Moments of happiness...a wedding, a game-winning-shot, an ice cream sundae, a warm beach in January, your kids coming home from college, a pay raise, seeing a high school friend, an intriguing book, your first home, your first baby, your first job...have a way of defining our lives. The problem is what happens in the opposite experiences of life...those experiences that are filled with pain and st...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   The American church has mis-defined Christianity into a “life gets better” experience that is simply not true. As you journey through the New Testament, you find a universal theme of perseverance in the face of challenges. Our time on this earth as Jesus’ disciples guarantees us that we will face “pushback” from those who do not want their selfish ideals attacked or remo...  Read More

What an exciting and interesting week of planting ourselves in Luke 19 and hovering the magnifying glass over the life of Zaccheus. Beginning on Easter Sunday, the greatest day of the year, Resurrection Sunday, Pastor John shared about Zacchaeus, a man who was so hated, a money loving tax collecting robber who was despised. And, just curious, how many of you have been singing the “wee little man” ...  Read More

Zacchaeus the tax collector. From the kids’ song, we know him as a “wee little man.” And while his physical stature may have been diminutive in size, so much so that it was recorded in the Bible for all of history to see. His tale is perhaps one of the most poignant of one turning to Christ.The Bible tells us that we all “fall short” of the Glory of God. Satan would have us believe that we are not...  Read More

 Luke 19:6 “So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” If you are not familiar with Zacchaeus, I strongly encourage you to read Luke 19:1-10. What a powerful moment in Zacchaeus' life! A moment I imagine he never forgot or stopped thinking about it. The Bible tells us that he went ahead of the crowds, found a tree to climb, and waited until Jesus came, just so he could see him. As I take ti...  Read More

There are days when I, a born-again Christ Follower for 15 years now, struggle to believe that Jesus STILL loves me, pursues me, forgives me, calls me his child after all these years. I mean, if I were him, I am not sure if I would love me the way he loves me….and yet, somehow, in some unfathomable way he never stops, never gives up, relentlessly loves and cares for me. I will never understand it,...  Read More