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In reading a Bible study, I had a vision come to mind regarding sin. As a child, we often found ourselves playing in the dirt even when it was moist and became mud. And the mud pretty much covered us from head to toe. We thought it was fun to play – making mud pies, building roads with our trucks and shovels, and splashing in the mud puddles. At the end of our play time we would come to the back door of the house where our moms wouldn’t allow us back into the house without cleaning the mud off

Ephesians 1::22-23, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Usually, in the spring, around the time of Pentecost, I do a series of sermons on the church. In the past three years I have preached Church 101, Church As…, and 7 Churches. This year I planned to do the same; my intent was to focus on the teachings about church in the book of Ephesians. My head, heart, and (I believe) God took me in a

One of the areas of confusion for me, when it comes to the Bible, is the comparison of Paul’s and James’ writings regarding faith and deeds. In reading the books of Ephesians and Romans we find Paul explaining we are saved through our faith in God and His grace. In the book of James (a book we will study as a congregation beginning in January), there seems to be a contradiction with Paul. However, if we look closely at the comments being made by both men, we will find that they agree. James words… James 2:17- 18 “… faith by itself, if

Recently my wife and I were out on a date and decided to visit a church service. As I think about it now, I’m not sure why Brynn thought this was a good idea. Perhaps it is because she loves church more than most. Perhaps it is because she saw it as an opportunity for us to sit by each other and worship, something we rarely get to do at our own church services because of our numerous responsibilities. I don’t know why she thought a church service was a good idea on a date, but I know why I did.

Do you think that hypocrisy is a part of the numerical decline of the church in America? Have you been affected by hypocrisy in the church? What do you think Christians need to do differently to stop being seen as hypocrites? [bra_border_divider top=’10’ bottom=’20’] I agree with Pastor Chad’s recent assessment that one of the many elements contributing to the decline in the American church can be attributed to hypocrisy. Christians come from a variety of cultural backgrounds that often have traditions and beliefs that are in conflict with Christian values and guidelines. Many Christians also come from homes that have

Four weeks ago I finished a series of sermons called Planks & Specks: the Bible on Judging Others. Of course I’d be honored if you would listen to the sermons, but here I want to provide a once sentence synopsis of each sermon: 1. Do Not Judge – While Christians must have standards and make judgment calls, it is not their job to punish, but rather lovingly help others remove sin while remembering they themselves have been saved from sin by the grace of God. 2. Christians should faithfully hold others in their church accountable to the moral standards of

Do you love Jesus? This question, on the surface, seems simple enough. But, if you look deeper, it is difficult to answer. We have the demonstration, or behavior, associated with the love of Jesus. We have been baptized, we belong to a church organization, we read the Bible on a regular basis, we pray, we may have a ministry such as being an usher, or a greeter, or part of the choir. But the question still is unanswered. Do you love Jesus? John 21: 15 – 15, “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son

Last year I made an effort to blog once a week, which for me was a lofty goal. This year I haven’t blogged once. Why? Church. Last Fall we realized that meeting in the Old Church at McMenamins was not going to work long term. Our time there was great! It was fun to bring church back to a church. It was cool worshiping in a place once used for worship, but now used for football games, whiskey tasting, and concerts. It was great having people visit on Sundays that simply wanted to see what church was like in the Old

John was born with cerebral palsy and no Achilles tendons. His mother was a drug addict and his only use to her was to provide a clean urine sample when she needed it. His father never came around because he was embarrassed because his son was “a cripple.” His grandmother raised him until age 4 when she died. A lifetime’s worth of devastating losses before he was even old enough to understand all that was happening to him. As Pastor Chad embarked on his message series on “Loss,” he began by recounting the two miscarriages they had endured this past

This week we begin a series of sermon on grief – which is such a hard and yet important topic for people to think about. After all,  we have all been affected in one way or another by pain and sorrow. Whether it is someone we love dying, the betrayal of a friend, or a variety of other tragedies, we have all grieved. Along with this, we all know the feeling of doubt and uncertainty that can accompany grief – sometimes deep inside of us. The beautiful thing is that when we come through those times we can use our