Pastor's Blog

This Lent, we are going to go on the road with Jesus, as we travel the roads Jesus traveled in order that we can see him and his ministry more clearly, and understand more nearly what it is we are to do

Today, we go back on the road with Jesus as we follow him home. After his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus decided to get back on the road, turn around, and go back home to Nazareth – the place where he had grown up and lived practically his entire life.

When Jesus left Nazareth where he had not been well received, he went on the road for a three-year tour of preaching, teaching, healing, helping, judging, forgiving, enabling, challenging, calling, and lifting.

Our culture today seems to be obsessed with being connected. But if we think about it, how connected are we really? Instead of waiting for the server to connect, may we all connect ourselves on the Vine – the One who never leaves us hanging.

In 2010, a movie called Hereafter was released which dealt with 3 different people’s struggle with the effect of death on their lives... And the truth is, don’t we all deal with these types of questions?

Today, as we continue our journey though the “I AM” statements, we examine one of the more famous and probably the most powerful statement from Jesus – “I am the resurrection and the life.”

As a child, I remember playing the game, “Follow the Leader.” In this game, one person is chosen as the leader, and everyone has to follow him or her wherever he or she goes... As we continue on our journey through the “I AM” statements of Jesus – discovering more and more about who he is and growing in our faith at the same time – we now come to two separate statements which pretty much reveal the same truth about Jesus: “I am the Gate” AND “I am the Good Shepherd.”

As we continue our exploration of Jesus’ “I AM” statements in an attempt to understand who he is in this new year – when we have committed to grow in our faith – we now take a look at Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus provides us a glimpse of who he is through various statements of identification, known as the “I AM” statements. These statements are a means of his self-identification and together they paint us a picture of just who exactly “Emmanuel, God with us” is....

Today we begin this journey by looking at Jesus’ statement: “I am the bread of life.”

Raise your hand if you have heard this before – Christmas in this day and age has largely become about gift-giving!

As we raise our children, one of the greatest things we can instill in them is the importance of having good manners. And one of the most important manners is to always say “thank you!"

Generosity doesn’t just happen; rather it is the result of thoughtful planning and design. We set goals and execute plans because we are dedicated to being generous.

I think we all would agree that sometimes we just need to have perspective on how blessed we have been with the gifts God has given to us.

Gravity is an invisible force which pulls and holds us down to earth. We are beginning our yearly discussions on stewardship, and what we are using as our focus this year is this idea of gravity...

Our television culture seems to be flooded with reality shows these days. Well, imagine for a second if we, as Christians, were on our own reality show! But the truth is, we already are!

This Sunday is the day that each Christian church around the world will be gathering around the Lord’s table and partaking in Communion. And what better image to think of this than the image of Pentecost?!

If there is one thing that Walt Disney World is known for, it is the ability to dream big! Nothing seems out of reach for them – the sky’s the limit. This is what is known to them as “Blue Sky Thinking.”

One of the biggest trademarks of Walt Disney World is the fact that everyone is treated as a VIP. Shouldn't that be how the Church is?

One of the reasons Disney has been so successful over time is because of the environment they create. Nothing they do is by accident. Everything has a purpose. This is what is known as creating a culture.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of Disney. I would even say that you could call me a Disney-a-holic! But something which I never really thought of was how Disney – specifically Disney World – actually gives us a model for us to follow as a church.

Have you ever felt that you were called to a specific purpose? Are there times you struggle with where God is calling you? Well, I would imagine that the answer to both of these questions is yes, as it should be. For God calls all of us to a specific purpose and we certainly struggle with what that calling is throughout our lives.

Each member of The Avengers has something that they are really good at – better than the others. And to defeat the “bad guys” and save the world, they need to remember that each of their skills is needed. When they focus on this truth and stop working against each other, then the world is saved. Well, as the Body of Christ, we must do the same.

Who me? Change the world?! I am sure these would be the exact words most of us would say if we were told by God that we were going to change the world. We would be scared, unsure, overwhelmed, and feel unqualified. I know I certainly would.

A series of sermons are planned based on John 15.

The Christian idea of hope is more than a mere wish. It is a confident expectation for the future based upon what God has promised...