Category Archives: Uncategorized
12-9-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Christmas Cantata
Join us this Sunday at 10:00 AM for our Chancel Choir’s Annual Christmas Cantata, “Seeking for me”. Come and enjoy the Message of Christmas as beautifully presented in musical form. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to bring friends and neighbors to our church as our Choir leads in worship.
(Because of the Cantata, there will be no 8:30 service this Sunday)
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12-2-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – What’s So Peaceful About Bethlehem?
On the Second Sunday in Advent we light the candle which represents the Peace of Bethlehem. If you’ve even paid paying attention to the news recently, you’ll know that ‘peace’ and ‘Bethlehem’ rarely appear in the same story. Whether its demonstrations over the Israeli occupation, or the Orthodox Priests and the Catholic Priests knocking heads over turf wars within the walls of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, there always seems to be trouble in Bethlehem.
This Sunday, we’ll look at two passages of Scripture, One Old Testament from Micah 5:1-5a, and one New Testament from Luke 2:1-7, and see if we can figure out why a place, over which we light candles to celebrate peace, seem to be so bereft of it.
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11-25-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Advent 1 – Against All Hope
10-21-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Living Patiently in an Instant World
In this passage, James focuses on things in life that cause us to be impatient or force us to be patient. Then, in his inimitable fashion, James gives us helpful ways to live patiently, even when circumstances make that very difficult.
On Sunday, we’ll take an in-depth look at WHEN it is important to be patient, and HOW to live more patiently when we find ourselves in those situations. We’ll also take a “long view” of what God is doing while we struggle to be patient.
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10-14-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Wise Living in a Tense World
This Sunday we continue with the seventh message in our series “Faith That WORKS!” and we’ll focus on James 3:17-4:12 and reflect on Proverbs 13:5-10.
In this passage, James focuses on the pitfalls of foolish living and the benefits of wise living. He exposes the causes of conflict, the reasons our prayers go unanswered, and why we often feel like God is so far away. In short, he exposes the roots of tension in our lives and in our world. Other than that, there’s not much here . . .
On Sunday, we’ll take an in-depth look at the roots of tension and uncover James’ advice for overcoming these pitfalls with three simple characteristics for wise living. So if you’ve already got it all figured out and have no tension in your life, don’t bother coming this Sunday . . .
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10-7-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Drive Thru Communication
This Sunday we continue with the sixth message in our series “Faith That WORKS!” We’re going back to the first chapter to focus on just two verses: James 1:19-20. This passage, though short, is packed with wisdom. We’ll also reflect on the wisdom found in Proverbs 10:1-10 to get an Old Testament perspective as well.
We’re going to delve deeply into this short snippet of scripture and we’ll use it to help us learn to better communicate with our loved ones. Oh, and we’ll also use an experience from the “Drive-Thru” at McDonalds.
Confused? Intrigued? Flabbergasted? You might be surprised by the simplicity and effectiveness of the “drive-thru communication” system. If you don’t come Sunday, you won’t know!
9-30-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – A Haven for Hypocrites?
I saw a great church sign that said,
“The church is not full of hypocrites . . . There’s always room for you!”
This Sunday we continue with the fifth message in our series “Faith That WORKS!” from James 2:14-26. This passage has caused a theological ‘food fight’ down through the ages. First because it seems to contradict the Apostle Paul’s theology of salvation ( that we are saved by grace through faith), and second because it essentially accuses Christians of hypocrisy.
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9-16-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Overcoming Temptation
We’ll look carefully at the origins of temptation in our lives and the mechanism it uses to infect us. Then we’ll focus on James prescription for the problem. We’ll also discover that though we are all susceptible we do not have to succumb. Continue reading
9-23-15 “Pastor’s Blast” – Breaking the ‘ISM’ Cycle
This Sunday we continue with the fourth message in our series “Faith That WORKS!” and take a close look at James 1:27-2:13. This passage contains what some scholars call “The Parable of the Nearsighted Usher” and is a scathing indictment of how churches inappropriately react to different types of people. James puts some Biblical Spectacles on us! Continue reading →