October 13, 2019 We Are Called to be Holy
"Nobody's perfect..." You've probably said or heard that phrase a thousand times. But the fact is that there is ONE who is perfect - the God of the Universe who is declared "Holy, holy, holy" in Revelation 4. Not just holy. Not just holy, holy. But holy, holy, holy... a holiness beyond our comprehension!
Emil Brunner wrote, "Many Christians have what we might call a ‘cultural holiness.’ They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them…But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like Himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God."
This Sunday morning we'll talk about Jesus' call for us, his followers, to be a holy light to the world. Do we feel the Holy Spirit burning within our hearts, leading us on to be the holy people God created us to be?
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Matthew 5:38-48
- Oct 13, 2019We Are Called To Be Holy
We Are Called To Be Holy
October 13, 2019 We Are Called to be Holy
"Nobody's perfect..." You've probably said or heard that phrase a thousand times. But the fact is that there is ONE who is perfect - the God of the Universe who is declared "Holy, holy, holy" in Revelation 4. Not just holy. Not just holy, holy. But holy, holy, holy... a holiness beyond our comprehension!
Emil Brunner wrote, "Many Christians have what we might call a ‘cultural holiness.’ They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them…But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like Himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God."
This Sunday morning we'll talk about Jesus' call for us, his followers, to be a holy light to the world. Do we feel the Holy Spirit burning within our hearts, leading us on to be the holy people God created us to be?
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Matthew 5:38-48
- Oct 6, 2019We are Called to the Lord’s Table
We are Called to the Lord’s Table
October 6, 2019 We Are Called to The Lord’s Supper
Growing up the church my family belonged to would share the Lord's Supper every Sunday morning. When we were on a weekend family vacation, we would always rush back to attend the Sunday evening worship service where those who were absent in the morning could share the bread and cup together.
Sharing in the Lord's Supper isn't simply an obligation, the fulfillment of a commandment. It is obvious from Scripture that it is central to our life together as the Church, the Body of Christ. Gathering around the table is the moment when we "declare the Lord's death until he comes" (I Cor. 11:26). It is a declaration of and witness to our faith in Jesus and the saving power of the cross. It is where our weary souls can receive spiritual manna to carry us through the days ahead.
This week's sermon scripture from I Corinthians 11 reminds us that Jesus instituted this holy meal not during the heady days of adoring crowds crying "Hosanna!" but "on the night in which he was betrayed." As the shadow of the cross fell upon him, he reminded us through the bread and the cup that it was not for the praise of men that he came into the world - it was for the cross of Calvary, there to die for you and me in order to break the curse of sin.
I look forward to gathering with you at the table of our Lord this Sunday!
In Christ, Pastor Bob
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
- Sep 29, 2019We Are Called to Follow Jesus
We Are Called to Follow Jesus
September 29, 2019 We Are Called to Follow Jesus
There's probably no command in the Scriptures more filled with both challenge and hope than the call to follow Jesus. The challenge is to take up your cross, giving up control of your life's direction and sacrificing the "normal" life led by the majority of those around you. The hope is the promise of eternal life both now and forever.
This week's sermon scripture from Luke 9 shares the reality that answering His call is not always as simple as raising a hand or going forward when the preacher invites you to "accept" Jesus. It is a call that supersedes every other demand of life.
Blessings on your homes and families until then....
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Luke 9:56-62
- Sep 22, 2019We Are Called to Be a People of God’s Word
We Are Called to Be a People of God’s Word
September 22, 2019 We Are Called to be a people of God’s Word
I'll confess that my Bible reading habits have changed since I was a teen-ager. Back then I was a "Bible moth,"* hovering over the thin leather "Preacher's Bible" my parents had given me. I would carefully turn the tissue-like pages, underlining and highlighting and writing notes while monitoring a printing press in my dad's print-shop.
Times have changed since the early 70's when I read the Bible for the first time. The variety of ways we can access God's written Word is astonishing. On our phones, tablets, laptops, televisions.... the Bible is everywhere. What hasn't changed is the mission of the Bible - to tell the never-changing story of God's saving grace through Jesus Christ. I will always be thankful for those simpler days as a teen-ager when God first sewed the seeds of His sacred text in my heart, seeds of faith that grew and became the roots that still anchor me to my Lord and Creator a half century later.
This Sunday in the 11:00 service we'll explore our call to be a people of God's Word; trusting in the sacred Word that endures forever. I hope to see you in worship!
Blessings on your homes and families until then....
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Psalm 119
- Sep 15, 2019We Are Called to do Justice
We Are Called to do Justice
September 15, 2019 We Are Called to do Justice
Growing up I was a huge Superman fan. The Superman in comic books. The black and white TV Superman of the 1950's with George Reeves.
Remember that Superman? (Bonus points if you remember the two-part episode "Superman and the Mole-Men").
Do you remember what he stood for? "Truth, justice, and the American Way!"
That's right, not only was he a "superman" because he was "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"
He was a superman because he stood for something greater than physical strength. He stood for the very ideas that help give our lives meaning.
Those first two ideas, truth and justice, are primary themes in the Bible. This week we'll focus our Sunday message on the idea of justice. What does justice in God's Word look like? How might it differ from our culture's understanding? What would it look like if our church intentionally answered God's call to "do justice" while loving mercy and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)?
I hope to see you this Sunday morning! Blessings on your homes throughout the week.
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Micah 6:6-8
- Sep 8, 2019We Are Called To Care
We Are Called To Care
September 8, 2019 We Are Called to Care
Lydia and I have a dog named Sadie, a rat terrier. Sadie cares about a lot of things. She cares when it thunders. She cares when I'm eating something that smells good. She cares when Lydia and I have been gone on vacation and come back home. (Her shaking, wagging tail gives it away).
I love Sadie because she cares. She cares when I have a bee sting. Somehow she knows the sting is there and applies a few good healing licks. She cares when I sit down with her on the porch and scratch her behind the ear. She never makes an excuse about having to "get going."
She cares enough that every evening there comes a time when she jumps up on the sofa, puts her paws on my shoulders and looks me straight in the eye with the clear message "I want to play with you because you're my best friend." We wrestle a bit and I take her for a walk.
I know that no dog has ever taught a class or preached a sermon on caring. But every day Sadie reminds me that she cares for me with all her heart.
May we all remember that God has called us to be his caring, healing presence in this often broken world. He gave us dogs to teach us how.
In Christ, Pastor Bob
Luke 10:30-35