Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ begins with repentance and faith when we acknowledge our sinfulness and our need for God’s forgiveness and salvation. We must believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead.
Continue reading “How can we become disciples of Jesus Christ?”Baptism is a sacred act and foundational to the teachings of Jesus. In it we find the forgiveness of sins and the transformative power of faith. Two key passages, Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:3-4, shed light on the profound significance of baptism.
Continue reading “The Transformative Power of Baptism: Forgiveness and Renewal”One of the most important aspects of being a Christian is confessing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This means publicly acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. Confessing faith in Jesus also means living according to his teachings and commands and following his example of love and service.
Continue reading “The Necessity of Confessing Faith in Jesus.”One of the key teachings of the Bible is that faith is essential to pleasing God. In Hebrews 11:6, we read: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” This verse shows us two important aspects of faith: belief and action.
Continue reading “The Necessity of Believing in Jesus.”In today’s bulletin, I want to talk about my beliefs on church activity. Now, let me say right up front that this has drastically changed over the years. There was a time when I believed that a church was failing in its responsibilities if it wasn’t always busy doing something. What we were doing didn’t matter as much as long as the church was doing something. That all changed when I learned the phrase, “Holiness doesn’t equal holiness.” That truth drove me back to the Bible and Jesus as my example. I saw that Jesus was always busy but even then, what he was doing mattered more than simply being busy. He always prioritized people over busyness and if he was interrupted he took the time to see the person and their needs. Just as important, he always took time for himself, rested, and encouraged his disciples to do the same.
Continue reading “Patience, family, and church work.”The letter of Jude and the person are not well known to modern readers of the Bible. Most have no idea who he was or why his unique letter is even considered Scripture. I call his letter unique because of its contents. In the letter Jude refers to a book called “The Assumption of Moses” and one called “The Book of Enoch.” Do not let this cause you to think they are inspired or even worthy of your time to read them. Jude is simply referencing books that were well-known in this time to make a point about faithfulness and the danger of rebelling against God.
Continue reading “Introduction to Jude”Do not forget these words:
You are not who people say you are and not even who you feel you are! You are who God says you are!
Fondly, I remember these words from my grandfather. Sometimes, I long to hear his loving voice telling me, “Jeff, you need to get your want to fixed.” It took countless years to finally hear the love, wisdom, and hope in his words and I am grateful for them. Continue reading “Getting our “want to fixed!””
I was reading in a daily devotional book[i] and I wanted to share the main thoughts with you. It was titled: Risk: Oversold and Underplayed. It challenges a comfortable faith that isn’t willing to risk too much for Jesus. Continue reading “Risk: Oversold and Underplayed.”