The Table

Recently I heard someone say-“the only time our family gets together is weddings and…” can you guess? Funerals. There's nothing wrong with this and in fact I believe it's wonderfully healthy to gather together when a loved one dies. It's not surprising that funerals happen in the first or middle part of the day. I've never been to a night funeral, I've never done a grave side service after dark-or before dawn-I wonder if anyone would come? People tend to get creeped out to be in a dark grave yard. But Mary Magdalene wasn't creeped out. This devoted follower of Jesus went to a grave in the dark b/c her love for Jesus compelled her to go. I wonder if she inspired the verse John later wrote in 1 John 4:18 when he said “there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out” Mary was rather fearless that dark morning and her bravery paid off in a powerful way, as we will see today… This is your point to ponder: Mary was adopted into her forever family on Easter morning and you can too! BONUS MINI POINT: God's love is stronger than death-B/C HE IS RISEN… Now open your Bibles to the Gospel of John 20:1-10…

The first Holy week came as a surprise. Jesus had been hiding out- at this point in his ministry he was a wanted man -the religious establishment hated him and the plots to take his life were swirling and everyone knew it-but now something had changed-on this day Jesus was not hiding from anyone-on this day he was letting the world know the time had come-we call this day Palm Sunday. (Palm pix) Why Palm Sunday? You saw our kids waving palm branches just like it tells us in the Bible-but what did those branches mean? They were a symbol of the Jewish nation of Israel-we might equate them to flags today-this was a celebration of the hero who had come to liberate God's people-but they had no idea from what or how he would do it! We know the rest of the story-we have 2000 years of perspective and maybe decades of Holy weeks we can remember-but once again as we come to this week, I would encourage you to hear the story with fresh ears. See it un-fold in your mind's eye and know that this Jesus we worship is worthy of praise-and today we'll know why! He got praise then and we should give him praise now-b/c we know our hero has come too, this is your sermon in a sentence: Let's celebrate Jesus for all the right reasons. We'll explore 3 for today…

Acts 9:1-22 + 13:1-5, Romans 15:20-21, 2 Corinth. 11:23-29, Phillipi. 1:19-21 What series on missions couldn't include the Apostle Paul? He is considered by many to be the greatest missionary of all time. He traveled around 10,000 miles over land and sea, planted around 20 churches and wrote 1/3 of the New Testament. Here is a man who was completely mission minded! Today I'd like us to consider 3 things that made him this way. If we want to be mission minded we must have these 3 things too and I've put them in your sermon in a sentence: The mind of a missionary must be saved, sent and steadfast. First we want to focus on being saved and to do that I'd like to do a little oral bible story telling like our missionary Sam Smucker does among the illiterate of PNG so they can hear the Word and understand it-now I'd like to tell you the story of a man named Saul… oh my there he is…

The last 2 weeks I gave you mostly background as to how, what I call the Great GoMission, was developed with the words of Jesus and then, the giving of the Holy Spirit to the first followers of Jesus-now we will see it put into practice. The people with the power were ready to go. (truck pix) Again, if all Jesus ever did was talk a good game we wouldn't know Him-moreover if all his disciples ever did was listen attentively to His words, get filled with His Spirit and then DO NOTHING, the church would have died in one generation-BUT THEY DIDN'T AND WE WON'T EITHER -if you seriously embrace your point to ponder: God has a divine appointment for you. Will you go for it? Open your Bibles to Acts 8: v.26-40

Last week I introduced the Great GoMission as a combination of 5 different quotes from Jesus where he tells us to go into the world, all the world and share the good news. We are to go and make disciples. We are to go and know He is with us. Jesus made it clear to his first followers that going into our world is part of being faithful. I shared how there are around how many billion people on earth (7) and how many billion never heard of Jesus (3) and are we ok with that? The answer should be NO b/c the answer was no for Jesus' first followers. But they started slow and scared just like we might. But then something wild happened! When Jesus ascended back to heaven, his followers went into hiding. They knew they needed to get going but how? They lacked power. Many times that is how we feel too. We know we need to witness, share Jesus, but how? This is where our point to ponder will hopefully help: The Holy Spirit can give us the power to witness effectively to the whole world. Now open your Bibles to Acts 2:1…

We have been in a series of messages that I hope will make us more mission minded. What is the mission? It's found in Matt 28:18-20 and we have been reciting it as our benediction, but today I'd like us to consider 4 other scriptures where Jesus gives us similar commissions. In fact, I would say these texts taken all together help us see why his disciples, were then and are now, deployed all over the world to save people . (earth pix) This is where we can see, what I would call the Great GoMission! Jesus on 5 separate occasions explicitly told his disciples GO INTO THE WORLD, THE WHOLE WORLD and do what I've done, and shown you to do. By the end of this sermon I hope you have no doubt Jesus sent everyone who believes in him into the world to save people! This is your point to ponder: (let's say it together) Jesus told his first disciples to go into the whole world with the good news -they did-and we should too! Now open your Bibles to the first text Matt. 28:19-20 unless you have it memorized…

One of the things I truly love about Jesus is he never asked us to do anything he wouldn't do. We have just studied parables about lost and found stuff: sheep, coins and even sons. These are powerful and timeless stories that should make us stop and think about the lost people around us. But to stop and think is not enough. If Jesus was just a good story teller you wouldn't know him today. If he could just talk a good game he would have faded into history and obscurity. But he didn't fade b/c Jesus practiced what he preached. It's one thing to talk about the lost it's another to seek and save them. This is what we'll see today, so here is your point: Jesus came to seek and save-that's what he did-and we should too. When we think about how the lost get found we need to look no further than Jesus to see how it gets done, open your Bibles to Luke 19… v.1…

As we continue with our mission minded series where we have been looking at the mission Jesus called us to, we know that He is calling us to do essentially 2 things-make disciples and teach them what he commanded. The first 4 sermons were about who and how he made disciples. Now we are looking at what Jesus commanded specifically about saving the lost. Jesus taught and sought the lost. And so, we have focused on 2 parables he told about the lost-remember what the first one was about? Lost what? SHEEP then last week Justin preached about lost what? COIN now this week we'll encounter a third parable, one of the most beloved stories in the Bible about a lost son. -remember these were told to lost people-pharisees and sinners…. The prodigal son is a story that transcends the ages-it's characters and action are universal and as fresh today as 2,000 years ago. This parable has many layers of application and could in itself be a series-but not today. Here is your sermon in a sentence that will focus our time: God wants no one to stay lost. Now let's open or Bibles to Luke 15:11-31....

