Pastor’s Blog

It’s God’s kindness and compassion that transforms us, not the law.  If you want to change your life start showing compassion to others.  The lawyer who asked the initial question hasn’t been changed by God at all.  “Do I have to love… him?”  He is doing what lawyers do… find loopholes.  “OK God, is there

At the end of the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 (Luke 9) Jesus has the disciples do something that may seem trivial, but it is the culmination of everything God plans for our finances.  When all was said and done, there were 12 basketfuls left over.  They started with what, 5 fish 2 loaves! 

In a poverty mindset, we tend to believe that there’s only one pie, and if someone else gets a piece then there’s just that much less to go around.  Rather than believing you can actually make more pies, we tend to think we’ve got to protect what we have, ‘cause it may not come back.

So… is your life a career or a call?  There is a vast difference between those two concepts.  A career is something you choose for yourself.  A call is something given to you by someoneelse.  In our case by God.  You won’t find the word “career” in the Bible.  Having a career is NOT a

What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet forfeits his soul? – Jesus (Luke 9:25) There are two big questions that can really help you get to know somebody.  The first is, “What do you do for a living?”  Some may say, “I’m a roofer” or “I teach Spanish,”

When former President Ronald Reagan was a teenager in Dixon, Illinois, he had a summer job as a lifeguard on the treacherous Rock River. One day, from his lifeguard station, the muscular son of a shoe salesman noticed one of Dixon’s most popular girls waving at him.  He said, “I puffed out my chest and

Many popular influencers today have ignorantly concluded, and with no shame in their obvious bias, that if we did away with all religions, most wars would cease.  Ha!  Those who hold this opinion have failed to take into account is that the 20th century was the bloodiest century in the history of mankind, and that

You know what the name Satan means?  The Accuser.  That’s the devil’s goal.  His purpose is to get you to sin so that he can come in afterward and accuse you.  He could really care less about your sin or what temptation might work, he just wants to torment us AFTER we do it.  Think

In Luke chapter 8, Jesus endures a life-threatening storm, a life threatening lack of faith by His closest followers, an encounter with one of the most powerfully demon possessed man ever, and total rejection by a village He had just helped by ridding them of said powerfully demon possessed man.  After delivering the man from

1929 was a famous year for California.  The state decided to form a new police department called the California Highway Patrol.  Now imagine for a moment that you are a CHP officer, standing in the middle of the highway, and a semitruck is coming your way.  Do you have the physical power to make that

If you were honest, you probably think you’re pretty smart… at least smarter than most.  A lot of people think they are better drivers too.  When it comes to the issues, you are right most of the time aren’t you!  I feel for you.  It’s hard being right all the time (sarcasm).  Are we blinded

You never know when the storms are going to come and shake your foundations.  Spiritual procrastination is our own personal leaning tower of Pisa.  There are a majority of people who if you were to really press them, they believe in God, and want to start coming to church and adding worship into their lives…

In the areas where we know it is wrong, but chalk it up to things like, “well I am not perfect,” there is always an anxiety about that area.  Intuitively we know it will not hold up in a storm.  Gossip is a great example.  We know Jesus has taught us not to judge, not

In every game of high-stakes poker, there comes a defining moment that separates the winners from the losers.  There is a moment when a player says two words—”All in.”  That means he thinks he’s got the best hand so he takes his chips and pushes them to the middle of the table.  He flips his

I am not totally sure if he still is… but for a few moments Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire.  There is a lesson on the confidence of our faith here.  If I told you that I was going to give away ten thousand dollars in cash instructed you to meet me at the

I have a unique perspective on Prostitutes because I went on a short-term mission trip once to Vancouver Canada and spent a week ministering to pimps and prostitutes in the Red-Light District of Vancouver.  Here I learned something of value.  Not one of those women grew up wanting to be a prostitute.  Go figure!  Every

This is a way of re-affirming the core teaching of Jesus – that we are accepted no by following perfectly the rituals of a religion (what we do), but that we are accepted by God through His grace which produces a relationship through Jesus and the Holy Spirit (what God has already done).  One of

Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and the school accepted just 5.2% of roughly 39,000 applications for its class of 2020.  Hunter College Elementary School is one of the top private elementary schools in New York City.  Each year, Hunter chooses 25 girls and 25 boys from all of Manhattan

First, you make sure you got Jesus in your boat.  Never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God.  Delivering you out of storms is God’s specialty.  God will do one of two things: 1) He’ll give you the strength to endure it OR 2) He’ll personally use His

Whatever you plant, you reap that type of harvest.  If you plant tomatoes, you will get… tomatoes right… you’ll never get bananas.  If you plant disrespect… what will you get?  If you plant selfish pride… what will you get?  If you plant unforgiveness and bitterness… what will you get?  If you plant God’s path for

If you want to change what you are reaping (getting in life), then you have to change the seeds you’re sowing (what you are thinking and doing now which will affect your tomorrow).  Look at anybody successful and you’re seeing the reaping of the decisions and choices they made yesterday.  I’ll look at somebody who

It goes by so fast.  God says we are all like blades of grass… here today… not here one day.  2026 is many ways is just a number.  Most of us will get about 80-100 years out of these bodies, or put another way, roughly 30,000 days.  But that is 30,000 days that God’s mercy