Sunday, December 31: Baptism Acts 2:38 Do you remember the day you were baptized? Was it in a lake, or a river, or a stream? Perhaps even a horse trough? No matter where you were baptized, it’s probably a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s the marker between an […]
Sunday, December 24: Christmas Luke 1:26-38 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” (Luke 1:30, 31) God is in the habit of doing a certain thing […]
Sunday, December 17: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 13:1–25 If you have never read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis you really should get around to it. It’s an imaginary story centered on a group of children who encounter Christ – except in the fictional world of Narnia, Jesus is represented by a huge lion, named Aslan.In […]
Sunday, December 10: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 12:18–29 As we enter Advent, we tune our hearts toward expectation. We celebrate Jesus’ first coming because it reminds us that He is coming again. Jesus’ incarnation was a rescue operation: He rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into his kingdom. We remember that […]
Sunday, December 3: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 12:3–17 A few years back I ran a marathon. Okay, it was a long time ago. Even though I was considerably younger it was still excruciating. It felt like running from Tacoma to the top of Mt. Rainier and back – barefoot. Your muscles ache, your lungs burn, […]
Sunday, November 26: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 11:32–12:2 “You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at stars you will find darkness is required.” Annie Dillard God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Is that true? The first part is, of course. God […]
Sunday, November 19: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 11:23–31 In Matthew 13, Jesus tells this story about a guy considering a piece of property. He goes out to inspect the land and decide whether or not it’s worth the asking price. While he’s poking around in the dirt, he notices something shiny. Curious, he digs around […]
Sunday, November 12: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 11:8–22 In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about a guy who had two sons. One day, the younger son came up to him and said, “Dad, give me my inheritance.” Though undoubtedly hurt by the request, the father grants it. The text says, “Not many days later, […]
Sunday, November 5: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 11:4–7 In Hebrews 11, the writer introduces us to a long list of people who lived “by faith.” At the same time, these same people, were considered weird, if not crazy, by the world around them.Noah’s neighbors no doubt believed he was certifiable when he began building a […]
Sunday, October 29: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 11:1–3 There are a lot of ideas floating around about what faith is. Some are metaphorical: “Faith is the heart of the soul.” (Anonymous) Some are theological: “Faith is to believe, on the Word of God, what we do not see and its reward is to see and enjoy what […]
In Luke 12:35-46, Jesus tells this story about a guy who goes off to a wedding and leaves some servants in charge of his house. Jesus said that foolish servants would take advantage of their master’s extended vacation and think, “party time!” After all, if the master returned to a scene from Animal House, things […]
Sunday, October 15: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 10:19–25 In 2 Samuel 6, David is transporting the ark of the covenant from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem on an oxen-drawn cart. When one of the oxen stumbles along the way, a guy named Uzzah reaches his hand out to touch the ark, and God strikes him down for […]
Sunday, October 8: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 9:15–10:18 A question is sometimes raised about the Bible, at least in the last few decades, if not before: What is the deal with all the blood? Have you ever wondered about that?Judaism has been called a “slaughter house religion.” Christianity has been ridiculed as the “Gospel of […]
Sunday, October 1: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 9:1–14 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) The Bible teaches that there is an inner place in every human life […]
Sunday, September 24: Freedom Sunday For nearly two decades we, as a church family, have been ministry partners with the International Justice Mission. Freedom Sunday is a movement to end the violent exploitation of over 45 million men, women and children trapped in slavery around the world. This Sunday, it will be our privilege to […]
Sunday, September 17: Life Entwined 2 Timothy 1 & 4 Be a Friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, also penned a lesser known work called Youth and Age. Written shortly before his death he reflects on his past and laments the passing of years and its physical effects. He wrote, for example:Nought cared […]
Sunday, September 10: Life Entwined Mark 8:27–9:10 Find God In Mark 9, the disciples had an astonishing encounter with God. They had grown accustomed to Jesus doing remarkable things, but none of them were expecting what awaited when Jesus invited them up a mountain (presumably to pray). Peter, James, and John hiked with Jesus, […]
We’ve had some many things going on this Summer concerning our outreach and mission trips. Check out today’s audio to catch up on some of the things God is doing in lives around the world.
