John 8:12-19When Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," the Pharisees questioned him. If you're going to say something like that, you're going to need proof. Where are your witnesses to what you're saying, Jesus? Who can confirm this? How do we know you're speaking truth?I laugh when I read this passage. Jesus' response is, essentially, God is my witness. Can you imagine how you would respond if someone told you that today? Apparently, God says a...

 1 Chronicles 2:7-13Our possessions, wealth, honor or success are blessings from God. If we have a lot of stuff, it must be because God's been good to us. If we're wealthy, of course, God blessed us.But not necessarily, right?Are all wealthy people blessed by God? Are God's blessings stuff?Some of the people I've met who have felt most blessed by God have had less of what we call blessings. No second or third cars. No new home. No raise. Not even three...

 I'm not sure if I've ever preached wearing a Christmas sweater before. The week before, I told the church to watch the weather. Depending on how hot it would be, we'd make it either ugly Christmas sweater or ugly Christmas t-shirt Sunday. I'm always cold now. So, I went with a sweater. These churches keep the sanctuaries so cold these days--do I sound old enough to say that?Oh, and we should just go with Christmas sweater. Some people's ugly is...

 Titus 3:4-7Friends, it's Christmas. The goodness and loving kindness of God has appeared and has a name, Jesus. His is the ultimate one-size-fits-all gift. Christ came and brought salvation to all. What other gift could stir in us such joy and hope? What other treasure could we expect to find?And yet scripture reminds us that with salvation comes another gift.I have a hope for you today. Today and always, really. That within your celebrations and moments...

Watch on YouTubeThis sermon wrapped up our 2024 Advent sermon series, Incarnation. Each week, I encouraged the church to look for how God's hope, peace, joy and love show up incarnationally, in the flesh, around them. And to commit to being God's hope, peace, joy and love in the flesh themselves to the people they come to know.  Stay blessed...johnDay 1: Embodying the Hope of ChristScripture Reading: Romans 15:13“May the God of hope fill you...

 Isaiah 9:2-7It happens to us preachers. Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we'll kick ourselves because we forgot to say something in the sermon we thought was important. That happened to me this week. As it often is for me, there was one sentence I wanted to say. One thing that would tie everything together.We read from Luke about Mary visiting Elizabeth. The women rejoiced together because they had a strong sense of what God was about to do through...

 Genesis 25:19-28Waiting is a major theme of Advent. We remember that God's people waited for the promise of Messiah. They prayed and waited and waited and prayed until Christ came into the world. Jesus' birth was the fulfillment of God's promise and the waiting came to an end. But after Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven, a new waiting began.Now, God's people wait for the return of Christ. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come...

Our Kelsey Kids came to the front so we could pray with them. That's what we do right before they go to a children's time designed for them. I asked Pam what they were learning today. She said they would hear about God's love. Then she said something about making a gingerbread house.Well, they did.And they made it for Gloria and me!It was a nice gift. I joked about eating it one the way home. But I took the advice of the adults who witnessed how it was made....

 Hebrews 10:32-39I've been thinking a lot about what church would be without church. That is to say, most of us can't imagine being a part of a church without a building to house us.It almost seems impossible to have a church without a church facility.And yet many Christians pull it off. Christians have long, long fulfilled the commission to make disciples without buildings. Many still do today. In my recent meandering, I've recognized I'm grateful every...

 Hebrews 10:10-18From time to time, a conversation I had with a 90-year-old saint comes to mind. We had been at a church event one morning. It was one of those kind where everyone shows up. In the midst of the hurry of the event, I sat down to visit for a moment with my friend. We said how good is was to see everyone and that things were looking well. Then he said something I wasn't expecting. He said, "I hope we're actually teaching them about Jesus."At...

 Luke 7:31-34There's a difference between child-like faith and childish faith. Child-like faith is Jesus centered. This faith forms out of humility, wonder and trust. Childish faith is self centered. It's the image of a child pouting for what they want or because of what they didn't get. No matter our age, either faith is a choice we make. The years you accumulate in church do not automatically equate to holiness and discipleship. You decide what faith...

My kids make fun of me because I'll quote the Applebee's song from time to time. Actually, the cringe. But I think they'll love this. It came out last year, but somehow I missed it. It's pretty good. I laughed several times. Fancy Like Christmas Somebody make me this creative! Stay blessed...j...

 Acts 28:23-31Reflection is looking back to live forward. You learn to look back on life experiences, good or bad, to appreciate what they meant to you. To understand their impact on who you were then and who you are now. But you don't have to only think of big experiences. John Wesley's Holy Club had a list of 22 questions they reflected on at the end of each day.We also reflect on what we hear and read in scripture or about God's word. You could spend...

 Hebrews 13:7-17Discipleship is central to everything we are and all we do as God's church. With as much as there can be to say about discipleship, the idea is pretty simple.I'm grateful people have asked me, What is a disciple? For a while, I've gone with what I consider an easy definition of discipleship. A disciple is anyone who is learning about Jesus, in order to live like Jesus because they love Jesus. Again, we can explore much more about each...

 There's an entire history to "goodbye." That is, "goodbye" and "bye-bye" didn't develop out of thin air. Over centuries, we've contracted a blessing and promise people often gave each other. God be with you is where we began. How we use and change language over time got us to bubye.No matter how we say it, though, we're expressing a reiterated promise of God found in scripture. God is with us. God promised the people they would not walk alone (Leviticus...

 1 Corinthians 8:1-5Some of us have the spiritual gift of generosity. Giving is easy for those people. And it's not only about having the finances to be generous. It's an attitude that looks first to the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. The gift of generosity compels those people to give in ways that might make the rest of us uncomfortable or reluctant.I'm grateful we recognize generosity as a gift of God's spirit. It gives us a chance to reflect...

 Luke 7:18-20In Luke's gospel, other than Jesus' baptism, there is no direct interaction between John and Jesus. Now, we know John baptized Jesus. For one, that's what John was doing. Secondly, there are other gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism that tell us so. Notice, though, Luke's text doesn't say specifically John baptized the Lord. Again, there's no direct interaction between the two cousins.Maybe that helps account for John's worry. John was in jail...

 Isaiah 19:18-25Especially around the Christmas season, people will say, "Don't be a Scrooge," or "Don't be a Grinch." Of course, I know what we mean when we say that. Don't be greedy or cold-heart like Ebenezer Scrooge was. The world doesn't need another Who-hating person. So, don't be mean to others. Yes, those are all worthy encouragements. But we'd actually do better by being more Scrooge and Grinch like.When we tell each other to not be Scrooge or...

 Listen on Spotify In case you're wondering, the drum cleaning is taking longer than I anticipated. But it's going to be nice when I'm done. I'll make that a sermon illustration when I'm done.  Watch on YouTube Stay blessed...john Day 1: The Messenger of PeaceScripture: Malachi 3:1 – “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.”Devotional: Reflect on the...