We all remember that famous kid’s story about the little train engine that had success with the repeated mantra “I think I can”, right?  If my experience is any measure of how many times that story has been used as a motivator, then I am guessing the real number is in the millions.  By chugging away and believing in himself, the little engine makes it over the great hill and finds success by never giving up.   I am a huge fan of motivation and hard work.  I think th ..read more

I had the privilege of officiating at the funeral of a long-time family friend recently. He was a quiet and unassuming man who simply showed up when needed and helped where he could. By profession he was a carpenter. To be more specific, he was referred to as a “finish man”. Finish man meant that he did the detail work that made a house unique. It was the stuff that was noticed. Trim work and molding and things like that. He was, quite frankly, a genius at it. Every ..read more

Have you ever been the only Christian in the room or at an event? Try being the only Christian and a pastor!  Let’s just say that people immediately treat you differently and act awkwardly. It is a feeling of conspicuousness like none other. Jesus said that we will be persecuted for His name’s sake. I am not suggesting that feeling awkward is congruent with torture and martyrdom, but I want us to recognize that being a Christian automatically puts us on a different radar.  Jesus had not intention of ..read more

To travel somewhere that is not one’s home is quite a privilege. Whether it is a friend’s house across town or to another country, you are being allowed into a culture that is not yours. I have found that it is good to listen and observe in these moments out of respect to others. I was very fortunate not very long ago to be able to sit in a hotel in Jerusalem and hear a talk given by an Israeli politician and a Palestinian leader. In the most divisive and seemingly irreconcilable place on earth, I li ..read more

  I have a good friend who loves fishing. He loves fishing so much that every time we are riding together and see a pond or a lake he begins to wonder out loud about the size of the bass that may be in that particular body of water. He doesn’t mean to do it, it just happens. He loves fishing so much that it is always on his radar.  One of the most elusive things in our world is the thought of seeing God. How can we imperfect and broken people ever see a perfect God? Yet God tells us that it is possib ..read more

One of the greatest hinderances to the Jewish people fully embracing Christ in the first century was their strong nationalism.  They were not asked to give up their Jewishness, simply to submit it to Christ and allow Him to be pre-eminent.  They, however, wanted every convert to Christianity to become Jewish as well.   In early Christian mission work, the same problem existed.  Missionaries from Europe would go to foreign lands and make converts for Christ, but they ..read more

by Guest Blogger Trenton Dockery When is the last time you looked in the eyes of someone who was unable to feed themselves? Maybe it was yesterday or a year ago. Trust me, in certain areas I understand if you have put yourself on a jet-line from one destination to another, not wanting to make eye contact with the people you pass by. But if you can think back, hunger and thirst have a look. As a matter of fact, when someone is in true need there are no words to describe what resonates when you see the ..read more

Boy, did I love superheroes when I was a kid. In fact, so much so that I still love superhero movies. Powerful people working to right wrongs and bring justice to the world. In most cases they were always virtuous and operated out of the highest values. The best part of watching them on television was that they could save the world in half an hour with a flash of power and might. In real life, most dramas are not solved in half an hour. As a matter of fact, real victories come with the passage of tim ..read more

For me, the best quote from last week’s message was “If you pray for God’s will you have to give up yours.” So often we pray to God and ask Him for help or guidance and then we keep doing things our way. There is a story in Scripture about a man who is in hell and asks God to send someone to tell his loved ones there is a better way. The response is that even if the dead come back and tell them some will still not hear it. When I think of that story it reminds me of just how hard headed and stubborn ..read more

Do We Really Need Jesus Written by Pastor Scott  based on thoughts of this week’s sermon. In our modern teaching and preaching of the Gospel, we have done a very good job of making sure that everyone knows God loves us.  Actually, we have made it abundantly clear that God loves us wherever we are in life.  This is the wonder we call grace and it is the one thing that saves us and draws us. The problem with this is we often come up short of all that God wants for us ..read more