John the Baptist came to preach good news. It began and ended with a call to repentance which leads to forgiveness. He warned the Jews of his day to beware a smug contentment with law keeping or ancestry as their hope for acceptance by God. By resting in such false assurance they would be among the ones […]
The ministry of John the Baptist was short but eventful. He came to herald the coming of the Messiah, God’s greatest saving act. He came, preaching in the desert, in the desert of Israel’s existence as it labored under the rule of wealthy and powerful Rome, and under the empty faith of its spiritual leaders. He preached in […]
After centuries of rebellion against God, and life ruled by unworthy judges and kings, the nation of Israel could hardly expect a future. Yet even amidst His judgments on them God continued to deliver promises of a future king even greater than David. In this text, Mary, a humble Jewish girl is the one blessed […]
Jerry Croyts, whom we are always privileged to have, was our guest preacher today. His text was the telling of the two men praying: one a Pharisee and the other a ‘tax collector’. Each of these two had an “I” problem; each had a heart problem. One was justified before God—the other was not. Listen.
True disciples, true followers of someone often ask for instruction, direction or guidance. This was true of Jesus disciples and should be true of believers today. Pastor David Menzel’s sermon focus Sunday was on the disciples’ request that Jesus teach them to pray. Why is praying important? How can we pray well?
Most of us have experienced more “fear” the past two years than we likely have the past 5-10. New administration. COVID. Vaccine. Lockdowns. Tucked into the middle of Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke 1, is a statement that got Martin Rossol thinking about fear and how Jesus followers should respond: “..that we, being delivered from the […]
Pastor David Menzel’s text came from Luke 7. The events in this chapter point to someone who, unlike the church leaders of the day, recognized that Jesus had authority to heal, and if Jesus wanted to hear it would happen. That event is recorded for all of us to challenge us: do we really live […]
In all the gospel narratives the issue of fear is addressed by Jesus and heavenly messengers (angels). We hear things like “Fear not”, “Do not be afraid!”; “…and the doors were locked because they were afraid.” Fear has been with the human race since the garden of Eden. But what does Easter have to do […]