Messages

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” When God Is SilentFriday, August 28, 2020
 
Hey church family. This week I was rereading the story in John chapter 11 of the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. If you’re not familiar with the story, I’d encourage you to check it out for yourself this week. If you are familiar with it, then you know that Lazarus became seriously ill. Because he was a good friend of Jesus’ – Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, with a message. The message was short and simple and to the point.
 
It simply said, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” There’s nothing surprising in this story up to this point. Jesus, and Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha were good friends. When Jesus travelled through their town, he would drop by their home to share a meal. So, it’s not surprising that at their point of greatest need, this family would reach out to Jesus. What is surprising, is Jesus reaction when he received this request for help.
 
We’re told that “So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” That delay was costly. Because by the time that Jesus finally got back to where Lazarus was, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Lazarus’ sister Martha was the first to meet Jesus when he reached their town. And she said to Jesus what they all had been thinking. She said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. On the one hand that is a statement of faith in the healing power of Jesus. Martha knew that Jesus had the power to heal the sick, and her brother Lazarus, had been sick. She rightly assumed, that had Jesus been there he could have performed a healing.
 
What she did not yet realize is that Jesus had something better planned. Not a healing, but a resurrection. When Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he emerged alive, wrapped in grave clothing, it was a spectacular event. Even more spectacular than the healing of someone who was seriously ill, but still alive. Martha couldn’t have known that before the fact. And so the question for her, is the same as the question for us.
 
What do you do during those times when God is silent? You’ve cried out to him with your need, but he has yet to show up. Usually you’ve got two choices. You can become discouraged, or you can patiently wait and trust that God’s delay is not necessarily his denial.
 
In the story of Jesus arrival at the grave of Lazarus, by all outward appearances he was four days late. Yet if you know the end of the story, you know that the reality is that He was right on time. I pray that God will teach all of us to trust Him, when his timing isn’t the same as ours.
 
 

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Raquel Blanchard reminds us of some of the ways that God provides guidance for us as we follow Him. Pointing to Philippians 1:6, Raquel encourages us to rely on God’s direction.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Reflecting on Psalm 46:1 and Hebrews 4:16 Judy Mandl reminds us of who God helps, how he helps them, and what our part is in the process.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Not Just For FuneralsThursday, August 27, 2020
 
Hey church family. I hope you’re doing well today. I was thinking recently that I can’t remember the last time that I was leading a funeral service where I did not include somewhere within the service, the reading of the 23rd Psalm. It’s just the way it goes. Some parts of God’s Word we tend to associate with certain occasions. 
 
If you’re at a wedding, and they are including a scripture reading, it might very well come from 1 Corinthians 13 which provides us with God’s definition of love . . . Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
 
On the flip-side, if you’re attending a funeral you may well hear words from the 23rd Psalm Because that’s the Psalm that tells us . . . “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” The interesting thing is that if you study that Psalm you’ll discover that it has more to do with life than it does with death. As I read through this Psalm, I see at least three things that God promises to give us in life.
 
First of all. . . AS MY SHEPHERD, GOD GIVES ME DIRECTION. David wrote. . . “The Lord is my shepherd,” King David wrote, “I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” The idea of God being our caring, guiding shepherd is one of the most beautiful and comforting metaphors in the Bible. The fact is, left to themselves, sheep don’t navigate very well. Isaiah 53:6 tells us . . . “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;” A shepherd’s job is to guide, and we have the greatest guide. He also promises to meet our needs, which is how we can say with confidence, “I shall not want.”
 
#1 As my shepherd, God gives me DIRECTION. #2. As my friend, God gives me PROTECTION. Psalm 23:4 tells us . . “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” That’s important because, life is not always going to be green pastures and still waters; There will also be dark valleys. But God is right there with us in those valleys. Our Good Shepherd not only uses a staff to DIRECT His sheep, but also a rod to PROTECT His sheep from predators like Satan, who “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”
 
THE THIRD PROMISE God makes in this psalm is that . . . #3. AS A HOST, HE GIVES US PROVISION. Verse 5 says . . . “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” Here we see God not just as a shepherd, but also as a host who provides us with exactly what we need.. David concludes the Psalm in verse 6 with a statement of faith. He says . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” David is saying “God has taken care of me up to this point in my life, and I am sure that in the days to come He’s going to do the same.” So even though this valley we’re all going through is dark… And even though we can’t see where we’re going, the shepherd who is leading us can. He knows what you need, He’s going to provide what you need,
 
He gives us His DIRECTION, His PROTECTION, and His PROVISION And something we need to never forget. . . David wrote about WALKING THROUGH the valley, not LIVING IN IT forever. May that encourage us as we’re going through the tough times.
 
