God’s Character

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#Don’tMissIt!!

Friday, December 22nd, 2023

Victory

What do the Innkeeper, Herod and the Religious leaders all have in common?  Well…I suspect the title of this post gave it away.  They all missed Christmas. Well…not Christmas as we know it. Obviously. But they did miss the significance of the birth which took place right under their noses.

At the same time there are some who did not miss Christmas. The most obvious are Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men. But there were two who had waited a long time and finally saw their wait come to pass.  I am, of course, talking about Simeon and Anna (See Luke 2:25-40 for their stories).

Back to the first three. This Sunday I will talking about how they missed Christmas and why. I thought I would give you a taste of what I will be saying.

1. The Innkeeper missed Christmas because he was too preoccupied. Have we gotten so preoccupied with life that we miss it?

2. Herod (and others like him) miss Christmas because they refuse to believe or they see Him as a threat. Like Scrooge, they work without a thought given to others or the true meaning of the season.

3. The religious leaders missed Christmas because of their religion. The big question-the huge question-is this: if the religious leaders knew of Messiah’s birth and where it was to take place, why did they not go with the magi or form a group to go together? I mean, if I had been looking for something to happen for years, and I knew it was prophesied to happen, why would I stay home? Surely they had some curiosity. But then again…maybe not.

We have one service on Sunday morning at 10:00 so if you plan to attend or watch online please keep that in mind. We also have a Christmas Eve service planned at 5:00 that will be laid back, involving singing some carols, hearing some testimonies, taking communion together, watching a Christmas video, and listening to Mollie Wainscott play O Holy Night on her violin. The morning service will be live streamed but not the evening.  I look forward to seeing you.

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#RoleofaLifetime

Friday, December 15th, 2023

Victory

 Aspiring actors and actresses are everywhere. I went to high school with Jeff Goldblum. My senior picture is on the same page in our yearbook as his. I had no clue Jeff would leave our high school and head to New York for the stage and ultimately to a TV show named TenSpeed and Brownshoe, and then on to Jurassic Park, Independence Day, multiple other movies, and finally back to TV with Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

For every successful actor there are hundreds, maybe thousands who never make it. At best, they are two-bit players. Truthfully, some people are looked at that way. Many overlooked. Many seen as hacks. It happens all the time, in every profession. Sunday’s sermon will be dealing with two groups of people. One, is seen as little people. The others are seen as big people. Well…at least as the world looks at them that way. But in God’s eyes, there are no little people and there are no big people.

Shepherds and Wise men. The have’s and the have not’s.  The clean and the unclean.  The “welcome-to-my-world” versus those who are “not welcome anywhere.” The stories are familiar but I will be praying we all might learn something new this week. I look forward to seeing you in person at 9:00 and 10:45 or via live stream.

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#K.N.O.W.

Friday, October 13th, 2023

Victory

Perhaps you have heard the story of the 6 year old boy who was drawing a unique picture rather furiously. The adult who saw it asked him what he was doing. Tommy answered, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” The adult said, “But no one know what God looks like.” To which Tommy said, “They will when I’m done.”  🙂

With this sermon bringing my part of this series to a close (Pastor Ryan is preaching next week), we have spent almost two months looking at the God we worship. In no way have we exhausted what we can know, but what we have seen is that He is not a God who is unreachable, unknowable, or untouchable. He is very much a God who is alive and interested in every detail of our lives. He is a God we can K.N.O.W.  As you can guess, I have taken the word K.N.O.W. and made an acrostic out of it using Psalm 18 as the catalyst Scripture to paint a picture of God, which I hope will stick with us even though I am bringing this series to a close.

I won’t keep you in suspense as to what the K.N.O.W. stands for though:

KEYSTONE

NEAR

OPEN

WORSHIPED

The dominant theme of Psalm 18 is that God is our Rock! He is our shelter and our refuge.  He is the “Rock of Ages” as August Toplady once wrote and we sang about. Please join us in person at 9:00 and 10:45 or via live stream.

 

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#GoodGoodFather

Friday, October 6th, 2023

Victory

First, a confession. “Good Good Father” is one of my favorites.  “You’re a good good Father that’s who you are/And I’m love by You, that’s who I am, that’s who I am.”

