Is He Your Messiah?

This week's message examines the question, "Are you really the Messiah?"

These people saw the miracles, they saw people healed, they saw so many incredible things, they even heard teachings that no man could know - teaching with authority!  How can they doubt.

One reason they questioned Jesus as Messiah is because Jesus was so different from their perspective of what the Messiah would be like, and what he would do.

We examine these expectation, what they saw in Jesus, and perhaps more importantly, what they didn't see that they expected to see.  These expectations affect us, too.  We dismiss miracles everyday, we miss God's work, we miss exciting things happening, we don't expect to see them there.

To read the message, click here.

Thanks for reading!

Do You Love Me?

The message for this week follows the lectionary reading from John 21:1-19.  It's the story of Jesus' third visit, at least His third visit, to the disciples.  He had instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for gift the Father had promised them (Acts 1:4).  This promise was probably made in one of His two previous visits, in the locked room, either the one Thomas missed, or when Jesus came back to see Thomas. 

Although Jesus had told them previously about the Holy Spirit that would come and be their guide and their counselor, I'm not sure they really knew what to expect.  They were waiting, but I'm not sure they knew what they were waiting for.  And after three weeks, they were getting pretty bored of that locked room.

Suddenly, without warning, Peter jumps up and says, "I'm going fishing!"  The rest, without missing a beat, all jumped as well, and said, "We'll go with you!"  And so they went.

When they got back, Jesus was waiting on the shore, with fire going.  He asked for a couple of the fish they caught, and prepared a meal for them.  After the meal, he pulled Peter aside.  He pulls all of us aside at one point in our lives. And He asks us the same question:  "Do you love me?"

This was a very short summery of the message.  If you would like to read the entire message, click here.  There is also an audio link to listen to the recording of the message, though this week the quality isn't the greatest.

The Main Point of the Gospel Message...

This week is Easter Week - the day the church remembers the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

Easter is a great time to look at not just the resurrection of Jesus - but the life of Jesus as well.  So this year on Easter Sunday we looked at the message that Jesus proclaimed.  The gospel message - the good news.  What is the good news?  What is the main message?  What is the most important part of the message that Jesus spread?

That's the question we try to answer this week.  As you read the message, or listen to the audio link, I invite your comments.  What do you think is the most essential part of the Jesus' message...

If you would like to read, click here...

Thanks for reading.

Preparing for Easter...

How do you prepare for Easter?

Easter is the biggest day of the Christian year.  How do you prepare for it?

We have made Lenten Devotionals available here the Almond Union Church.  Do you have a devotion that read during Lent?  Any special disciplines that you might follow during Lent (fasting, mediation, prayer...)

How have they been going for you?  Have you found quiet time with God to be easy?  If you don't practice year round, it may be difficult to start for a fairly short period.

If you have started a new discipline and it has one well, I encourage you to continue it.  If it has brought you closer to God during Lent, continue it.  We need to be closer to God all year around.

Let me know how things are going.  I love to hear from you...

Jesus wept

This last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and churches everywhere looked at the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. 

We did, too.  That was the topic.  Yet the sermon title was, "Jesus Wept."  Does it seem odd that on the day that the whole city seemed to come out and celebrate Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, shouting "Hosanna" and "Blessed be the King," that we would talk about Jesus weeping?

Yet in Luke 19:41, it says, "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes.'"
In this weeks message, we look at this passage from Jesus' standpoint.  We've talked about the shouting crowds, the expectations, the joy in the hearts of the people in the crowd.  But while they were joyful, Jesus cried.  Why did he cry?

To read this message, or to hear the audio recording, click here.

Thanks for reading!

Parental Rights vs. Godly Marriage

I was reading in Reader’s Digest the other night – you can’t beat the jokes, and April’s edition has some great pranks in it to get people ready for April Fool’s Day.

Every issue also has an article on a recent court case.  You read about the case and try to guess what the verdict was.  Some of them are difficult to guess, and I probably get as many wrong as I get right.  Which is a difficult situation for people today.  We try to do what’s right, but we don’t always know what’s right.

In this case, a man had a female friend who wanted a baby.  He donated sperm so she could be artificially inseminated.  It was successful, and a she became pregnant.  But after the baby was born, she refused to let the man have anything to do with the child.

According to Kansas law, men who donate sperm have no parental rights, and he pursued it all the way to the State Supreme Court, but lost.  He even appealed to the US Supreme Court, but they refused to hear the case, cementing the decision of the Kansas Supreme Court. 

Most people agree that the way God determined that children be born was in a committed and monogamous relationship He ordained.  That relationship is the “institution” of marriage.  Marriage has been under attack for some time now.  People seem to want all the benefits – children, health insurance, relationship – without making the commitment.

Biblically, what they did goes against the Word of God.  Too many people pursue other ways to get what they want.  I would much see them go without and be with God, then get what they want without God.

We need to get serious about our level of commitment to God.  What God gives is all we need.  Trust in God.

Resisting Evil...

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I have been helped; Therefore my heart dances for joy, and in my song will I praise him.

Psalm 28: 8-11

Last night we had an ALPHA Course that talked about How to Resist Evil. The discussion talked a lot about how we know that there is evil in the world. We see it in murders, abduction, bombings, school shootings. Over and over we see things that only a man possessed by evil could do. Unspeakable things.

Of course we talked about God, the source of goodness and mercy, and how the only explanation for the evil around us is the Judeo-Christian understanding of the Devil. I don’t know how else you can explain the evil around us.

Many religions teach that man is basically good, and if he does enough good, he will be rewarded with some type of heaven, paradise, or whatever end might be fitting. But if man is basically good, how does this evil happen?

The understanding of a Devil trying to lure mankind away from God may sound a little strange, certainly the image of the devil is not very beleivable, with the red skin, horns, tail, and pitchfork.  But I have yet to hear an explanation that makes better sense than an evil spiitual being, given what we see in the world around us.

One thing that was interesting in the ALPHA Course last night, did you know that if you add just one letter to the word “good” you get God. If you add just one letter to the word “evil” you get Devil.

I think the verse above is the answer. To resist evil, cling to God. The Lord is your strength and your shield. Trust in Him alone.