We have all been given resources by God… things like money, possessions, job titles, authority, power, certain abilities and talents… even time and relationships and connections… what are we supposed to do with all these resources?

Even when Jesus says “Do not worry”, we can think that this is not realistic because it seems like everyone worries about something. And we can think that we can’t control worrying.

Often, we come to Jesus, asking for something… but then Jesus diverts our attention to something else. Sometimes, we think something is important, but then Jesus says “No…THIS is what’s important… THIS is what you need to watch out for.”

Okay, quick informal survey… when following directions through Google Maps (or other platform/app), if there is a question/unsure… when it’s time to make a decision, MORE likely to follow Google Maps or more likely to go the way you think is best?

Lord Teach Us

Let’s read the first verse of our passage today…Luke 11:29. Now at first, read this and think “but they didn’t ask for a sign…” Actually they...

Are you afraid when it comes to demons? When you read about demons in the Bible, does it make you uncomfortable? Do you worry about demons and what they can do? As we read Luke 11:14-28, we’ll see Jesus interact with a demon, and what those around Him think of demons. But let’s go ahead and answer some common questions we still hear today about dem…

We may talk a lot about God, we may even talk a lot TO God… but how often do we ask God to teach us? We see in Luke 11 where Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. Through this, we receive important teachings from Jesus about prayer.

Have you ever noticed that when reading the scriptures (or practicing our faith for that matter), that the focus is often on what is right and what is wrong. And there is a place for that. This IS important. But...

I want to begin with a little exercise/experiment… requires you to speak, or at least would be helpful if you speak. I’ll say something and I want to see if you can guess what comes after it. Ready? “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty (had a great fall).” Next…

Special Message for Our Country

While one could make a strong argument that our country was founded as a “Christian” nation, one could make a stronger argument that our country was founded as a free nation. And many today, even in our government, are using that freedom to turn away from God. So what do we do as godly citizens?

Recent events within our Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) have led us to discussions about roles and titles for women in the church. But we all have roles in the church… and we all should be united in the mission of making disciples.

Quick review of last week… Talking about our roles in the church, current debate in SBC about roles for women, can women have word “pastor” in job title? Needs to be addressed, but good for all of us to try to better understand all our roles, scriptures tell us what to look for, what’s important… so last week, we began with saying...…

Next week after worship, I’ll be flying to Indianapolis for annual Southern Baptist Convention. As usual, we will elect officers, commission missionaries and hear reports from our various institutions. This year, there will also be a vote to make a change to the SBC Constitution regarding the criteria for...…

On Memorial Day, we take time to remember and honor those who gave their lives for us, the people of our country. Would you agree that those who gave their lives would want to see us enjoying our lives? Or do we honor them by living in misery? Sometimes we forget it’s our choice. Which is why some of the greatest teachings in scriptures are REMINDE…

Even the most obedient disciples can struggle to answer common questions concerning our faith. “Where did the dinosaurs come from?” “How come there is so much evil in the world?” “How can you prove the Bible is the Word of God?” While there are many great proofs for our faith… it’s still a “faith”, a belief… it’s more than a set of facts. In fact, …

We come to a time in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus no longer expects His disciples to just follow… they are now being called to DO the things they’ve seen Jesus do. And He gives them the power to do it! God still expects His disciples today to do the same things… yes, to go out and preach the word… but to also practice what we preach and demonstra…

We often think that when it comes to God, WE have to be the ones to find Him. But today’s story shows that while we may be looking for God, He’s come to look for us too! And He wants to be found. And He wants to give to those who ask Him for help.

If we believe God created everything and everyone, just by speaking, then is it reasonable to believe that God has ALL THE POWER THERE IS? If so, then we could also assume He doesn’t need our help. But we see in the scriptures when Jesus healed people, He didn’t just speak and heal everyone. He healed individuals. Because those individuals then wen…

“He Is Risen!” “He is Risen Indeed!” This is a traditional Christian greeting goes back well over a thousand years, even quite possibly among the first generations of Christ followers. Today, we continue to proclaim this because this is THE foundation of our faith.

We all know that God loves everyone. But we can often find ourselves trying to add exceptions to God’s love, things like we’ve been seeing in the Gospel of Luke like “Yes, but not those with leprosy… not the tax collectors… not on the Sabbath… not those who hate us…” This week, we see a “sinful woman”, and how a religious man sees her and how God s…

We believe God loves us, even say “more than you know”… But God loves us differently than we love each other. Believe it or not, Luke 7:18-28 describes God’s love.

Last week in Luke 6, Jesus tells us to “love our enemies”. In Luke 7, we meet one of these “enemies”, a Roman centurion. But this man is more than an enemy… he is a man looking to Jesus for help. Help that we ALL need!

We all believe that God loves all people… and we all know that God expects us to love all people. We even know that we are supposed to love our enemies. But do we? Or do we have excuses to Jesus’ clear teaching about loving those who aren’t always so easy to love.

