Psalm 139:7-10, “God with us”, [Listen]

Scripture shows us a God who is ALWAYS here, always close, always with his children. I’m not sure we can actually understand how very close God is to us. As finite creatures we often function within the limitations of our spatial existence and we find it difficult to connect with a God that is Spirit. That’s one of the reasons Jesus came – so we can better grasp and relate to God. Read the rest of this entry »

James 5:13-20, “publicly confessing sin” [Listen]

Our culture today is desperately looking for real meaning, purpose, hope and relationship. This is GOOD NEWS for us here today – we have that to share. We have that to share in the person of Jesus and we should have that to share in our fellowship. God’s design is that we live meaning, purpose, hope and relationship! The problem is that much of what passes for Christianity today is nothing more than a different version of the world’s priorities and values. In the end it’s about the money, it’s about the “club”, it’s about self – how can we spin the Bible so that we can live for this world’s priorities and still talk like my loyalty is to Jesus and the Kingdom. Read the rest of this entry »

Mark 6:53-7:4, “rejecting religiosity” [Listen]

Following Jesus is not for the faint hearted. It is a call to become like the One who saved us. The Spirit-lead life will inevitably stretch us. It will call us to risk and to spend our lives for others. We will be asked to let go of religiosity and move to a relationship-driven life where we trust King Jesus with everything. There is no room for religiousity.

Today we are going to see an example of the tension between religiousity and serving Jesus. Read the rest of this entry »

Matthew 25:14-30, “working for the Master” [no audio - I messed-up]

Last week we examined the great commission and found that those who follow Jesus; those who are the salt of the earth and light of the world are to be about their father’s business – making disciples.  Today we’re going to look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.  This contains a VERY important message for us. Read the rest of this entry »