In July of 2002 nine miners were trapped in Quecreek, Pa when mine shafts collapsed due to floodwater. The men were trapping in a pocket of air 244 feet down in the 50-degree cold waters. The miners gasped for air as floodwater rose to their chins. They tied themselves together so all of their bodies would be found if they drowned. Miner Blaine Mayhugh, 31, asked his boss for a pen when the water in the shaft kept rising. He wanted to write his wife and kids to tell them he loved them. Night and day rescuers fought to reach the men. On Sunday July 28, 2002 the rescue workers broke through the coal-mine wall to find the nine trapped miners all alive and well. (miner pix) People were weeping and cheering at village roadsides and television sets at the news that the trapped miners had been rescued. There was great celebration. You see the lost were found. As I said at the beginning of this “mission minded” series Lord willing, there would be 12 messages aimed at making us more mission minded. This begs the question-what's the mission? Here is where I pointed you to Matt. 28:18-20 aka the great commission-this is the section that best capsulates our mission and will be our bible memory benediction for the next 8 messages so let's look at it again: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” There are 2 elements to our mission-making disciples and teaching them what Jesus commanded. Our first 4 messages unpacked the how and who, Jesus made disciples-miracles were often involved-difficult people were often saved then sent to tell others about Him-it's a messy, costly business-but this is our mission-and this is how Jesus did it and we should too…

We have seen over the last 3 weeks how Jesus saved and sent 3 very different people, the Simon Peter, the woman at the well and the man possessed by the legion of demons. These people instantly and miraculously became mission minded. All were able to see a miracle happen and I challenged you to think about the miracles that you may have experienced, with your salvation. I told you about my miraculous deliverance from a car accident that triggered my own salvation experience. This is how we too can become mission minded. A miraculously changed life is what motivated these people to go out to share the gospel. Today we'll hear about, not only a changed life but a literally, saved and restored life. A person who was considered as good as dead-got a new life and then was sent to share his story with another. He, like the others we've studied, were often sent to specific people (Well Woman to Sam. Village, Mr. A to the Decapolis)-they were given a mission field to go to -and they went. Today it's no different. Jesus is often very specific as to who you are to witness to. My question to you for today is to where or who has God sent you? Your poetic point to ponder: Everyone is dead in their sin, till Jesus gives us life again… and sends us to other souls to win! Now open your Bibles to the book of Matthew 8 v.1-4 and yes this is a very short but power packed set of verses…

What is the soul worth? How much does it cost to recruit and to send a missionary? The answer: A LOT and this is why Jesus would do whatever it takes to make a disciple and then send him or her on a mission. What would we do? Give? Lose? Invest? Release? Jesus called 12 disciples that followed him closely. We could name a few of them and learn the names of them all if we wanted to. (Matt, John, James ,James, Judas, Thadd (aka Jude), Peter, Bart, Phil, Simon, Andrew, Thomas $12)But there are other disciples Jesus called and sent. I consider some of them to be the very first missionaries for Jesus. These people, just like Well Woman last week, met Jesus, experienced a miracle, then ran off to tell people about Jesus. This side of heaven we'll never knew all the disciples Jesus saved and sent but, WE are the evidence that the global outreach of the Gospel works. Thankfully, captured in the scriptures are their stories. These were often men and women who were very much on the edge of society. Outcasts and misfits who are changed by Jesus and then were sent to tell the world their stories and let the world know there is healing and hope available for them as well-in Jesus today! But reaching those people can be dangerous and costly. This challenges us to consider how far would we go to see lives transformed by Jesus. What would we risk and even lose to save a soul that might then go on to be a disciple and missionary for Jesus. Here is your sermon in a sentence: Making disciples can be dangerous and costly but they are always worth it-and we must believe that. Now open your Bibles to Mark 5:1-20 and let's look at how the wild man was won-I like to call him Mr. Amazing (two titles) and by the end you'll see why…

Last week we read and saw how Jesus called a few fishermen to follow Him as we looked at how Jesus went about making disciples. We know that making disciples is one part of the great commission that frames our mission as the church. Today we'll see how Jesus uses the same approach as last week, asking for help, but this time He gets a totally different response from the woman he asks for help-yet she still ends up being an early disciple for Jesus. Then we also see the deep impact one changed person can make on their community. This is a missionary story of being saved and sent by Jesus. Again, we find a person, most would have seen as having little potential for good, being a powerful witness. Though she had doubts and questions God used her in mighty ways to further the mission. This points to your sermon in a sentence: Jesus will call people regardless of who they are or the questions they have and make them disciples, and we should too. Now open your Bibles to John 4:1…

The last several weeks you've been hearing about missions-from the wisemen's mission who came from the east to find Jesus--to last week when we heard about the mission effort of new destiny-then we had a huge fundraiser for our Mongolia mission. This is all an effort to become as our series is titled “Mission Minded”. By now you may be wondering, is there an over-arching mission that we can focus on-and to that, I would answer yes. You see we get every mission of the church from 2 essential verses in Matthew 28 known as the Great Co what? MISSION! (Great Comission PIX) lets read it together-“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” So over the next 12 weeks I'm going to illustrate those 2 verses with sermons that show us how first, Jesus made disciples (4), then what he taught them to teach others (4) and finally what was the result (4). I believe in looking at how Jesus actually lived out the GC we see how we too can follow in His footsteps and carry on the mission. So here comes sermon #1 of 12 on how Jesus himself made disciples and the point is this: Jesus calls the willing and makes them worthy disciples-and we can too. Today we will see in scripture Jesus calling some very tired, defeated and unlikely disciples-open your Bibles to Luke 5…

Here is a sermon from Cristene Prillaman-Director of Marking and Development at New Destiny Treatment Center where freedom from addiction is found in Jesus. Be inspired by this message of love and hope!

The call to make room went beyond just Mary's womb-Jesus came for more than just his mom. The call to make room went beyond just Joseph's family and his ability to make room for his wife and adopted son. The call even went beyond making room in the local community like the shepherds did- when Jesus invaded their nightshift. This call to make room is much bigger than that. The world was to make room for this new king. Jesus came for every single person on the planet and the call went out-make room! There is no greater proof for the global gospel's reach than the wise men. Where did these men come from? How did they know about Jesus? What does that mean for us? Next week, I thought we would begin our mission series-but it actually starts today. Jesus' global outreach began long before he was born-with hints in the OT. But then a blazing beacon was lit. A stunning star signaled out to the far reaches of the earth (and likely the entire galaxy) to make room for Jesus! Here is your point: Just like the wise men, we too, must let the world know it's time to make room for Jesus! Now open your bibles to Matt 2:1 and make room…

Hello friends and happy New Year from Smithville Ohio! My name is Todd Martin and I'm the pastor of Smithville Mennonite Church. This morning I am going to be interrupting our Christmas series to share a Christmas miracle story with you. I'm not sure how many of you had been aware of the Christian aid ministries missionaries that had been held in Haiti since October 16th but on December 16th God delivered 12 of the hostages in a miraculous way. I have often heard people say why doesn't God do miracles like he did back in New testament days? Well friends I believe the witness of these former hostages that God has done something reminiscent of what he did when he freed Peter from jail in Acts chapter 12 -but this is not 2,000 years ago this is two weeks ago! I would like for you to listen to the story as told by the Christian aid ministries representative Weston Showalter and I pray you will be inspired to believe in a God who can and will deliver his people. Be blessed as you hear this story and the concluding song and as always if you have any questions or needs don't hesitate to reach out to me Todd Martin at Smithville Mennonite Church. now we will join the press conference in progress... You can also listen to the entire press conference by going here: https://christianaidministries.org/haiti-kidnapping-update/haiti-staff-abduction/ Thanks to Christian aid ministries for allowing me to share this on this podcast :)

From our Make Room for Jesus Christmas series...

