As followers of Jesus we talk a lot about baptism and following Jesus but what exactly do these have to do with our lives today? Listen this week as Pastor Derrick shares the profound power of baptism not only for our eternity but also for our lives today in the very places where we live, work and play.
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As many of you know, I’m a pastor of a church. And a big part of what we do is this thing called worship. We hold it on different days of the week but generally we do this thing on Sunday mornings. There are many styles of worship. Some people use tons of songs while others use none at all. Some worship is packed with teaching and others use an interactive style approach to the time of worship. Continue reading
This morning I woke up pretty thirsty. Perhaps it’s the whole wintry dry air that has caused this or perhaps something else, but I just needed a tall glass of ice water right away this morning. And that water really made a difference. No more thirst, at least not right away. But I do know that shortly after I finish this post, I’ll just be thirsty again. Continue reading
Today marks a day called Epiphany, but what in the world is it and why it is important? The word epiphany is a fairly uncommon word that means to be revealed or a startling revelation. To have an epiphany is kind of that lightbulb going on kind of moment.
We’ve all had those epiphany kinds of moments. Some are pretty simple. You’ve been digging for your keys for hours and then “Aha!” you remember the last place you had them. It’s kind of like that. But the day known as Epiphany is like that just bigger!
So imagine knowing a favorite story from your childhood. It’s a story you’ve been taught since you were little. It’s so familiar to you that you could likely recite most of it from memory! There’s nothing all that earth shattering about the story itself. Then imagine one day if someone came in a rewrote the story’s ending! When an ending changes the whole story changes!
Well that’s exactly what happened on Epiphany! It is a celebration of the changing of the story. Sure on this day we celebrate the arrival of the Magi, Wisemen, Astrologers, or whatever you call them. That’s true but their identity and title is less important than the place from which their journey started. Remember how the bible says there were magi from the east? Well the east was not Jerusalem. It wasn’t a location associated with the story of the Old Testament. It wasn’t a location that was part of the promise of God’s blessings through the coming savior. These men were not part of the happily ever after of the salvation. They were, to put it bluntly, outsiders and not welcome!
But they were there. They were in the place where Jesus lived. Some time after Jesus was born these men showed up. Having traveled from the east, they came to pay homage (cool word for honor) this child who would be king. But why did they come? Why would they come to honor a child who wasn’t part of their system? Why would they worship a baby from a culture that didn’t include them?
Enter Epiphany! The great Aha of the bible!
They came because God just changed the ending of the story. He didn’t change his mind but he showed how our minds were too short-sighted to really get what was going on all along. He changed the ending. He included the people who were thought to be excluded. He came for the least of these, the not good enoughs. He came for those who could never measure up. For those no one else wanted. He came for those from the east and the west. He came not only for the insiders but also for the outsiders that they might become insiders! He came to seek and to save the lost!
Epiphany is the realization that God’s plan is way bigger than the first century Jewish followers of God had originally thought! Epiphany is a day to celebrate and remember that God gave us an Aha! that would include us in his salvation story. Now because of the events of Epiphany, we know that the message of the bible isn’t just for the best of the best and those that have it all together. It’s for people like you and me. People who need to rely solely on the grace and mercy of a God who look into the world and sought after us.
Happy Epiphany!
We often try to put God into some sort of box. I’m not sure why we do it but it’s pretty much a fact of our humanity. Perhaps it’s because if we put him in a box, then we feel we can understand him a little better. Perhaps if we cram him into some tiny, little space then we feel as if we can pull one over on him. I’m not really sure but I know that we all tend to do it from time to time. Continue reading
If you could have anything you could ask for, what would it be? This week we come face to face with an offer to have anything for which we ask! Whether you’re a leader of many or a follower of some, this message is for you. True leadership and being a good follower all have something in common. Listen to see what it is.
Since Christmas is by all appearances behind us, I thought it important to post another Christmas song this week. Actually, Christmas is a season. It’s not just a single day. I’m sure that if you drive through your neighborhood tonight, you’ll likely see trees disposed by the curb, lights removed, and extra garbage by the curb. But it’s important that as followers of Jesus, we keep Christmas going! This week’s song will hopefully do just that – keep Christmas going! Continue reading
Throughout the Old Testament we see law after ritual but what do they all really mean? This week we begin a series titled In Christ. This series will help us see the ways that Jesus has fulfilled the requirememnts of the old for us that we might live a new life.
On Christmas morning we celebrate the knocking on the door. The knock of Joseph on the door of the Innkeeper’s home. The knock on the door that was answered. There was no room but the Innkeeper made room. There’s another knocking in this story. Can you hear it?
A favorite Christian artist of mine has to be Casting Crowns. They have a way of putting such amazing story into their songs. This one was supposed to be up yesterday on Christmas morning but for some reason it didn’t make it. So here it is.
While you were sleeping some amazing things have happened! There have been some huge changes to the landscape of our lives overnight. It’s amazing what can be missed while we sleep. Continue reading
