Why We Need to Celebrate Thanksgiving

Using the word “my” just comes so naturally, doesn’t it? Especially when we are talking about things which we believe belong exclusively to us. We say,

“My health”
“My time”
“My money”
“My family”
“My house”
“My car”
“MY LIFE!!!”

The possessive pronoun “my” effortlessly rolls off our tongues. Why? It’s all in the grammatical description of the word – possessive. We human beings love to possess things. In fact, most of our problems are about some dispute over possessions!

But then we read an inconvenient passage like Psalm 24:1:

“The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Oops, maybe we need to rethink the whole subject of what we possess and what we don’t. About 3500 years ago God warned the nation of Israel about falling into a false pride over their possessions. He said,

“Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God… You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” (Deuteronomy 8:12ff)

Giving thanks just doesn’t come naturally. It is something we need to work on. And that is why Thanksgiving Day is such a healthy holiday. We take time to focus on the true source of our blessings – the God who made us. Join us tomorrow for a joyous celebration of thanks. You’ll be happier for it!

Thanksgiving Day Worship: 10:00 am
Thanksgiving Dinner: 11:00 am

How Will It All End?

Depending on what source you read, scientists tell us that the sun will burn out in either 2.8 or 4.6 billion years. At that time, the planet earth will become uninhabitable. Since most of us are probably not going to be around (even if the sun only lasts 2.8 billion years), this prediction doesn’t bother us much. If we think a little deeper of how life on earth will end, however, there are some unsettling conclusions about the “burned out” sun theory.

If human life is going to continue in its current cycle (people are born, live and die) until a certain point when the earth will no longer support human beings, but it will continue to exist in the universe – just without people – what does that mean about all those folks who were born, lived and died? What was the point of our being on the earth?

When Jesus Christ walked the planet, he talked quite a bit about returning a second time – but this return would be very different from his first coming. He said that the second time he would come to the earth it would be in all his glory and power as God to bring an end to life as we know it. More importantly for human beings, he claimed he would bring about a definitive judgment of all people – a judgment that would be in effect forever.

Jesus talked about this Day of Judgment frequently because it has so much to do with the way we live right now. According to him, how we will be judged then depends on what happens while we are living and breathing right now. Have you ever thought about your life from that point of view?

One of the key questions everybody wonders about from time to time is, “What happens when I die?” This weekend, we’re going to be studying what Jesus said about that question. His answers are pretty exciting.

Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am

How Much Are You Willing to Suffer for What You Believe In?

It’s an uncomfortable question, isn’t it? When it comes to pain, most of us are more cowardly than we would like to admit. If something hurts, we try to avoid it. And yet, when it comes to following Jesus Christ, hurting is part of the walk.

Even a cursory reading of the Gospels is enough to realize that Jesus frequently talked about suffering because of our relationship with him. He said things like,

“No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:20)

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” (Matthew 10:16)

And yet he always encouraged his followers not to give up, to remain faithful even to the point of death because what awaited them in eternity was far more valuable than anything they might have in this life.

Two thousand years later we must ask ourselves, “Am I ready to suffer for the One I believe in?” It’s a serious question, one we must think deeply about. Jesus always advised his disciples to “count the cost” of following him.

This Sunday we will be bringing before the Lord in prayer those who are currently paying a very high price for confessing Christ. But we also need to prepare ourselves for that day of persecution. It may not come in the same form as our brothers and sisters are undergoing in Syria and Iraq and North Korea – but it will come. Will we be ready? Together, let’s begin making preparations.

Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am

Grace and Fairness

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Fairness is getting what you do deserve. If you have been brought up as a Christian you know a lot about the word grace. You know that the Bible teaches we are saved by grace, which specifically means God forgives our sins because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Being saved by grace means getting to heaven is a gift we receive, not something we earn. Throughout the years we are told to appreciate grace as God’s most important blessing to humanity. And most of the time we humbly acknowledge this.

But we have moments of doubt. There are things Jesus said which make us wonder about grace. One example is a story Jesus told about workers in a vineyard. On a certain day, some men worked 12 hours, some worked 10, some worked 6 and some only put in an hour’s worth of labor, yet all of them received the same pay! The story Jesus told wasn’t about pay scales, it was about grace. He was teaching people that it doesn’t matter how long a person is a Christian or how much work he/she has done in the service of Christ, in the end, those who have received grace go to the same place – heaven.

We all like the story of the thief on the cross converting in the last moments of his life and hearing Jesus’ words, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” But it also leaves us a little uncomfortable, like the story of the workers in the vineyard. We don’t like to admit it, but some of us might feel a little resentful about “being good” all our lives and then getting the same reward as some folks who had all the fun and then suddenly had a “God experience” at the end and snuck their way into heaven. That just doesn’t seem fair! Or, maybe we don’t really understand grace as well as we think.

Join us for worship Saturday or Sunday. You might find grace is much more than you ever imagined.

Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am