Last week we learned about how Mary literally made room in her womb for Jesus. She made the very personal decision to make room for him in her life-you were challenged to do the same. For the first time or hopefully the last time you will let Jesus be born in you and have a personal relationship with Him this Christmas. But Mary's life, as all our lives are, was attached to others. She was on the verge of being married-literally making a family-when Jesus came into her life! There are few places it's harder to make room than in family. Family tends to be tight. We often struggle to make room in our families. Especially when the future family member is unexpected! This is your point for today: Make room for Jesus like Joseph did. Is God asking you to do the same? Adoption is a powerful thing. If God tells you to do it -you should. Legal adoption of a child might be your calling -but it might not be too-yet I believe EVERYONE is called to spiritual adoption. I believe everyone in this room knows someone who needs a spiritual family. God's holy spirit is a spirit of adoption and it fell on Joseph in a powerful way-I believe it can fall on you today. [Let us pray…] In today's Bible reading we will see just such a situation play out and how one good, but reluctant dad, made room for Jesus and his mom and we can too… Matthew 1:18

Did anyone else notice this year flew by? It would almost seem time slowed down during the pandemic and now we are making up for it. And when time flies I tend to get busy-trying to stay ahead or at least not fall behind! Life gets full. I heard it a long time ago and I've told you it many times-if the devil can't make you bad he'll make you busy. But then comes Christmas. We always know December is coming, but then it comes, and all that comes with it. Family gatherings, getting gifts and everything else. There can be this rush of activity and we get swept up in it-and end up literally throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We can fail to make room for Jesus. This is where we must stop open the Word and remember why we do what we do. The Bible points us back to people who made room for Jesus and this gives us direction as to how we can too. This will be the enduring theme of our series: Make room for Jesus! For today our point is this: The room Mary made for Jesus was shockingly intimate but intensely necessary. Now let's open our Bibles to the very beginning of the Christmas story, 9 months earlier… Luke 1:26

Have you ever heard the phrase “we saved the best for last?” Today we finish up our series on Jesus and the government and I believe this is thee best Biblical text on the topic. This section in our series is like the grand finale. What would you say are some finales that have been grand? Crowder had a good one at the fair-Circ de soli on vacation involved something death defying probably with fire, but the most legendary one I know happens every July 4… at the Orrville Fire Dept Fireworks show! Today's text reads like the OFD 4th of July fireworks grand finale. This is our last message in this series and it's the one the really booms. No one ever went to the Orrville fireworks and wondered if the fireworks were over. If you've been there, after the grand finale, the sky is white with smoke, your ears are ringing and you know you've just seen the best fireworks display in the Wayne co. maybe the state… maybe the country... Well after this sermon, I hope you will feel you have just experienced the best text in the Bible on how a Christian relates to the government. I hope your ears are ringing with the word of God, so that you can live without fear of government, and have a new understanding of who actually is the ultimate authority in our lives and how we can be in communion with him-while submitting to the government. Here's the point: Earthly government has a good purpose but is always under the authority of a bigger AND better God in heaven. As was explained last week-these verses were written in a time of intense persecution. What I find fascinating, is that in the last 2000 years Christians have faced, endured and lived thru almost constant persecution, all over the world often, from all sorts of bad governments! The Bible has been the consistent guide and inspiration to these persecuted people. They didn't read these verses and say “forget this-obviously this does NOT apply to us”-No Way! And this is why these verses remain even for us today! These texts still help Christians in Africa, Asia and the middle east where government are utterly hostile, to keep the faith and have bold witness. My hope is they will help us as well… open your Bibles to Romans 13:1… let the booming begin…

Whenever we talk about the government it's easy for us to see and say what we don't like. We may even view a government leader as immoral or holding views that are sinful. It's often in that frame of mind we justify defying the government-believing we are in some way above the authority of these low life leaders. But the Bible is clearly against that type of rebellious and arrogant thinking. Peter the disciple of Jesus we heard about last week also wrote a vivid call to submission to governing authority. The apostle Paul (the writer of over ¼ of the NT 27.5%) wrote clearly and convincingly about our subjection to governmental authority. To boil it down to your sermon in a sentence: Followers of Jesus are to be subject to the government no matter how corrupt it may be as a witness to Christ's courage and love. We'll talk about what that witness looks like but first… Who was in charge of the government Peter and Paul so vigorously taught believers like you and me to be subject to? There is a stunning context that we simply must see as we read these passages. I'll begin with a quote from the website Christian courier: One of the most despicable manifestations of human flesh ever to disgrace this planet was Nero Claudius Caesar....

We must obey God rather than man. This paraphrased Bible verse has been quoted to me several times over the last year or so, and so I looked it up and was surprised by what I found-maybe you will be too. Today we'll leave the Gospels and the story of Jesus' earthly ministry-but don't worry His story continues. Now we'll encounter people, who are filled with His Spirit and are seeking to faithfully carry out the mission, Jesus has them on. Sound familiar? That's us too! This is where we see His new body-called the church in action-but as you learned in 9th grade science class-to every action there is an equal and opposite what? REACTION-and then the fun really begins… So here's the point: Our proclamation of Jesus must never be silenced. I'd love it if you would open your Bibles to the book of Acts 4… do you ever wonder why I have you always open your bibles? I believe God's word is to be our guide in any and every situation. We read it and it reads us as the Holy Spirit works his wonders thru His word and into His people. My hope is to bring clarity to our understanding of the current tension we have (and really always will have) between the government and God. But in this passage the conflict isn't even with the church and government it's much worse-let's check it out…

