Tue, 31 December 2019
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Mon, 23 December 2019
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Mon, 9 December 2019
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Mon, 2 December 2019
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Mon, 18 November 2019
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Mon, 11 November 2019
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Mon, 4 November 2019
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Mon, 28 October 2019
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Mon, 21 October 2019
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Mon, 14 October 2019
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Mon, 7 October 2019
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Mon, 30 September 2019
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Tue, 24 September 2019
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Mon, 16 September 2019
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Mon, 9 September 2019
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Tue, 3 September 2019
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Mon, 26 August 2019
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Mon, 12 August 2019
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Mon, 5 August 2019
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Mon, 29 July 2019
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Mon, 22 July 2019
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Mon, 15 July 2019
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Wed, 10 July 2019
Do you ever stress about things like politics, the direction of our country, or the issues facing our world today... why do we need to enter this? |
Mon, 24 June 2019
We are going to discuss a question and objection almost every person in the world has asked about God. It doesn’t matter if you lived 4000 years ago or today, this question has haunted mankind from the beginning of time. |
Mon, 17 June 2019
We rarely choose to do something hard when there is an easier way. Our natural tendency is to pray for good days and simply endure the hard days. This Sunday we are going to talk about Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:12. Solomon gives us a different perspective on death, speed, patience, and wisdom. The contrarian wisdom in this passage will fly in the face of our natural way of thinking and help us understand that the more difficult path is worth the work. |
Mon, 10 June 2019
Stuff. If you have ever had a garage sale you know that by the end of the day, you just can’t wait to get rid of the stuff you were trying to sell. In the beginning, you haggled and negotiated for the best price but by the end, you are willing to give it away. After it is all over, you swear that you will never fill your garage with stuff like that again. |
Mon, 3 June 2019
Last week we learned that we will not find lasting comfort, contentment, and true community here under the sun, but we can find it in a relationship with Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to experience meaning by living our lives for Him. But how do we approach and get to know God? |
Tue, 28 May 2019
We all need relationships with other people. We want to share the good times with people we love because there is something empty about success when you are by yourself. We need relationships in hard times so we can lean on one another for help and encouragement. Relationships and community are the backbones of the human experience and the church. |
Mon, 13 May 2019
Many of us are familiar with the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:30 where he says, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. Yet, in Ecclesiastes, Solomon in his pursuit of wisdom seems to have a heavy heart when he says, “I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race” (3:10). I am guessing that you are feeling this burden as well and I am looking forward to working through it with you. |
Mon, 6 May 2019
A hypothesis is when you have a statement you think is true and then you test it to see if it is actually true. Fishermen do this all the time when they go fishing. If the temperature is cold they might try a certain lure or depth to catch the fish. They have an idea that they think is true about where the fish are and they test it with the type of tackle they use to catch it. |
Mon, 29 April 2019
So what is all this for? We wake up, walk the dog, get the kids to school, go to work, come home, eat dinner and repeat. As we labor under the sun, do we ever stop to ask ourselves, what is the purpose of all this? This is the question Solomon is asking Ecclesiastes. |
Mon, 22 April 2019
HE HAS RISEN! Can you imagine being there for the moment when the news broke? The women returned from Jesus' grave to report the most amazing news to the disciples. Jesus Christ is no longer in the grave, He is alive. What incredible news! This day must have been the best day of their lives. However, remember fresh on their minds would have been the worst day of their lives when they experienced the horrific news that Jesus would be crucified on the Cross. Imagine hearing the bad news that Jesus was crucified and then the good news that Jesus has risen so quickly after. The extreme change in news in a short period of time made the fact the Jesus is risen that much more powerful. The cross is truly bad news. The cross shows us the true consequences of our sin, displayed on the cross. The Resurrection shows us the amazing gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus. |
Mon, 22 April 2019
Forgiveness. Forgiveness has never been more graphically communicated than what we see on the Cross. Jesus stopped at nothing to make sure that we could experience the forgiveness that God is offering through a relationship with Jesus Christ. After being nailed to the cross, Jesus prays to the Father and says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiveness is powerful. For those that have been forgiven a great debt, the weight and pressure are instantly lifted. Sometimes we carry unforgiveness around like great boulders in our backpack. |
Mon, 15 April 2019
Just before the climactic ending of the crucifixion during the one day that changed the world, Jesus is put on trial. The irony of this trial is that later, Jesus will return and all of humanity will be put on trial. We will have to give an account for our sins of which we cannot pay. During this earthly trial, Jesus reveals who he is to us foreshadowing the trial that will happen at the end of days. |
Mon, 8 April 2019
As we continue in our One Day Series leading up to Easter I want you to think about pivotal moments in your life. By pivotal moments, I am thinking about moments or decisions that either changed your life or had the potential for your life to be on a very different path. As we look at the final days of Jesus’ life this weekend, we will see Him in a pivotal moment and witness His inner struggle to do what He knows He should do. |
Mon, 1 April 2019