All of us have different experiences with our dads. But what unites us is the need that’s woven into our souls-the need to be loved, and treasured, and noticed, and accepted by our fathers. No matter how much we try to defiantly deny it, we all need our father’s approval. It is the same with God. We want and need our Father’s approval, our Father’s blessing.

The Bible is filled with references to God as our Father. Deuteronomy 32:6. Psalm 103:13. Mark 14:36. Romans 8:15. Galatians 4:6 (the last three refer to calling Him “Abba”).  This Sunday I’m going to expound further on this idea of God as our Father.  Surprisingly, even though I thought this would be an “easy” sermon to prepare, it has actually been the most difficult one of this series. God is our Perfect Father.

Please join us in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.  I would be honored if you would do so and thank you for your presence.

BIG DAY COMING MONDAY, OCTOBER 9TH!!

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#GodisGood

Friday, September 29th, 2023

Victory

It is hard for us, when we consider the incredible testing some people go through, to see how they remain faithful. To many people’s way of thinking, being thankful for adversity goes against their grain. “It’s not normal,” they will say. Then the questions start: “How can you be thankful for the death of a loved one, or a baby, or the diagnosis of ALS or MS?” That question looms larger when the person was a perfectly healthy individual and then BAM!  Or here is another one: “How can I be thankful for this financial downturn?”

Honestly, I’m not thankful for the adversity; I am thankful for the God who walks with me through the adversity.

The goodness of God is a sensitive topic, if for no other reason that the examples I just gave. Knowing and believing in the goodness of God is so important to our view of God.  Goodness, defined by J.I. Packer is “something admirable, attractive, and praiseworthy.” Pastor Chip Ingram in his book The Real God, defines the goodness of God as kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men.”

God’s goodness is not conditional. He feels that way about us all the time. God is infinite in His goodness. His goodness does not run out. He doesn’t give us a timeline to operate under.

As you can gather, my sermon Sunday is on the goodness of God. I’ve entitled it God is Great…God is Good?  I look forward to having you join us at 9:00 and 10:45 in person or via live stream.

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#OneTrueGod

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

Victory

Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (NASB2020).  To go along with that verse is a quote from A.W. Tozer in his book, Knowledge of the Holy: “What comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  To combine the two: what we focus on when we think about God will define us.

The buzz saw we run into as we form our thoughts is a teeny, tiny influence called “culture.” (Remove tongue from cheek).  Much is said these days that we all worship the same God and that all roads lead to the same place. Is this true? Is it egotistical? Is it sectarian to say that? Is it judgmental?

This Sunday my sermon is going to confront these accusations head on. For the purpose of information the first part of the message is going to show how different faiths represent God. Deism. Mormonism. JW. Scientology. Islam. Hinduism. New Age. And more.  I think folks will be rather surprised to see what other faiths believe.

The second half of the message will be a look at Deuteronomy 4:15-40 and see what God thinks of our “idol” worship. One high point I will be bringing out is that Religion is spelled “DO.” Christianity is spelled “DONE.” Religion is based on people doing something; Christianity is based on what Christ has done.

I would love to have you join us in person at 9:00 or 10:45. If you are unable to do so, then please join us online at the same time. We have a Facebook Page and also a YouTube channel. You can access either by going to the church’s website and clicking on the link.

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#Unchangeable

Friday, September 15th, 2023

Victory

The high-brow “religious” word for this week’s sermon thought is IMMUTABILITY. Simply put: the word means “Unchangeable.”

With our ever-changing world it is easy to get confused. It is also easy to begin thinking God changes as well. That is especially true when we consider our culture.  God established a covenant with His people. Noah. Abraham. The people of Israel. With us. The word covenant means binding agreement. The “owner” of the covenant agrees to certain things if the one signing the agreement sticks with his/her end of the bargain.

But, no matter how you shake it, it still comes down to the unchanging nature of God. J.I. Packer wrote a book back in the ’70s called Knowing God. I’m going to be sharing some thoughts from that book and I thought I would put them here for you:

God’s life does not change.

God’s character does not change.

God’s truth does not change.

God’s ways do not change.

God’s purposes do not change.

God’s Son does not change.

If you would like to hear more then please join us in person or via live stream. You can find the link to our FB page and YouTube page on the church’s website. We offer two services at 9:00 and 10:45.

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