One of the things I love about Jesus is he always saw more in a person than most did-and still does. Jesus could look at you and not see your skin color, your language, the clothes you wear or the job you have. He could see who God created you to be. He could talk with a beggar or a king and love them the same. He was also always ready to serve. This is a powerful part of who he was and is. Today we will read a story you may have heard before and maybe not thought much of. It's just another healing Jesus did. It's just another person he blessed and then moved on. But friends, here is a story we simply must not breeze over. In this account we see both a political and spiritual revolution begin. In this brief text we have the potent seeds of the gospel as a transforming and liberating force in our politically polarized world-that we desperately need today. Jesus once and for all ended political division in the family of God. Jesus in one moment showed us how we too can see thru our differences and embrace people, the world tells us, we must hate on the basis of politics. This is how enemies are made. Enemies are made in all sorts of ways but the easiest is politics-when the government dominates us, terrorizes us or in general makes us mad it's easy to take our anger out on those aligned with the government. It's easy to just dump all liberals or conservatives into the same bucket and say “they are all the same, they are all worthless”. And it's just not right. We must see people the way Jesus did. As individuals with souls He came to save. I pray we could embrace this point today: Jesus can push us to see, we must help and respect, even our enemies. Now open your Bibles to Matt. 8:5-13, I hope you have yours and if you don't grab one that is there on the pew next to you…

Let me unpack my title a little bit. I'd never heard of the proud boys before the capital riot. They became the poster child organization of that day and several of their members have been jailed since then. Their violence is as infamous as their rhetoric and they pay the price for both. They believe they are serving their country in the best way possible and are totally committed their cause. Then there's the IRS-heard of them? According to fact retriever.com, the Internal Revenue Service is the world's largest financial institution. They have a special Criminal Investigation (CI) branch made up of 3,500 employees worldwide whose main job is to investigate tax crime. CI special agents have badges and are allowed to carry weapons but do not have uniforms. Qualified retired CI agents are exempt from concealed weapon laws. In 2014, nearly 95,000 people worked for the IRS, and about two-thirds of its employees would recommend working for the IRS to a friend. You see they too are proud of how they serve their country too. It's hard to imagine either the proud boys or IRS agents wanting to spend a lot of time together. They would have little in common and much to dispute. Their politics is a barrier to relationship and rightfully so. Who would try to make them work together? It would probably lead to a fight or worse. In the time of Jesus there were similar groups of people. The zealots were the proud boys of the day and the roman tax collector was the IRS. Tax collectors were infamous for being corrupt and taxing people into poverty or slavery. Can you imagine pulling guys from these groups together? Jesus did. Did you ever notice politics gets in the way at church too? What sickens me most about the current political climate in our country is the division it creates in the church. People who are totally committed to Jesus can't worship together b/c there is just too much between them. Masks, vaccines, elections you name it believers have let temporary issues over ride eternal communions that should never be broken. We have been duped into believing-this is more important, that is all that matters and well, I just can't stand them anymore-we are too different! Not only is this mindset evil-it's the devils eternal matra-divide and conquer! I'm so glad I have a king who reached over to both sides of the isle. I'm so glad I have a king who doesn't care if you are repub/demo/PROUD BOY OR IRS AGENT. He will call them all and say “follow me!” The Lord ship of Jesus transcends all politics-it brings into perspective and ultimately into submission our earthly allegiances under the cross and crown of Christ. Here again if you are on the fence with your relationship with Jesus you will fall off-one way or the other. When you commit your life to him-nothing is higher. Not country, family or even self. We sing this song-but do you really listen to the words… All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. Today we will observe Jesus in recruitment mode-he's calling men to follow him. he's seeking those who would literally be his body on earth after he ascends to heaven. Jesus needs to have representatives that would take his message and methods into the world and begin a movement that would change the humanity for the better and forever. Before we get into our Bibles here is your point: Jesus broke down the barriers of political polarization and brought people together around him-and we should too. Now let's read one of the few verses about Simon the Zealot Matt 10:1-4

A year ago the Lord said to me you need to preach on God and government. I said oh Lord not now-not in the middle of an election, in the middle of a pandemic, and he said ok I'll wait. I fired off an article titled “Remember the Munsterites” after the riot at the capital and prayed our country would cool down. Now a year later the Lord said it's time to bring a word on God and Gov. and I said ok how about I just do another article instead and He started the down load in my head. I knew this was not an article and not a sermon but a series. I told my wife and she said I was crazy and then I told her the focus and she said ok, go ahead. I went to my pastor huddle and they said I was crazy. Then I told them the focus and they said we'll pray for you bro. Then I told my elders and they said go for it! So now let me tell you the focus: in a word it's Jesus. You see when the storm clouds roll in and the waves begin to crash and the thunder roars and the lightening flashes-who do I cry out to? Jesus!I say Lord help me, help me see, hear and understand what you want me to, in this storm! Help me to not get pulled under but hold on to you-and then I know I'll make it thru. Friends we've been in a political storm. Our boats have been tossed and turned, people have been thrown overboard-others have jumped out! But we are all tired and wet from the seemingly endless rain of confusion. So, I just want to look at Jesus for a few weeks, 5 of 8 to be exact and see how he dealt with the government and see how we should too. So let's begin at the beginning of Jesus' life and turn to the book of Matthew 2. Now it should be noted that Jesus was affected by the government even before he was born! Why did Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem? Government! Taxes even-yikes! Yet God used a pagan government requirement to get Jesus born where he needed to be to fulfil prophecy in the Bible! Think about that for a minute. Now let's move on to our main text for today. If you open your bibles to Matthew 2:13-we're going to jump in right after the Christmas story as the wise men hit the road. The gifts are all unwrapped, the angels are out of sight and the shepherds are back in the fields. But a king has come, the problem is there was already king in town-and he was a killer… your point for today: Though they may try, earthly governments can't kill our king or kingdom-ever!

And so today we finish up our series in Jeremiah on the comforting promises God gave to Jeremiah (and us) and how they can help our mental health. There were 11 promises and I hope you heard and held on to at least one-or maybe you can now- here's a quick review: 38-God will send you the help you need. 32-God will give us faith to act out our beliefs. 31 God loves us, leads us and gives us a place to land. 29 God shows us best is yet to come. 20 God will give you a fire in your bones! 18 God will relent when we can repent 17 God will give you courage to face the heat. 7 God calls us to integrity. 6 God can give you rest 1 God created you and has a purpose for you. All these promises can help us have hope and hope is a potent medicine for mental illness. This is an issue that is not going away and is just as, if not more important than physical health. God wants to heal us and help us have hope thru all our sickness be it mind body or both. Knowing His promises can help the healing happen! Today we will turn to the last promise Jeremiah gives us in the other book he wrote. Besides the book that bears his name, we also have the book right after it called Lamentations. This book is actually a book of poetry not unlike the psalms. It's subject is the devastating fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is crying out to God with all his sadness and so the book is well named Lamentations as it means “the passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” Yet even in this dirge of a book I have found one more promise. And I believe just as Jeremiah faced the destruction of all he held dear on this earth-he knew there was still hope. God will remain with us no matter what-ready to forgive and redeem and here's why: Just like… Jere God's faithfulness to us lasts forever. Now open your bibles to Lamentations the book next door to Jeremiah, and turn to chapter 3:19…

