Own Your Faith

Too often we take for granted God's intentions for creation. The creation account can tell us so much about who God is, who we are, and our role in caring for creation as a community. We can put so much in context if we study closely the narrative of the creation account. Let's take a quick look at what it could mean for us today. Gen 1-2

The theme for 2017 is "So What?: Questions About Life and Faith. It's ok to wrestle with God by bringing your questions to him in prayer, wise counsel, Bible study, or reflection. He can handle them! This is the introductory message for the direction we will be going in 2017. God welcomes and expects your questions...they promote growth! Job 42:4,5.

The final sermon of the year focuses on the message of birth of the King, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Sometimes the "going" we need to remember most is constantly going to Jesus, the King. With so much lost by the commercialization of the holidays, we must remember to pay homage to the king. Matthew 2:11. Due to technical difficulties the message ends abruptly at 35:30.

Disciples are called, formed, and sent (Mark 1:17) not to be church-goers only, but to be disciple-makers. As we invest in our faith in order to mature in Christ we are to invest in others for the purpose of helping them to mature in Christ. It's the end of goal! Matthew 28:19

Disciples are called, formed, and sent to preach the gospel, but also to heal the oppressed and sick.

We have been given the permission and the responsibility to heal. Healing requires faith. Healing requires attitude. Healing begins and ends with prayer. Mark 3:14; 9:14-29

Disciples are called (invited) to follow, learn from, and be in intimate relationship with Jesus. Disciples are formed to grow and mature into reflections of Jesus. And disciples are sent as ambassadors where the gospel is wrapped in the package of their stories and testimonies. Our testimonies of salvation, grace, freedom, justice, breakthrough, and maturity in Christ are versions of the good news of the kingdom of God must be heard. So SPEAK! Romans 10:14-17

We conclude our series preaching on a few social issues that the church should have a BIBLICAL understanding of when speaking out and addressing them in the public arena. Pastor Monique Robinson teaches on sexism, a brief survey on discrimination, but also the solution to problem...Sin. This is a healing, encouraging, and empowering message for not only women, but men as well. Galatians 3:27-29

In light of the election results we've seen and heard of responses born out of anger and fear. We've heard of reports of blatant racist encounters across the country. How should the church respond to bring light to this seemingly dark and chaotic season? We look at Jeremiah's letter to the Israelites in exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4-7) for a hint of how we ought to respond today.

A brief look at the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that we ought to care for and attend to the needs of those who are less fortunate than we are. We are called to address the "condition" of the broken and we ought to confront the system that unjustly perpetuates that condition. Luke 10:29-37; Leviticus 19:9-10,33-34.

For far too long and far too often race or racism has been avoided and even dismissed by much of the church as not as important an issue as other injustices. The church, as the hope of the world, can't afford to be silent on these ongoing occurrences of racism in our society. It is an injustice we must speak out against until it is largely eradicated. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, "Silence in the face of evil is evil". Dr. King says, "Justice is what love sounds like when it speaks in public."