Hi Friends, I can’t believe it, but we are already a third of the way through the summer. You probably don’t appreciate that reminder. But don’t get mad at the messenger! Please take it as an encouragement to enjoy this season while it is still here ? As I said in our family meeting, we have some big changes coming this Fall as we will be going to two services. I know there may be mixed feelings about this change. I have mixed feelings too. But here are some things we can pray about that will help posture our hearts for what God has for us in this new season of our church life together. 1. Let ..read more

As we get ready to go to two services on September 17th (9am and 11am), I’ve been freshly reflecting on why we gather for worship as a church. Scriptures like Ex. 19; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 1 Cor. 14:26-39; Heb. 10:25, show us the tremendous significance of gathering together for corporate worship. God has created the Christian life to be lived from Lord’s day to Lord’s day, and our gathering for His worship is the high point of our week. When I was in sales, I always prepared for major client meetings well before the meeting started. I’m sure you prepare for impo ..read more

This is the final post in this three-part series on how to get the most out of our Sunday Worship. Scripture says that our time of corporate worship is the high point of our week. So how can we set ourselves up to receive what God has for us on the Lord’s Day? Part 1 discussed how to prepare for Sunday worship. Part 2 suggested ways to engage in Sunday Worship. Here in part 3, let’s consider how God can use our new two-gathering format for Sunday Worship. Starting on September 17th, we will have a 9am and 11am worship gathering. To be honest, I’ve always opposed having two gatherings. As we co ..read more

Hi Friends, I am still processing what the Lord was doing in our midst this past Sunday. When the pastors and I felt led to end our worship gathering with an offer to pray for people to be freshly filled with the Holy Spirit, we didn’t expect to have almost a third of the church respond. It was hard to hold back tears as person after person just kept coming forward. Praise God for His kindness, grace, and mercy that so sweetly draws us to Himself.   When God moves in mighty ways, we need to be sensitive to what He is doing and continue to consider how He is calling us to respond. Her ..read more

Hi Friends, As we come into a new year, we want to set aside time for prayer and fasting, asking God to lead us as we join Him on His mission for His church to make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God. God can do more in a moment than we could in a lifetime, so we are eager to cry out and ask Him to move in our church and our city. We ask each person who can set aside one day and fast and pray for the following things. Make Disciples That God would give us opportunities to share the gospel with our unbelieving friends, co ..read more

Hi friends, I was asked a really good question following Sunday’s sermon, and I think it is something that others might be wondering about too. Before sharing the question, let me give the context. I was preaching on Jude 3-4 and the call for Christians to contend for the faith. We took a deeper dive and saw that this call is not a charge for Christians to argue about every matter related to Christian doctrine. Jude’s call is for Christians to contend for the truth about the One in whom they place their faith. In other words, it is a call to fight for the gospel, the good news of Jesus. Intere ..read more

In the sermon this past Sunday, we saw how important it is to give ourselves to continually growing in knowing God’s word.  But how do we start?  First, I would recommend getting a study Bible.  We use the ESV translation at the church, and so an ESV study would be great.  Second, pick out a Bible reading plan.  Here are a few suggestions. 52 Week Bible Reading Plan Read through the Bible in a year with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels. 5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan Read thro ..read more

Last week, I started a 3 part series on how to get the most out of our Sunday gatherings. Our time of corporate worship is the high point of our week. So how can we receive all God has for us on the Lord’s Day? Part 1 of this series was about preparing ourselves for Sunday worship. Here in part 2, let’s consider how we can experience worship through serving in Sunday worship. We will miss out on what God has for us in Sunday worship if we treat it like a spectator sport and show up with a consumer mindset of sitting back and being passive. God says to be part of his church is to be part of his ..read more

Hi Friends, In the sermon this past Sunday, I encouraged us to consider making Bible reading and prayer the way to start our day. Obviously, you can read your Bible and pray at any time throughout the day. However, Scripture does seem to place a priority on doing it in the morning to set the tone for the whole day. To support that point, I reference Psalm 94. However, what I meant to say was Psalm 90:14. My tongue got tied, and someone pointed out my mistake to me later. Psalm 94 is about God pouring out judgment on His enemies, so definitely a different theme than what I was referencing! Psal ..read more