One of the saddest things about mental illness is the sense of isolation it instills in a person. Mental illness locks a person in the prison of their mind and seemingly throws away the key. Isolation is the end result. We feel that no one cares and because no one cares-no one is coming to help. Your sermon title is the same as one of my favorite songs by Toby Mac called help is on the way. I love this picture of God-that he is at the ready coming to help us in our time of need. But how exactly does this play out? What does the help look like? I personally have found this to be one of the most comforting promises for my life. This is why I believe today's promise is vitally true. Just like… Jeremiah, God will send you the help you need. Maybe today you feel alone or worse abandoned-Jere understood. In our text today we see him literally thrown in a muddy pit to sink and die in. He had told the truth and was dumped into the mud by cruel people who wanted him dead-let's listen to the story unfold…

Have you ever done something simply to prove a point-or maybe to “put your money where your mouth is?” We can talk faith in God all day long but until we let our walk match our talk we really have no faith. Imagine for a moment you believe God is calling you to go to Afgan… next week, you tell all your friends this and they don't believe you. They say you are crazy and you'll never do it-who would? So you call a travel agent and you actually buy a one way ticket. Imagine calling your travel agent and saying yep-I want to buy a one way ticket to Afgan today-I just know things will get better-God has a plan. Your travel agent might just say-sure I'll sell you that $5000 ticket on united Turkish air :) You are putting some walk to your talk-you are putting your money where your mouth is. This is much like what Jere did in today's text, to illustrate this promise: Just like… Jeremiah, God will give us faith to act out our beliefs. In this series we've been focusing on mental health and how God's promises can help. Today our promise is about building the mental strength God's promises can also give us in hard times-this is essential for sustainable mental health. Now let's open our Bibles to Jere 32-this is going to be a kangaroo sermon as I'll be jumping from one set of verses to the next in Jere 32 as this chapter is pretty huge-but I'll let you know where I land. Let's begin with v.1-9…

If you recall, we began this series on mental health, with me telling you the story of my friend Linda, who was attacked in her Goshen IN. home and who's husband was killed in the attack. She survived but had tremendous mental issues to deal with even after her physical wounds healed. She is continuing to grow in her faith, as she heals and remains one of my personal heroes, holding on to her love of God and life. When I asked her how she survived her horrible experience and the after math of dealing with her mental illness-she said one way was memorizing the promises of God in the Bible. I found the prophet Jere had a similar experience-his life was a complete disaster-his country was in turmoil, he was threatened and abused, and he was, to no surprise-often and utterly depressed! But sprinkled through-out this painfully sad book he wrote, are powerfully positive promises-the kind I believe, kept him going. Little whispers God gave him and thus the people of Israel and thus to US! We too can claim these promises to give us strength, courage and hope when our days grow dreary and nights grow weary-we can know God cares for us and we can make it through too. In chapter 31 there are 3 promises I've smooshed into one (thus the title: 3 in 1)that we can grab on to-for those times the devil tells us God doesn't care about you-hit him with these 3 L's in your promise for today: Just like… Jeremiah, God loves us, leads us and gives us a place to land.

Today we encounter possibly one of the most beautiful promises in this book. You've likely heard and seen it before. It is a supreme comfort when life is strife. God's people were in a bad place called Babylon, they were beaten down and swept away into exile. So God had His man Jere. write a letter to his fellow Jews in exile-to help them hold on to hope… Our promise for today: Just like… Jeremiah, I know the best is yet to come. This is what holding hope is all about-knowing the best is yet to come! Do you ever feel beaten down? Swept away by events out of your control? Do you ever feel completely out of place? Do you wonder if this feeling will last forever? Open your Bibles and let's find some hope to hold on to in God and His Word… turn to Jeremiah 29:1

Last Sunday I took the lid off the prophetic preaching can. You got a few words from Jere that were tough to hear. He was calling out his people (and us too) to not be hypocrites-and the promise was… just like… Jere, God calls us to integrity. Well todays promise is a little more inspiring though it comes in a gut-wrenching context. Jere had been preaching and offended all the right people and he ended up in the stocks. No, I don't mean investment shares I mean an ancient torture and shaming device that you've seen in movies. His hands and feet would have likely been held in a wooden structure high in the public view in a most uncomfortable way. You see the powers that be wanted Jere to quiet down so they decided to add some physical and mental pain to the process. Jere is in a very bad place. Now in this text he is venting to God with some of the most raw and angry prayers in the Bible. But then there is a surprise, there a quote in our text today that has been sung and quoted for centuries, and I've crafted our promise from it… Just like… Jeremiah, God will give you a fire in your bones!

After giving you a gentle intro to Jeremiah I believe now is the time to give you a little unfiltered prophetic preaching. This is the kind of message that almost got Jere killed. This is a message that is just as hard for me to swallow as it will be for you. The people Jere preached it to didn't swallow it-they spit it out. Why? I wonder how many people here like to be called a hypocrite? That term tends to make us irritated, agitated and in general frustrated with whoever calls us that. We tend to respond like: Them's fighting words! How dare you call me that?! Well, you are too! God knew it and gave them to Jere anyways-why? Here's a promise to ponder… Just like… Jeremiah, God calls us to integrity. In this series we are focusing on mental health and a pillar of mental health is integrity. Integrity is the state of being whole or undivided. If you have no integrity your mental and spiritual health will slide simultaneously. The inner person needs to match the outer person or you enter into a split personality. This can lead to severe mental stress and ultimately illness. Whenever God's people start to veer off course, whenever they start to say one thing and do another, put on a show to hide their true selves or intentions God intervenes. We get a spiritual Gut Check that seeks to realign our integrity. This is the function of our first line of spiritual defense. The Holy Spirit will convict us, we'll feel the poke and prod of conviction in our gut as the spirit seeks to turn us around. You feel it in your gut… If that gut check doesn't work God plants a prophet in our lives. This is a person who's calling in life is to give people intense gut checks-from God. They have a no compromise view of integrity. Sometimes God plants them right in your church. Maybe even as an usher who will meet you at the door. Imagine this is the scene that unfolds before us in Jere 7:1…

