Continuing in Christ, part 3 in the series, "The Message of Life."Dear Church Family and Friends,What is the preeminent quality that God wants to characterize your relationship with Him? With others?  Jesus made his new commandment clear to his followers.  The Apostle John had been deeply impressed by the priority of loving God and others.  This single theme comes out over and over in his writings...  Read More

Overcoming: The Message of Life, part 2.Dear Church Family and Friends,How do we know that we have come to know Jesus Christ?  What shows that we have come into the light of the truth in Him?  How will we be able to go the distance in these last days? The Apostle John makes it clear that the true believer in Jesus Christ will evidence the new life made possible by Him. The true child of God eviden...  Read More

Walking in the Light, the first message in "The Message of Life" series. Dear Church Family and Friends,Think of a time when you had to walk in the dark?  How does that experience compare to walking in the light?  What was different? One of Jesus' direct disciples, John, gives us a message that draws a clear line between those walking in the life and light of Jesus and those who are not. A healthy...  Read More

Dear Church Family and Friends,  Confession: The first time I ever went snowboarding with friends, I lied about my riding experience and ability. I made myself out to be better than I actually was at the time. On the very first run, we went to the top of Mt. High to ride their black diamond (expert level) run. It took me two hours to get down the run just one time. I didn’t have the skill, experie...  Read More

Pursuing Unity Dear Church Family and Friends,  Who has been your favorite influencer?  A favorite teacher or coach?  What about a favorite pastor?  We all have had people we look up to and by whom we have been helped.  God may have used a variety of Christian leaders to influence our growth in Christ, or it may have been one person in particular.  It is not wrong to have favorites in the Christi...  Read More

New Age, Same Shallow PrinciplesHave you heard of the term “interpolation” before? Musical interpolation is when a melody, lyric, chord progression, or bassline is taken from an existing song to create a new audio recording. So much of the “new” music these days isn’t all that new.Similarly, “New Age” philosophies are not actually new either. Way back in the Garden of Genesis 3, the first deceptio...  Read More

How to be Right with God, part 1 in the "Calibrated" mini message series.Dear Church Family and Friends,   How do you respond when you find out that something you have thought was right, really wasn't?  What stirs in you when you hear others making a case for something they claim is "right", but their facts and reasoning are faulty?  How do you feel when your spouse questions the validity of your ...  Read More

Pain is a Microphone, "Through the Eyes of a Lion", week 6.Dear Church Family and Friends,  Here we are in week six of the “Through the Eyes of a Lion” church-wide series. This is the final week of the study, and the focus is on a powerful concept: “Pain is a Microphone.” The more it hurts, the louder you get. You see, suffering isn’t an obstacle to being used by God. It is an opportunity to be us...  Read More

Marriage Matters Blog, 008Daily affirmationsWe have a Ring camera doorbell at our house that is connected to my wife's phone. It's a lot harder to fib about my propensity to overwork these days, since she has a timestamp of my coming and going!Every day I aim to make it a point to ring the bell and look directly into the camera as I am leaving for the office or returning home. I'll share a few wor...  Read More

The Hope of Heaven, Through the Eyes of a Lion, Part 4Dear Church Family and Friends,  This Sunday, we’re diving into the unshakable hope of heaven. It's a place of complete healing, eternal peace, and perfect joy in the presence of God. So buckle up! No matter what you’re carrying right now, my prayer is that you leave with renewed excitement and expectation of the things to come.“No eye has seen...  Read More

Hurting with Hope, Through the Eyes of a Lion, Part 3Dear Church Family and Friends,  There is no easy way around it. Everyone experiences hurt in this life. We who have placed our faith in Jesus experience pain and grief in a different way. We hurt with hope, but hurting with hope still hurts. How do we still hold onto Jesus' hope when the hurt feels like it's too much? How does Jesus meet us in ...  Read More

The Invisible World, Through the Eyes of a Lion, Part 2.Have you ever compared a picture of space from the Hubble telescope to what you see from Earth with your natural eye?  It looks like two different universes!  332 miles from Earth, the telescope opens up our understanding by having a less obstructed view of deep space. We see not just planets and stars, but also galaxies and an increasingly e...  Read More