In Luke 6, we see once again how the “religious people” see Jesus, their Messiah, standing right in front of them, doing miracles… and all they can do is ask questions about what’s appropriate on the Sabbath. How do we religious people get this way?

We’ve heard of “blind spots” in our cars. But we can have spiritual blind spots in our walk with Jesus. Sometimes Jesus points these out to us, like He does in Luke 5:27-39. We can often think we are so safe in our beliefs… but then Jesus helps us to see what we have blinded ourselves from seeing, especially when it comes to how we see (or don’t se…

While we love God and are thankful for all He has done and continues to do for us, we will all have those times when God does something we don’t expect… Did we do something wrong? Are we being punished?

Since God has chosen PEOPLE as His main instrument for sharing His good news with the world, some may think that those will have to be exceptional people. Were Jesus’ 12 disciples exceptional people?

If you had a message of good news for the whole world, how would you go about sharing it? Today, we have mass media and the internet. But when it was time for God to announce His good news to the world that He was sending our savior, He chose a person. Why a person?

It is appropriate to refer to our belief in Jesus as a “faith”. And the Bible defines “faith” as being based in what we hope for but cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). But our faith is still based on facts. The first generation of believers “knew”, because they saw Jesus with their own eyes. But what about...…

We live in a culture that is unprecedented when it comes to information availability. All for it, not negative… but I think we’ve gone from information availability to information bombardment. So MUCH, isn’t it?

What was your favorite Christmas? Can you remember? For most of us, it’s a childhood Christmas, a time when you got that special toy, sort of a “Ralphie and the red ryder BB gun” moment. Maybe it was a bike, or a video game. How many of you your favorite Christmas is a time when you were an adult? Maybe a...…

If you hear that someone is coming and looking for you, what would you think? Is that good news or bad news? Advent means “coming” and Christmas is all about how our God is more than a God who created us. He’s a God who loves us and a God who is with us.

Stanley Tam gave God the majority…even when it wasn’t much. Stanley did this because God wanted Him to and he wanted God to have control. God used this generous...

The prophecies of Daniel, especially in Chapter 11, are so detailed that many still believe they HAD to be written after they had happened. But the power of our God is demonstrated in prophecies that are fulfilled.

In Daniel 10, God continues to not only give Daniel visions, but emphasizes that Daniel needs help too to understand it. As we’ll see today, Daniel needs help not only to understand it, but to actually bear it, to get through it. The same is true for us.

Daniel 9 contains a powerful prophecy in vv. 20-27 that can be confusing to some regarding the end times. These scriptures continue to be debated as to their exact meaning. See the chart below as we read Daniel 9:20-27…

Sometimes, current events occur and we wonder if they are part of the “End Times” that are prophesied in scripture. It’s true the scriptures do speak of the End Times, but not so we can make predictions or control the future. When tempted to make predictions, keep these two scriptures in mind… Matthew 24:34-42 and I Corinthians 14:3…

We now move into the section of Daniel dealing with visions and prophecies of the future. Some would be fulfilled in Daniel’s time, others still to be fulfilled in the future. Prophecies can be difficult to understand, especially when it seems God is allowing evil to reign through wars and wicked kings.…

Some people dismiss faith and instead insist on “proof”. But the power of our God is magnified when God does something and there are no proofs or facts or explanations… just faith. We often misunderstand faith and the power faith has, both for our lives and for those who do not know God.

Let’s begin with a deep theological question that has perplexed scholars for centuries…Would you tell someone they have spinach in their teeth? ...

I can still remember her putting down the phone. I can still see the disappointment in her face. I can still hear her crying as she ran out of the room. One of the ladies where I worked, call her “Melissa”, was getting married. I think most women dream about the day they will get married. Not only about the man, good to have one up there I guess, b…

Famous martyrs like Jan Hus (or “John Huss”) displayed great courage in speaking out against the wrongs being practiced by the church. How do you know when to take a stand and where do you find this kind of courage?

In the Book of Daniel, we read several stories that are set up to demonstrate the power of our God, things only God can do. Why? To see there is MORE than just this world and MORE than the things we see and control. Because often forget this and put so much of our faith in ourselves.

As we begin this new series in the Book of Daniel, it’s important to know the context, what’s going on during this time period. And probably the best way to start it off is by saying this:

Does my gift matter? I could go into how yes it does, all adds up, not just one or two holding getting us through. Most regular attending members give, which is...

We all see beggars by the roadside. And we all have different ideas or feelings about these people. In today’s scripture, we see not only a man who is healed, but a God who cares and responds when we cry out to Him.

I brought something with me today…no it’s not my lunch. Looks like it. We’ll be talking about a small lunch brought by a small child and what God did with it today…but that’s not it. Instead, I have some things here...