I wonder what it was like to be Jesus’ brother and watch him die; or his mother, sisters, or disciples. More than just the Messiah, here was a son, a brother, and a friend suffering not only death, but the most gruesome and tragic of deaths imaginable. While they knew on some level this death was not permanent, it sure must have felt permanent in the moment. We feel the pain of those closest to Je...  Read More

One of the likely reasons John wrote letters to the churches surrounding Ephesus was to warn them against the growing threat of Gnostic teaching. Not only did the Gnostics propose an idea of truth based on subjective and secret revelation, but they also offered false teaching about the person of Jesus. One form of Gnosticism taught that Jesus was not actually human. Instead, they taught that he on...  Read More

Over the past few weeks, thousands of college students have once again flooded our little town, an annual ritual that has been occurring here now for almost 200 years. Being a college student is uniquely difficult, and we as a local church can and should be looking for opportunities to minister to college students who come our way. In Luke 2:52, Jesus’ years in the teens and twenties are described...  Read More

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” – Galatians 5:13-15In o...  Read More

Over the summer, over ninety of our adults participated in Soul Care groups. Each group was comprised of 4-5 people, most being diverse in background, age, and interests. As the weeks rolled by, we began hearing from different ones participating. By and large the responses were very positive. We had groups enjoy dinner together in homes and restaurants, go swimming in a backyard pool and in a publ...  Read More

Each week in the worship guide we provide an order of worship, along with a sermon outline for note-taking, as well as relevant announcements on the back page. In many ways the worship guide can be a great tool for us to use in our personal devotional time throughout the week. First, we can use all of the different Scripture passages as ways to engage Scripture throughout the week, from the call t...  Read More