I believe everyone will face the heat. Heat being a test, a challenge or trial that is beyond their control and capacity. I began this series telling you the story of my friend Linda who was almost murdered. She faced the heat of tremendous physical, mental and spiritual trauma. She struggles with mental illness to this day but by the grace of God is finding victory and healing thru Jesus. It's in those times of heat that we also face a choice-do I rely on my own strength, the strength of others or of God? I hope you remember the legendary story in Daniel of shad, mesh and abed -men who faced the heat of an external enemy-with a literal blazing furnace that they were physically tossed into. But they faced the heat with faith in God and that gave them courage. While we often look at the physical challenge-I believe the mental struggle was probably just as great if not greater. They had to face the heat-they had to refuse to conform to the wicked culture around them-or the wild king who threatened them-I wonder what gave them such mental toughness and courage? Make no mistake the Holy Spirit empowered them, yet I can't help but think they knew the word of God as well. Being Hebrew boys they would have known the scriptures and had them hidden in their hearts, perhaps even the text we will look at today. We know that Daniel-a peer of theirs and a man who himself face the heat (more like the hot breath of loins) actually quotes the book of Jeremiah in his book! You see I believe they knew a promise that talked about facing heat without fear? I believe this promise when embraced can give us what we need to face the fires we encounter-with no sweat, why? b/c… Just like… Jeremiah God will give you courage to face the heat. The struggle for mental health is one that takes courage. When we face any challenge our confidence is tested-often we come to the end of ourselves quickly. This is especially true when battling demons of depression, anxiety and fear-our courage account can be drained quickly and we come up empty. But the promises of God can help us fill up with His spirit and then with courage. Now open your bibles to Jere 17:7-8 as you go there-let me give you a little context. The prophet has just explained how men that trust in themselves or other gods will be headed for disaster. Their stuff will be plundered, their people will be enslaved and in general ruined. But then in the middle of this up pops a wonderful promise that illustrates a sharp contrast between the person of faith in the God of the Bible, let's hear this promise…

With our massive Kleenex boxes stationed like emotional beacons up front and I hope they remind you of the comfort you can have with the promises of God. Though Jeremiah, the prophet/author of the book we are in, was known as the weeping prophet-he was comforted, not with tissues but by potent promises throughout this book that we will focus on. These promises can serve as a foundation for mental health when we face pain and weep as well. Today is one of my favorite promises-b/c it's one I need often. How many of you have messed up recently? You did or said the wrong thing and knew it-you wished you could undo it. But then something beautiful happened. Has anyone here ever gotten a second chance? A redo? That golden moment you could change course and avoid disaster by the mercy of God? Our promise for today is full of mercy and it goes like this: Just like… Jeremiah, we can see our Creator God will relent when we can repent Our God is a God of second chances! He can and will change course with our willingness to return to him. He is a God who patiently waits for us to wake up and return to his protection and provision. This sermon will mess you up if predestination is really your thing-b/c some folks see this as God changing his mind! And that can be scary for some. Today's promise is introduced by a parable that sets the stage. This parable reminds us that God is in complete control and even has the right to change the course of history, if he wants. And as a God of infinite grace and mercy-he can and will do it! Now we will go to the house of a certain artist and observe him in the act of creating… Jere 18:1…

Last week we began a series in what book? And what book in the Bible is longer or sadder than this book? But there are embedded in this big book potent promises that can and will help us. Last week I shared about my friend who's husband was murdered by a man who tried to kill her-she endured trama that induced mental illness that was crushing. Yet she kept her faith and sanity-how? Just like… Jeremiah she held on to the promises of God! That's right my friend grabbed on to the promises of God and held them tight and still does today! This gave her a spiritual foundation she could stand on as she struggled with her mental health. You need to know she still went to a counselor, took meds, and had various therapies to help her along the way-but her faith in God and His Word were at the core of her healing-and continue to be. This is what Jere shows us in this book. His struggle with trama, mental illness and faithfulness to God are a good example of how we too can hold on to our lives and relationships with God and each other by holding on to God's promises. The mega point for the whole series is this, say it with me: The promises of God will prevail over the pain of this life and give us peace. And last week we studied one of the promises from the very opening of the book it was: “Just like… Jeremiah”-God created you and has a purpose for you! Now today we will look at a beautiful promise-and I truly hope you will know it's true and for you. I want this series to be one that will build up our faith and strengthen our mental health. I believe that's what these promises can do. That is unless you reject them. Maybe you recall I told you last week how Jere was hated and abused by his own people. This man of God was treated terribly for one reason: he told God's people God's honest truth. And it wasn't pretty. So today I'm going to have us bask in the glow of this potent promise-I'm going to challenge you to believe and live into it. But then I'll also have us hear what happens if we don't. So buckle in. Now for todays promise: Just like… Jeremiah, God can give you rest. I don't know about you but I could use some rest. It seems that rest is something that is in short supply these days. And to be clear I don't mean just sleep. Though that is a form or facet of rest-sleep isn't always restful. Anybody ever woke up more tired than when they went to bed? Were going to talk about rest for your soul. Deep, satisfying rest that renews us and recharges us to live fully. That is rest God can give us. But how? Let's look into God's Word, opening to Jere 6:16…

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet-his book is as sad as it is long. It is by original Hebrew word count the longest book in the Bible with 33,002 words, next is Genesis (32,046 words) Psalms (30,147 words). But it's a book we don't do much with-why? It's hard to deal with as the author has incredible mental struggles and pain. Many of these were brought on by Jere being faithful to God and that put him in conflict with people. This brought him great stress and anxiety. Some believe he was at times depressed and this is rightfully so. God knew Jere would go thru some hard things in life and he knows we will too. God gave Jere more space in the Bible than anyone else (I'm not even counting Lam. which he also wrote and we will dip into a little). I believe it's time to open this book together and see what God has to tell us about hard times, mental struggles and how we can make it thru-together-with God and each other. I have a friend who has faced possibly thee most terrible ordeal I've ever heard. Her husband was killed by a man who tried to kill her first-all outside and in their home. After the attack, the killer remained at large, for 8 years and was only recently caught and jailed. Needless to say, my friend endured overwhelming mental pain. Depression and anxiety were to follow. But she's making it thru. I asked her how-how does she do it? She said one of the ways is to remember God's promises. I believe this is also how Jere made it thru. He was witness to national catastrophe. The tragic attack, siege and conquest of his city. Then the exile of his people. He witnessed and penned some of the most brutal scenes in the Bible. How did he keep his faith and sanity? I hope we can discover this together! This is the point for the whole series: The promises of God will prevail over the pain of this life and give us peace. This is what we want to find out! Now I'd like to do a little call and response for this series, just like back in the day when I say Moses you say… shows us! Today when I say Just like… you say Jeremiah! And today's promise is this: “Just like… Jeremiah”-God created you and has a purpose for you! So let's open this big book at the beginning and load up on some powerful promises in Jere 1:1…

Jon Bohley delivers our message for today titled Mental Health and the Church. He is the clinical director of Springhaven Christian Counseling Agency. Jon gives us a clear understanding of mental health and how we can practically help those who struggle. What an excellent and timely message we need to hear-thanks Jon!

