Genesis 2:4-84 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.  When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. 8&nbs ..read more

IntroductionToday, I want to talk about the significance of membership in the Church.  I want to examine three important questions.  What does it mean to be a member of the church?  Why become a member of the church?  And how do we become members of the church? Church membership is something that goes all the way back to Biblical times.  The Old Testament took great care to list members of God’s Kingdom.  It was important to know who was a member of God’s people.  Scribes kept meticulous records.  The first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles is just a ..read more

IntroductionThis is the last message in our series on Holy Ground.  We have studied the historical contexts of God making space to meet with people on Holy Ground.  We’ve learned about the Tabernacle where God chose to live in a tent while the Israelites wandered through the desert.  We learned about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem Solomon built to reflect the glory of God.  Today, we will consider the Church, the new living Temple where people meet with God on Holy Ground. This is also a significant day in the life of our congregation.  For today we will rededicate Ple ..read more

IntroductionLast week, we learned about the Tabernacle—the place the ancient Hebrews worshiped God.  Since the Hebrew slaves who left Egypt lived in tents as they wandered through the wilderness, God chose to live in a tent too.  He Instructed the Israelites to build the Tabernacle Tent.  The Israelites worshipped God in the Tabernacle for 480 years. However, after the Israelites established their kingdom in Israel and were all living in homes, God instructed King Solomon to build a house of worship, the Temple, in Jerusalem.  Today, I hope to express to you the ..read more

IntroductionThe blog is the second in a series about Holy Ground, to better appreciate dwelling in the holy presence of God leading up to a rededicate our church as Holy Ground on August 25th.  Today, one word is the focus of everything we will talk about:  Tabernacle.   In Exodus, God told Moses to go to Pharoah and tell him to let God's people go.  The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.  However, God delivered them through a series of ten plagues that brought Pharaoh to his knees.  So God led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness toward ..read more

IntroductionToday, we begin a new series about the Holy Temple.  But don’t think this is just a series of lectures about some ancient ruins of a long, lost temple.  What the Bible says about the Temple is highly relevant to your life today.  The New Testament teaches that Christians are the “Temple of God”, that each one of us is a “living stone” in God’s spiritual temple.  I want us to understand the full ramifications of what this means for how we are to live every day.  So for the next 4 weeks, we will explore the Biblical concept of Holy Ground.  And we will e ..read more

IntroductionLast weekend, my son and I took a road trip to wander through North and South Dakota.  Through teh magic of the internet, I was able to worship with my church online as the gifted Sherry Dickson shared about the power of prayer.  It will forever be one of my most cherished memories to worship with my church family at the online service while I was driving through some of God's grandest and most glorious creation crossing the border from North to South Dakota.  Pictures like the one posted here just do not do it justice.  I guess you have to see it for yourself ..read more

IntroductionThis 12th message in a sermon series on the Epistle of James is about patience and endurance.  I suspect we’ve all had to practice patience at some point in our lives.  And I’m sure we’ve all had to endure something.  (Some of you are probably thinking every Sunday you have to listen to one of my sermons is a act of patience and endurance.) James shares his wisdom about patience and endurance by introducing two ideas—one very earthly and practical and the other heavenly and spiritual.  The heavenly/spiritual one is about Jesus second coming.  ..read more

IntroductionWe are now in the last chapter of the Epistle of James.  Lord willing, we will spend 4 more weeks studying this letter that was written by Jesus’ half-brother.  The message today might make you feel uncomfortable.  I want you to know it makes me feel uncomfortable too.  Why?  Because James gives a stern warning to rich people.  And although I don’t consider myself a rich man, I do realize I live in one of the most prosperous nations on the planet.  According to zippia.com, the USA has the 7th highest avg annual income in the world - $70,930/year ..read more

IntroductionI woke up early this morning and decided to get on up and come to church and finish up my sermon on James 4:13-17.  As I drove in through the dark morning air around 5:30, there were a few fingers of thin fog crossing the road in the dips and depressions along the way.  It was pretty.  But it’s so dry, I knew the mist would evaporate before you got up to make your way here.  But the mist brought to mind this morning’s passage from the Epistle of James for it says our lives are like a morning mist that is here for a short time and then vanishes.   James 4:1 ..read more