Romans 8:28-30; 12:1-2 Above all else. Living life demands priority. We wake up each morning with our “to do’s” and “honey do’s,” but when it comes right down to it, no matter how important the list may be, there can only be one “Number one.” Even for the most proficient multi-tasker, you can still truly only focus on one thing at a time. I remember when I was given my first “organizer.” This was ...  Read More

Ruth 4:16-22 I love a good story, especially love stories! Some of my favorite movies are romances. I’m a sucker for a hallmark movie! Yes, even though they are cheesy and we can usually guess the storyline in the first 5 minutes! Today we wrap up the story of Ruth in the final verses of the book. Maybe you saw it coming, maybe you didn’t, but the story is complete and the piece of the puzzle is n...  Read More

Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is...  Read More

Ruth 4:9-12 In the movie Princess Bride, there are a lot of iconic lines. Lines like “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father prepare to die”. Or “Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder today” (it was hard to get that line through spellcheck-LOL). If you are familiar with this movie then these and many other lines will make you laugh. The theme of the movie is true love and how it c...  Read More

Ruth 4:4b-8 Have you ever had a situation where you knew it was going to be a fight to get what you wanted? If your house is like the Robertson's house, then any home project you start you will expect a challenge. Something is going to get in the way, causing you to stop and deal with the challenge before you move on to completing the task. Sarah and I often joke about when I start a project aroun...  Read More

Ruth 4:1-4a We have all encountered times in our lives where we had to take a “step of faith” not knowing how things would turn out. I remember coming to Emmanuel almost 14 years ago to be the lead pastor here. I was coming off of almost 17 years of youth ministry, much of which God really blessed. I remember a specific conversation I had with my wife Tami where she asked me, “You do well with tee...  Read More