Fear is a big topic of discussion these days. Many fear getting sick. Others fear violence between people. There is fear our political system and even democracy is failing. Fear seems to be crouching at our doors, leaping from the headlines and roaring from our screens. So today's title is overtly suggestive. Whom shall I fear? This is not necessarily a question for you to list your top 5 fears-yet, you may want to, as that is what David did-but rather I would have you consider who you have faith in and the complete and perfect peace, you can have, knowing that faith will see you thru. God is here to help us fight our fear with faith! Faith in God can be bolstered by music-ever heard the phrase whistling in the dark? When you are in a scary situation try whistling-humming or singing. Singing can conger up courage-especially when you sing to God. This is why our point today continues on the theme we started with last week: Music is good medicine… when you are fearful. This message was originally recorded in Jan. of 2021 during our series in Psalms-the recording never made it to the radio station (email glitch) so the previous message was played again. This week I needed a message to plug in and so here it is! If you want the rest of the series just scroll back to Jan. of 2021-bless you :) -tm

For those who may wonder why our church exists I preach a sermon every year to remind us of the vision we seek to live out. We've come thru a historic time of testing and we are still here-PTL! This past year or so, we've seen lots of changes-some for the better others for the worse but I can assure you the vision of our church remains the same. Some of you have come here/ started listening in the last year or so and may not even know about our vision so let me give you a crash course… others may have just forgotten it in the craziness so let's review…

Bruce Howell tells the story of a father and his son and daughter who were 8 and 10 years old. They went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean off the New Jersey coast a few years back. They were all great swimmers. They were a long way from shore and they became separated when the dad realized that the tide was carrying them out to sea. He called out to his daughter, "Mary, I am going to shore for help. If you get tired, turn on your back. You can float all day like that. I'll come back for you." He and the boy made it to shore and then there was a frantic search for the girl. Finally after 4 hours they found her far out in the sea. She was calmly swimming on her back and wasn't frightened at all. There was a tremendous amount of relief when the calm girl was finally back on shore. Everyone wondered how she could be so calm. She said, "Daddy said he would come for me and that I could float all day, so I swam and floated because I knew he would come. As a dad I marvel at this story. A dangerous situation. The bold statement of the father. The simple faith of his child. The eventual return to shore. There is no question in my mind the father would have made good on his promise or died trying. I have no doubt that little girl would have floated as long as needed with her eyes and ears tuned for the sight and sound of her father's return. There is deeper meaning here than just a story of a scary swim off the New Jersey shore. I know today we usually reflect on our earthy fathers and we should. I hope you got your dad a little something, wrote him a note or said something encouraging to him. He needs it. Being a dad can be a hard and thankless job. Often dads come up short on the dreams they have for themselves and their families. So bless your dad today-he needs it. But he needs this too-so dad I'm glad your listening. This is where Jesus comes in and saves the day. Here's a little sunshine for your soul, dads-you don't have to be perfect father. In fact you can't be perfect even if you try! But here's what you can be-faithful to the perfect father. You can point your kids and others to the only father that never fails. That's exactly what Jesus did.

Be there as Good Guys Jude 17-25 053021 Last week we looked at the first part of the book of Jude and it was rough as it pointed out dangers to the church. Certain secretly slippery sinners are in the church and are making a mess. These are people who as v.16 said “are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” The text indicated they were likely involved in sexual sin and rebellion against God himself. These are bad guys to beware of for sure! This is why Jude wrote what he didn't really want to-a warning to beware of these bad guys. So like Jude, I challenged you to contend for your church-learn from bad examples to not become one-and realize judgement will come for the bad guys. If you recall the title was “beware of the bad guys” this week's title is “be there as good guys”. Last week Jude sounded an alarm and I hope you heard it. Generally 2 things should happen when an alarm goes off. Bad guys run away from the alarm and good guys run to the alarm. Jude's letter may have had an effect on the bad guys as they probably knew who they were and maybe they ran off. But if they didn't it's imperative that good guys come running. If someone breaks into your car and the alarm goes off you hope the bad guys go away-but also that good guys will come and see what's going on. If there is a fire in your house you really hope the good guys show up quick and put the bad fire out! Last weeks sermon had a very simple point-the church is worth protecting-this week the point is a little more pointed: God wants you to protect the church. But how do we do it? Jude gives us some very practical ideas as to how we can do that as we open up to the last few verses in this tiny book remember it's the book before Revelation waaaay in the back of your Bibles…

I try to regularly take suggestions for topics and texts that I preach on. One of the ways I get this info is my sermon survey every 100 sermons. I hit my 600th sermon in May of 2020 while we were still shut down. Needless to say I did no survey-now it's been another year and I'm now on sermon #645. You are way over due for telling me what you what me to preach on! So, the survey will be coming soon! But I must confess I still haven't preached on a book I was asked to in the last survey (which was in 2017!). For years I have had the book of Jude suggested but honestly, I didn't want to preach it. Even though it's tiny (25 verses- same size as Philemon) it's rough. It is a letter that Jude didn't want to write-but felt he had to. Sometimes in life we just need to say things we don't want to-even in church. Jude, the author of this inspired letter is believed to have been the ½ brother of Jesus and the full brother of James and Jesus' other brothers. These boys were the ones who didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah and maybe even made fun of him. Jesus was the big brother and what younger sibling doesn't struggle to listen to and believe the older sib? But after Jesus rose from the grave that changed and they believed whole heartedly. In fact, they became leaders of the church and passionate protectors of their new found spiritual family. This is the essence of Jude's letter in 2 words-BE WARNED! Something bad is happening and Jude is sounding the alarm to protect the church. Why? b/c the church is valuable! I remember living in Amsterdam and going to the national art museum called the Rijks museum-it holds many great artistic treasures but probably none more valuable than the Night Watch by Rembrandt. With an estimated worth of over $500 million today I remember going to see it. The largest of all Rembrandt's painting it stretches almost 12 feet by 14 feet. In the room where it was displayed there were armed guards with fire extinguishers at their sides. You see the painting has been attacked multiple time in the last 100 years. People attempting to destroy it with knives and acid. It is vigilantly guarded. All things of value are. This is why Jude is here! Sermon in a sentence: The church is worth protecting/Jude was one protective dude! This is why Jude writes what he writes. The church is God's most treasured possession. It is of infinite value. It was under attack and Jude is standing guard-listen to what he has to say. Why? The church still comes under attack and we can learn much from this faithful brother thru the inspired letter he wrote…

A little boy was talking to the girl next door: "I wonder what my mother would like for Mother's Day." The girl answers: "Well, you could promise to keep your room clean and orderly -- you could go to bed as soon as she tells you -- you could go to her as soon as she calls you -- you could brush your teeth after eating -- you could quit fighting with your brothers and sisters, especially at the dinner table." The boy looked at her and said, "No, I mean something she'd really want/like." Don't take back the flowers, the chocolates or the jewelry you got for mom. That's all good as an expression of love and affection. Your mom wants and needs your love-so give it to her but when the flowers die, the chocolate is eaten up and the jewelry no sparkles/is in style-this gift will endure. This gift is literally priceless yet a young child or grown adult can give it. But it's hard. It sometimes seems unreasonable or even ridiculous but she still wants it. You probably won't be able to give it to her all the time-but you better most of the time and especially in those moments that she really needs it. And don't worry you'll know when she really needs it. You'll see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice and if you miss those ques-don't worry God will whisper in your ear (if you are listening for Him) “Do what your mother says”. In the end this gift says you love her more than anything else. In fact if you don't give her this gift consistently no other gifts will matter. What's the gift? Listen to find out....

