September 21, 2020
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. In 1961, a visitor walked into the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, in Glasgow Scotland, carrying a brick. He found a painting of the crucifixion and started to destroy it. His anger, his violence, his desecration of Christian art was not done out of hatred for… Read More »
September 20, 2020
What really makes a church grow. After 20 years of research you’d think we could come up with a simple answer. If fact we have. The problem is it looks so different from what we’ve done in the past that we often can’t recognize it as answer at all.
September 13, 2020
Grace to you, and peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Introduction: You may have seen it before, on a laminated card in a Christian bookstore or on the back page of a Bible in a hotel room. It’s a listing of passages to look up in the Bible when you are in need of a special… Read More »
September 11, 2020
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Fear. It is one of the most powerful and crippling emotions we have. Sometimes our fears are rational and reasonable, like fearing the power of nature, and sometimes they are not like the fear of little… Read More »
September 6, 2020
Grace, peace and mercy I pray would be yours in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you go to Coventry Cathedral, in England, and look toward the altar, you will be overwhelmed by the massive tapestry that rises before you. It depicts Christ enthroned in glory. A pale and wounded Jesus is seated on a throne. Surrounding… Read More »
August 30, 2020
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. In this series we have been looking at God’s greater story. The greater story of the presence and work of the one true holy Triune God. We have seen Christ our Deliverer, rescuing us from our sin. We have seen God our heavenly Father, claiming us… Read More »
August 23, 2020
Grace to you and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. We’re falling back into the “Change Series.” We’ll have one message a month exploring how our church can, and should, be growing. Last month’s message included some somber and distressing information. The Church in America is dying. In fact only a very small 16% of Christian… Read More »
August 16, 2020
Grace to you and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. I’d like to begin today by looking at two pictures: one is an etching, and the other a painting. They are both by the same artist. They are both of the same subject, but there is a world of difference between them. The artist is Rembrandt… Read More »
August 9, 2020
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Sometimes the smallest thing can tell a greater story. Your great grandmother’s hope chest. Stone markers telling of Civil War battles. The smallest things can tell much greater stories, extending over time and involving many people. Consider this silver cup. It was buried in the home… Read More »
August 5, 2020
Grace, peace, and mercy to you always in Jesus’ name. Amen. There is a tradition in our country that occurs at the end of most every presidential term. It is the tradition of the presidential pardon. If you are accused of a crime, go to trial, and are convicted, and exhaust all the appeals processes,… Read More »
