn, there are wars happening and Rome has the Jewish people under their control and in the mist of all this, Jesus announces hope. In the midst of all this he announces, “The time is now fulfilled, God’s Kingdom is near.” It is a hard thing to believe that in the midst of all the craziness of this world, God’s Kingdom is near.

A Change of Heart

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:00:00 GMT

Lent is not about the “do’s and don’ts” of life; Lent is a time to allow ourselves to have a change of heart and to realize that we are free to serve and love our Savior and all of his creation.

It is Good to be Here!

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

All too often, the church remains silent on issues of the day because we are afraid. We fear we might do the wrong thing. We fear we might not know enough. We fear we do not have enough money to go forward. We fear we might upset someone. We fear we might make a mistake and we are terrified that we might fail. So often our answer is, let’s wait to out. Let’s do nothing for now.