Sunday, August 27: Who is This Man? Have you ever wondered why it matters that God put on flesh and dwelt among us? Or what the significance of God’s joining us meant for the world? As we wrap up our “Who is this man?” series considering the person and work of Jesus, we will be […]
Sunday, August 20: Who is This Man? Mathew 16:13–17 & Luke 4:16–21 Messiah It has been said that “the identity of Jesus is something like a jigsaw puzzle. It’s a puzzle that has been placed in every person’s hands to piece together before coming to some kind of conclusion.”In a sense, this is what we […]
Sunday, August 13: Who is This Man? Philippians 2:3–8 The True Human The great 21st century theologian, Jeremiah Hinton, in his recently released devotional, Who is This Man? writes: “I Corinthians introduces the idea of Jesus as the ‘last Adam,’ a perfectly obedient son who demonstrated how humans should have related to God.”Precisely. The Bible teaches that Jesus […]
Sunday, August 6: Who is This Man? The Suffering Servant Lord of Hosts. Bright Morning Star. Good Shepherd. These are a few of the many wonderful names for Jesus found in the Scriptures. He’s also known as the: Wonderful Counselor Alpha and Omega Mighty God Emmanuel Messiah Prince King Lion Man of Sorrows Wait. “Man […]
Sunday, July 30: Who is This Man? John 17:9–23 Jesus the High Priest/New Aaron Do you pray for your children?If you do, what do you pray? Maybe you pray for their health or safety. Maybe you pray that they’ll make good decisions. Maybe you pray that they’ll make good friends or find a good spouse. […]
Sunday, July 2: Who is This Man? John 2:1–11 The Miracle Worker “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God at the time of creation for the […]
Sunday, July 16: Who is This Man? Matthew 21:12–17 Jesus the ProphetThis week we are going to continue our series on Jesus called Who Is This Man? by looking at the prophetic ministry of Jesus in Matthew 21:12-17. Jesus was a prophet in the spirit of Elijah. What do you think of when you hear […]
Sunday, July 9: Who is This Man? Matthew 7:24–29 Last week Jeremiah introduced us to a new sermon series called Who Is This Man? All summer long, we are going to look at the biblical portrait of Jesus.We have a particular view of Jesus in our heads. For some, it’s Jesus the suffering servant. For others, […]
Sunday, July 2: Who is This Man? John 14:6 In our upcoming series, we’ll be taking a closer look at the person and work of Jesus, by echoing the question about him, “Who is this man?”To start things off, we’ll explore some of the ways we already see Jesus, the familiar patterns we have in […]
Sunday, June 25: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 8:1–13 This week we conclude our Sacred Spaces series by looking at Hebrews 8:1–13. Starting next week, we are launching into a summer series on Christology (what we believe about Jesus) called “Who Is This Man?” I am looking forward to spending the summer talking about Jesus!Before we launch […]
Sunday, June 18: Baptism You don’t want to miss this week. You have plans? Cancel them. This week we are going to baptize a number of people who want to make their faith in Jesus known. This is an extra special event for our congregation, as it marks not only an important step in faith […]
Sunday, June 11: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 7:1–28 “The gulf between God and us is still wider than we have so far considered. It is the chasm that yawns between us as rebellious creatures and God our righteous judge. It is not only that we lack the mental equipment to conceive him, but we lack the […]
Sunday, June 4: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 5:11–6:20 In Numbers 13–14, the Israelites come to the cusp of the Promised Land and send spies to check it out before they move in. While the spies return all agreeing that it is an amazing land flowing with milk and honey, ten of them consider the inhabitants too […]
Sunday, May 28: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 5:1–10 In one of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis, there’s a little girl named Aravis who has a slave girl. She treats her terribly. Aslan, the Christ figure in the Chronicle series, comes to Aravis and scratches her. She asks why he […]
Sunday, May 21: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 4:14–16 I am back from Bolivia and excited to teach again this week! We had an amazing time with Food for the Hungry and the people of Ushpa Ushpa. It was inspiring to see God work. If you see someone from the team, be sure to ask them about […]
Sunday, May 14: Mother’s Day, Baby Dedication and a Message for Everyone We get to celebrate Moms and dedicate some babies this Sunday, which is always delightful and meaningful, but we will also have a message based on a story in the Bible. It’s about a young woman who becomes a mother and a mother who […]
Sunday, May 7: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 4:1–13 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. We live in a world that works really hard to wear us down. Perhaps you have noticed. Life, in our fallen […]