One Day that changed the world. One Day when all of the prophecies of old came to completion. One Day when mankind saw the purpose of history leading up to that day and every day after. One Day. What about your “One Day?" What was that day like when Jesus came into your life? What was that day like when He changed the course of your future? Have you had that experience with God? Is your One Day yet to come? This week we will focus on the scene of the upper room. Jesus does the unthinkable as He puts Himself in the place of a slave and washes His disciple's feet. While we don’t wash feet in our culture today, it is clear that Jesus is showing His disciples something He believes is extremely important. |
Mon, 25 March 2019
From Stressed to Strengthened… and everything in between. As we’ve been journeying through the book of James our hearts have been challenged to grow and persevere well, in times of pressure, in trials and in progress toward spiritual maturity. To have our walk line up with our talk requires wisdom, decisive action, humility, and prayer while ultimately loving each other well. |
Mon, 18 March 2019
Last week we talked about how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Pride is a heart issue that has outward signs that are recognizable. This week, we are going to ask God to check our hearts. There is nothing wrong with identifying something as wrong or right. However, when do those moral convictions turn into slander or judgment? There is nothing wrong with making plans for the future, but when do those plans turn into our will versus God’s will? God cares about our innermost thoughts because he knows that what comes out of our hearts turns into actions. |
Mon, 11 March 2019
What does it mean to submit our lives to God? Does it mean we have to live lives that are boring with a list of dos and don’ts. In the book of James, we are going to see the dangers of trying to live life our way versus living for Jesus. God desires us to humbly submit our lives to Him. |
Mon, 4 March 2019
“What causes fights and quarrels among you?” This is how James 4 begins. This question seems incredibly relevant today as we witness the many arguments that polarize our culture. Disagreements and sometimes heated exchanges lead to damaged relationships and hurt feelings. However, inside the family of God, should such arguments divide us? |
Mon, 25 February 2019
Life is filled with tough decisions that require wisdom. Do I take the job in another state? Should we be involved in sports as a family? How should I discipline my kids? How should we prepare for retirement? What should we do with our time now that we are retired? What college should I go to? All of these decisions require us to use wisdom to discern what is best. However, how do we use the wisdom that comes from God rather than “wisdom” that comes from earthly sources? When we live our lives wisely, there is no guarantee that everything will turn out the way that we want it to. Wisdom comes from God. When we walk through life using heavenly wisdom, we get the opportunity to live in accordance with His desires. |
Mon, 18 February 2019
Words are POWERFUL! Words have led to the rise and fall of nations. Words of encouragement or good news can lift up our spirits while negative words and bad news can cast us into the depths of despair. Many times, we use words carelessly and without thought. What if we treated words as if they had great power? What we say does have great power and we need to be careful about what comes out of our mouths. |
Mon, 11 February 2019
When we use the word faith, we might think differently about what it means. I have faith that the winter is going to continue for the next 6 weeks. I have faith that the Minnesota Wild hockey team will make the playoffs. I have faith that my car will start when I turn the key. James is going to show “faith” in a different light. Faith is KNOWN by our DEEDS. We know that we have faith when we put our trust in something. You can see a person’s faith by how that faith effects their interactions with others. |
Mon, 4 February 2019
Prejudice and discrimination have caused so much heartache in our country and in our society over the years. However, this is not a new problem, it has been going on for decades. In the church, we are one in the Lord and have the opportunity to unite around the amazing work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In James chapter 2, we see how scripture addresses favoritism and discrimination in the early church. I think you will be surprised to hear how applying the solutions to these can be simple and refreshing. |
Mon, 28 January 2019
How many times have you experienced when someone says they are going to do something and then they do the exact opposite? The next thing that runs through your mind in these situations is, can I trust what that person has to say? As Christians engage the world we live in, the world is looking at our actions not only our words. When our words and our actions line up, our words have meaning and truth. The primary thesis in James 1:22 is “do not merely listen to the word. Do what it says.” We can know the Bible inside and out but if we do not do what the Bible teaches it is completely worthless. Our knowledge must be accompanied by action. |
Mon, 21 January 2019
Words are like toothpaste. Once they are spoken, they don’t go away. You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube any more than you can put words back in your mouth. As we continue our study in James, we are challenged to use our ears more and our mouths less. |
Mon, 14 January 2019
Last week we started the series in James called Wholeness. The book of James is written to believers with incredibly practical instruction on how we are to live out our lives. James opens with how we endure trials of many kinds. We all go through trials and must learn to let perseverance finish the course. This week we are going to look at some specific trials, the testing of our faith through wealth and temptation. |
Wed, 9 January 2019
Struggle. Trial. Hardship. We would love to think that if everything were going the way it was supposed to go, we would not experience these unfortunate events. For some reason, we think that when hard times or struggles come, it must be bad. In our hearts, we know this isn’t true. Sometimes bad things just happen. Sometimes your car breaks down. Sometimes relationships are strained. Sometimes we lose a loved one, but that doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. What if trial and struggle happen when something is going right? In James, we learn that trials are NORMAL. James even argues that it is as valuable as pure gold. Join us as we start our series exploring James. This will be the first of what will be a holistic perspective on the Christian life as we study the book of James. |
Wed, 9 January 2019
We often view leadership as something only a select few must do. We can all be leaders, right? In a sense that is true. However, Jesus communicates and models truths about leadership in his entire ministry. In another sense, we all are leaders to some degree. Many of us are mothers and fathers, leading our families and homes. Many of us are in professions where we lead others and direct others. If you are a student, you have the opportunity to lead teams and lead in the classroom. Leaders are everywhere. How can we be great leaders in our families and the world we live in? Jesus modeled perfect leadership. In this sermon we are going to discuss Jesus and leadership. Jesus turned many of the ideas of leadership upside down, so be prepared to be challenged! |