Month: February 2019

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Jesus cares, so we share!

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Jesus cares about you, and the ones you care about too! This Sunday as we take the middle chunk of Luke 5, we will see Jesus’ compassion for those “beyond help” and for those who must rely on others for help. In these familiar stories we’ll see Jesus heal physically and spiritually. We’ll also see Jesus reward some friends’ faithful labor to bring their friend to Jesus for healing. Jesus loves to see our faith in action on behalf of our friends! Speaking of that… Thank you to all of you that took the time to fill out slips as […]

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20190224-13: Gone Fishin’

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2019-02-17 Jesus in the real world 13: Gone Fishin’ Luke 5:1-11 1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said […]

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“The one that got away”

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It has been a long time since I’ve done any real fishing. The closest I get to fishing now is playing a Wii Bass fishing game that we have. I don’t even do that very often. But it is still fun. I usually describe it as “all the fun and excitement of real fishing without all the waiting, slime, or harsh elements.” Yes, I can catch virtual fish while sitting on my couch. There are multiple locations to choose from in the game, but through trial and error I’ve identified the spots where the “monster” bass live. There is even […]

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Taking the “horror” out of life’s movie

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t like horror movies. I don’t even like horror movie commercials. I try to change the channel if I can, or at least look away. This world is scary enough without paying money to be even more scared. What is it about the unseen realm that draws so many people to it? Why do people enjoyed being scared so much? Why aren’t people more afraid of these spiritual forces at work in the dark? When we lived in the Mainland, ghost stories were very popular in the officially Atheist nation. […]

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20190210-10: Ministry and Rejection

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2019-01-27 Jesus in the real world 11: Ministry and Rejection Luke 4:14-30 “Ministry” A. Power for ministry (14-15) 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. Where does the power for ministry come from? The Spirit B. Location for ministry (16-17) 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. […]

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“How’s your heart?”

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This week I got to go to a two-day church conference up in Phoenix. It was really just one afternoon, evening, and the following morning, but those time slots were packed full. There were around 200 pastors and other church staff members there. We heard lots of good ideas for strategies, service projects, and sermons. Many of the speakers have been pastors for years and are leading big staffs at large churches around the country. In fact, I would guess that many of the other churches represented at the conference were pretty large too. It was all very encouraging to […]