 

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Judy Mandl confronts one of the most popular Spiritual Urban Legends with the truth of God’s Word as it’s found in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Pastor Andrew Krayer-White continues his examination of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, and focusing on Philippians 2:16-18 challenges us to compare the ways in which we might describe our spiritual life, with the way that Paul described his.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Judy Mandl reflects on Proverbs 30:5 and Psalm 12:6 and reminds us that God’s Word has been tested and proven to be true. We can trust what he says and know that He is faithful.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Do You Need A Doctor?Tuesday, August 25, 2020
 
Hey church family, this week I was thinking about a statement that Jesus made that is recorded for us by three of the gospel writers – Matthew, Mark & Luke. In response to some of the criticism that he was receiving about the people he was hanging around with, Jesus said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Thinking about Jesus words about sickness, and physicians, started me thinking about something that a lot of people may not know, which is that it was the church that invented the hospital. Not business, not government. It was Christians who invented the hospital and it was invented during a plague.
 
In the second century and in the third century, after our Lord left earth and ascended to heaven, there were two giant plagues that struck the Roman Empire, one was in the second century and one was in the third century. In both of those cases, the people didn’t know what to do, because they certainly didn’t know about things like germs or infections or viruses. Millions of people were dying in the Roman Empire. And it was at that time, during those pandemics, that the nonbelievers started fleeing the cities because those were the places that the plague was striking hardest – in the urban areas – in the cities. So people began fleeing the cities. It was during that time, the time of both of those pandemics, that Christians ran into the city. Christians ran toward pain, they didn’t run. They ran toward pain as an opportunity for ministry and mission, and they ran into the city to care for the sick and the dying. That’s where the expression “See how they love one another!” came from, because Christians were caring for the sick and the dying in the urban areas of the Roman Empire.
 
During that time, it was believers who invented a new way of caring and showing hospitality to the people who were sick and dying and invented what later became the modern hospital, where we were “showing hospitality.” It’s a reminder of the truth that people are most receptive to the message of Jesus Christ when they’re under tension or in transition. When they’re under tension means the stresses we’re feeling right now, or in transition when there’s a major change, it could be a positive change… like a new baby, a graduation, just got married… That makes people more spiritually open, or it could be a negative change. Death, divorce, disease.
 
When COVID hit, it turned a lot of our lives upside down. It is primarily the healthcare community’s job to care for the disease, but it is the church’s job and the job of the Christians everywhere to help you with your dis-ease,” the stress that’s caused by the pandemic. As we move toward this year’s election, I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be the most unusual election in our nation’s history. It might be not election day., specifically. There might be multiple days, and even weeks before we’ll know how everyone has voted. But in this time of transition, and in this time of uncertainty and tension, when people are under stress, it’s also an opportunity to point them toward the one we know is the source of our ultimate hope. We can let them know that trusting in Jesus won’t give you a pass on all the suffering in this world, but will give you assurance that no matter what we’re going through now, our future is secure.
 
God tells us in his word, “We often suffer, but we are never crushed.” Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again… because we know that God raised the Lord Jesus back to life. And just as God raised Jesus, he will also raise us to life. Then he will bring us into his presence together” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 14). That’s the confidence we have as followers of J.C. and it’s the message that God has given us to share with others.
 
 

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.”
Judy Mandl reflects on Psalm 46:10 and reminds us that the command to “Be still and know that I am God” is not a call to inaction.

A message from the series “Daily Devotional Videos.” Are You A Murderer?Thursday, August 24, 2020
 
Hey church family… One of the shortest and simplest of the Ten Commandments is the sixth one: Found in Exodus 20:13 it simply says “You shall not murder.” If you’re like a lot of people, when you hear that commandment, you think, Okay, the other commandments are relevant to my life, but I don’t have to pay much attention to this one, because it has absolutely nothing to do with me. It’s easy to think that until you consider Jesus words in His Sermon on the Mount. 
 
In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”  With those words, our Lord broadened and widened the definition and consequences of murder. It’s as though He was saying, “You think murder is simply an action that begins in the hands; I’m telling you it’s an attitude that starts in the heart.” 
 
The Greek word for anger in verse 22 refers to a brooding, seething, nurtured anger. It’s holding a grudge against someone. Most of us haven’t gone out and killed someone, but by this expanded definition, there’s a good chance that we’ve all committed murder. Verses 23-24 reveal the remedy for this attitude: Jesus said, “So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift.” 
 
Read through your Bible and you’ll discover fairly quickly that worship is something that is important to God. But in this case, Jesus says if you’re coming to worship and you realize that there’s an issue of forgiveness that needs to be worked out between you and someone else. Jesus says, TIME OUT…  Go and deal with that issue that needs to be resolved first and then come back and worship God afterwards. It’s okay, God will wait for you to make things right. That’s how important forgiveness and reconciliation are to God. 
 
We’ve all committed murder in some form or fashion. Any time we tear down or destroy another person, it’s serious, and we must deal with it. If you have hate in your heart, it will eventually destroy you as it eats away at your spiritual life and hurts others in the body of Christ. No one gets away with murder.
 
When it comes to this issue let’s ask the Lord for clean hands and a pure heart. Receive the forgiveness that He so freely gives to you and me, and then share that with others.  May we all commit to do what God calls us to do in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”