Who Found Who?

 

The man wildly chased through the dark woods. He had been frantically looking for his young son since the sun had gone down. The boy went out to play in the late afternoon but had not returned. Temperatures had plunged to the low 20s while the snow fell throughout the night. Now it was an hour or so before dawn. Choking back the tears the man stood leaning against a tree, trying to catch his breath. In frustration he kicked a log freshly covered with snow. Suddenly, the log moved, the snow fell to the side and the man saw the outline of a little boy. Looking up at him with glazed eyes, the boy mumbled, “Daddy, I finally found you!”

The boy’s reaction to seeing his father often reflects our response to God’s rescue mission in our lives. We human beings often say things like, “I was searching for God and found him….” But the truth is, God is the One who does the searching and the finding. And one of the primary ways he does that is through baptism. Through the lens of human reason, the baptizing of babies appears to be little more than a sentimental ritual. But when it is combined with the powerful love of our God, it becomes a beautiful means by which he brings little ones into his family.

It may be that you were baptized as a very small baby and have wondered if what happened on that day really had any tangible significance in your life. Join us for one of our weekend services and start accessing the blessings of your baptism.

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

How Do I Define Myself?

 

We define ourselves in many different ways. Some make their appearance the defining aspect of their lives. Others base their identity on the amount of money they have or their accomplishments. And still others might say, “My life is defined by my family.”

It very much is an important question. How we answer determines our priorities, how we will spend our time, money and efforts. We will base our sense of happiness and value on whether or not we are the person we want to be.

If you have received Christian baptism, it’s probably been a long time since you’ve thought about that event. It’s probably been even longer, if ever, that you have considered your identity as a person as being defined by your baptism. But that is exactly the case when you stop to consider what baptism is and how God works through it.

Are you satisfied with your definition of yourself? Most of us never really get to that point. We always have a few regrets and lots of uncertainties. Join us for one of our weekend services. You are going to be surprised by how your baptism defines you. But you are going to be absolutely shocked by what a powerful and positive difference God’s definition of your life can be.

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

Being There Is the Best Thing

 

In the late 1970s Bell telephone launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “Long Distance is the next best thing to being there.” There is an unspoken truth in its message which we often don’t give much thought – the best thing is actually to be in the presence of the people we love.

Letters, e-mails, texts, phone calls, Facetime, none of these means of communication comes close to matching the power and effect of personally being in the presence of other people. We can talk of long distance relationships, but what we all want and need are “being there” relationships. And that shouldn’t be surprising, that is the way God made us.

So why is it surprising that God has given us a sacred act in our worship of him in which he is present? That ritual is called Holy Communion. In an absolutely miraculous way Jesus Christ comes through simple objects like bread and wine and says, “This is my body, this is my blood, given for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

To our miracle cynical 21^st century ears that sounds ridiculous. But to our ears which have come to be convinced of the truth of Jesus Christ’s death and physical resurrection, those words are music which bring comfort, strength and hope.

There are many convincing evidences and reasons to believe the truthfulness of Christianity. When it comes to Communion, though, then we must step out in faith as countless millions have in the past and say with a broken father of 2000 years ago, “I believe, Lord, help me overcome my unbelief.”

Jesus Christ doesn’t want a long distance relationship with you. Will you believe him?

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

 

 

Christians have struggled with the following questions for centuries.

      “How do I grow in my faith in Christ?”

      “It seems like so often I’m just going through the motions.”

      “Why don’t I feel more excited about being a Christian?”

Answers have usually drifted towards one of two extremes. On the one side, believers have looked to spiritual experiences to satisfy the hunger for a more meaningful relationship with Christ. Whether it has been dreams, visions, or supernatural events, the inevitable result is the need for increasingly powerful emotional events which have less and less to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The other extreme has been for Christians to develop a set of rules and regulations to follow in order to distinguish themselves from the “ordinary” believer. The result, however, is the same, a distancing from the cross and the empty tomb.

Whether you’ve lost the feeling or seem to be going through the motions in your life with Christ, the cure is the same as it has been for 2000 years, the message of God’s rescue through Jesus Christ. Yes, it’s simple, but it’s strong, reliable and unchanging. You can look for substitutes, but none will satisfy like the Good News. When it comes to experiencing God in your life, simple is always best!

 Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.