For the last 2 weeks we've been talking about critical Christian conversation key concepts as we've opened the powerful pint sized book of Philemon. I've attempted to reveal 2 key concepts so far. The first was we must see the good in people we want to have critical conversations with. Philemon was a slave owner. Yet Paul could see good in him and say it to the glory of God. Can you see the good in others esp. those you may be in conflict with? Then last week we talked about how relationship with Jesus is everything when it comes to critical conversations. We must have mutual relationships with God and His people that hold us together. When the time comes to ask for change it is our faith in God and the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps us on the same page-moving together toward what we want to do in love instead of what we ought to do by the law. This transformation can take us from useless to useful and from bad to better. This is the power of relationship. We finish this bitty book of the Bible today with the third side of the coin-wait there are only 2 side right? Hopefully in critical conversations that involve Christians there are always 3 your side my side and God's side. We must see in every critical situation that births a critical conversation there is a side we can't fully see or understand. This is where we need God's perspective. How do we get it?

Last week I introduced you to the faithful slave owner Philemon. Here was a slave owner that Paul, the writer of this divinely inspired letter, could see and say good things about. He could do that because he knew that people inherently have good in them-they were in fact, created good in the image of God-even if we don't like what they do. Today this is still true. The title of this series is “critical Christian conversation key concepts” and so the key concept I hope we could see in last weeks text is we must see the good in people before we have that critical conversation. We must realize God has us where we are for His purpose even if it's uncomfortable. We must be ready to share the love we have for them and be prayed up for them. Then we can enter the critical conversation. This is where we are today. Paul is about to make the ask. He is about to bring the heat that makes this conversation critical. It's time for the big reveal so open your bibles to the small but significant book of Philemon.

This little book we'll turn to carries a big stick when it comes to sharing the truth in love. In this letter one Christian is telling another Christian what to do-and it's controversial, counter cultural and economically threatening. It is a prophetically powerful word that was probably 1800 years ahead of it's time. Yet it also echoed a theme of the OT that was 3000 years before it was written. What I'm saying is this: though I never preached from it before I'm excited to do it now-so let's go over to the bitty book of Philemon for 3 messages.

by John Miller

Hello friend it's so good to be with you-my name is TM and I believe God has a message he wants you to hear right now-in fact I believe that's why you are listening! My hope is that for the next few minutes you'll hear what God has to say to you today! Last Sunday was Easter and I gave you the message I gave to SMC that morning which put me in a pickle-you see I usually give you the sermon from the previous week-but God said-no Todd you need to give the radio listeners an Easter message on Easter so you got it! Then I started thinking I left you hanging last week as the message ended-the angel said to Jesus' disciples “go to Galilee and you'll see Jesus”-now the whole purpose of our time together is for you to catch a glimpse of Jesus! So how can I not get you over to that wonderful moment when Jesus revealed himself to his disciples? Let's go there now, open your Bibles to the Gospel of John Chapter 21 for our message today titled: Breakfast on the Beach. Now if you are listening and you have no Bible you need to know that I want to get you one. At the end of this message I will tell you how to reach me and perhaps get a few other wonderful things we have to offer-so stay with me! By now you should be in John 21 or at least be able to listen up as we hear the word of God… let me pray with you before I read-Oh Lord may your words speak to us and your spirit fill us and that you would keep me out of the way and say what you need to say to us today-IJNIPA.

Today we celebrate the most critical/important event in all of human history. In a few moments I'm going to read, hopefully with you, from Mark chapter 16, the first 7 verses that describe this event. It's miraculously powerful, surprisingly scary for those who experienced it and includes an angel that only adds to the intrigue. Two words in this passage really spoke to me and maybe they will to you too. I believe they are important to someone who is listening here today-on this campus or online elsewhere. Someone, who needs hope. Someone who may think the love of Jesus is for everyone else but not for them. This is why we need to go back to the garden tomb in Mark 16. You see Easter was not easy the first time around. In fact, for some it was sad b/c they thought Jesus was still dead but then when people began to hear he was alive-it got scary. Not in the typical “ghost in the graveyard” kind of scary but rather a uh-oh, remember what we did? Remember we let him down-what if Jesus is mad at me? By now you should be in the book of Mark the 16th chapter, so let's begin…

Perpetual Praise Psalm 146 032121 Remember what Psalms mean? Praise! Thus the Book of Psalms is an ancient and majestic song book is filled with praise-shouted with joy and whispered in pain-yet all is praise. Perhaps your definition of praise has been expanded I know mine has and I hope your practice has too! My prayer is that during this time of serious health concerns that you have found that music is good medicine! And no music can heal you quite like the Psalms. And so, today we'll finish up our series with the triumphant Ps 146, with the sermon in a sentence being: Music is good medicine that goes on forever! This is the meaning of our title Perpetual Praise-just b/c the series ends, just b/c we read thru the psalms, just b/c we memorized psalm 121 doesn't mean we check the box and say-ok I'm done praising the Lord-No! Our entire perspective on life should be one of praise-let's get into it now…

Do you ever get frustrated with things that don't last as long as they should? Tires wear out too fast, the average household appliance doesn't last like it used to, our phones which used to hang on the wall for decades now is in our pockets for a year or 2 and then are thrown away. But what about more important things-jobs used to be for life just like marriages. Churches were always around and pastors were too. But now jobs are lost, relationships fail and God's people seem to disappear. We can begin to wonder, does anything last? Psalm 136 sings us a convincing answer. With rhythmic repetition the singer reminds us that indeed something does last forever-something wonderful! Something we can count on today, tomorrow and forever! In our world of here today gone tomorrow, throw away disposables it's essential to know what lasts when all else fails. It's good to be reminded again and again that there is something, even better someone who's love will remain-long after everything else is gone. If you are here today feeling like nothing lasts-listen to this song b/c it's for you! For those who want the sermon in a sentence this is your point to ponder: Music is good medicine to remind us that God's lovelasts forever!