Sunday, April 30: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 3:1–19 Have you ever thought about walking away from your faith in Christ?The first readers of Hebrews thought about it. Living in, or near, Rome they were beginning to feel the pinch of religious oppression. We learn in the letter that no one in the church had yet died […]
Sunday, April 23: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 2:10–18 We’re in the fourth week of our “Sacred Spaces” series about the high priestly ministry of Jesus out of the book of Hebrews. In Jesus, we see a high priest who is able to fully understand us because he chose to become exactly like us. Our verses this week […]
Sunday, April 16: Easter Three year old Nicole was as anxious for Easter to come as she had been for Christmas to arrive. One day, as Nicole and her father stopped at a store to buy her a new pair of shoes, for the tenth time she said, “Daddy, I can’t wait for Easter!”“Honey,” her […]
Sunday, April 9: Bolivia Update We have spent the last few weeks in the Book of Hebrews in a series we have called Sacred Spaces. In it, we have been talking about ways to encounter God in the everyday. Encountering God means living the way that Jesus lived—with eyes open to the hurts of the […]
Sunday, April 2: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 2:5–9 We are in the third week of a series called “Sacred Spaces,” about the high priestly ministry of Jesus as described in the Book of Hebrews. When we speak of “sacred spaces,” we mean the places where we encounter God—the places where heaven and earth seem to overlap. […]
Sunday, March 26: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 2:1–4 I heard some funny lines on the radio awhile back. There was a long list, but I was in the car so couldn’t write them all down. By the time I stopped I could only remember three: If at first you don’t succeed; skydiving is not for you. […]
Sunday, March 19: Sacred Spaces Hebrews 1:1–14 Hebrews has a message for the people of God who live in a world that refuses to acknowledge God: God has spoken. Gareth Cockerill The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who found themselves hanging on to hope by their fingernails. Nero, the cruel despot […]
Sunday, March 12: Jacob Genesis 48–49 Last week, we saw Jacob come into his own—he became one of the great patriarchs of Israel. But what of the promises made to Abraham and Isaac? Did they come true, or did Jacob the rascal squander God’s favor? Further, what does all of this mean to us?In Genesis […]
Sunday, March 5: Jacob Genesis 35:1–29 When we think of Jacob, we think of him as one of the great patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the fathers of the Jewish nation—the great patriarchs of the people of God. However, to this point in his story, Jacob hasn’t acted very patriarchal. In fact, he’s been […]
Sunday, February 26: Jacob Genesis 33:1–20 Jacob is on his way home. Twenty years before, he defrauded his brother and was forced to run for his life to escape his wrath. Esau, in fact, had promised to kill him. Esau is a big, strong, hairy guy with bow hunting skills. To make matters worse, Jacob has […]
Sunday, February 19: Jacob Genesis 32:1–32 If there was ever a man who found himself between the proverbial “devil and the deep blue sea,” it’s Jacob between the day he leaves behind his father-in-law, Laban, and the day he meets up with his brother, Esau.At the end of Genesis 31 Laban is behind him and […]
Sunday, February 12: Jacob Genesis 31:1–55 Jacob’s story begins with a word from God that his older brother Esau will serve him. But even from the beginning, it’s difficult to imagine how this might be. Esau is older. He’s stronger. He’s bolder and braver. His father is on his side. He doesn’t look ready to […]
Sunday, February 5: Jacob Genesis 30:25–43 We have been journeying through the life of Jacob for a few weeks now. From his angel-heralded birth, to his deception of Esau and Isaac, to his vision of God, Jacob’s life has been full of drama. Now we’ve know from the beginning that Jacob would inherit the blessing […]
Sunday, January 29: Jacob Genesis 29:1–30:34 As we return to our study in Genesis, Jacob has left home to escape the wrath of his bow hunting brother. Esau would like nothing better than to turn him into a human pin cushion for stealing his blessing. So, out of fear, he walks 50 miles on his […]
Sunday, January 22: Jacob Genesis 28:1–22 There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not… because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. Frederick Buechner “There are two great tragedies in life,” […]
Sunday, January 15: Jacob Genesis 26–27 Have you ever found yourself saying that you have been blessed by God? What does that mean?Is blessing proof that God loves us more than others? Is blessing a sign that we are better or more righteous than most people? What about those who don’t experience blessing? What about […]
Sunday, January 8: Jacob Genesis 25:19–34 Last year we studied the life of Abraham. It was an awesome glimpse of a man of amazing (albeit inconsistent) faith. There were times when Abraham trusted God with the impossible. There were other times when he thought things were too perilous even for God and he decided to […]