RG AUDIO 060619   Matthew 18:21-35 Mercy is defined as having compassion toward or forgiving someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. When one exercises mercy, one is choosing to forgive rather than penalize. Jesus’ parable shows us the extravagant, invaluable mercy of God. The king had the power to punish […]

RG AUDIO 060519   Matthew 18:10-20 My three children and I have a tradition we observe. Once a month or so, on the way home from school, we make a stop at the local dollar store. We are there for “gummies,” the gelatinous, rainbow-colored candies many folks know as “gummy bears.” The kids make a […]

RG AUDIO 060419   Matthew 18:1-9 My toddler loves to play with her older brothers and is surprisingly good at keeping up with them. She adores them and doesn’t hesitate to imitate their every word and action. Despite her athletic abilities, she is still prone to the clumsiness characteristic of one learning to get around […]

RG AUDIO 060319   Matthew 6:5-15 Children can be very quick to point out what is fair or not. With eagle eye attention, they notice if the sandwich is cut precisely in two, the other person gets a longer turn, or if another doesn’t have as much work to do as they do. “That’s not […]

RG AUDIO 060219   Judges 2:10-23 There was a little girl named Debbie who joined the swim team. She loved swimming, however, she didn’t really want to work very hard. She preferred to play around and have fun at practice. One day each member of the team lined up for the practice races, ready to […]

RG AUDIO 060119   Isaiah 46:1-13 A pastor was called to a church to infuse it with new life. Things started off well, but in time one thing after another seemed to go wrong. There were a variety of issues with the church building. The church was growing until one last, major structural issue. With […]

RG AUDIO 053119   Genesis 1:1-5, 26—2:3 We live in a world that teaches us to put others down to feel better about ourselves. This has led to a society full of people who have poor self-esteem. Often it leads to a vicious circle where people are put down, put others down in response, and […]

RG AUDIO 053019   Acts 18:12-28 Standing in an elementary school hallway is where it all went down. The mother of three stood waiting for the final bell to ring so she could collect her children. That’s when another parent started declaring to everyone in the hall how the Bible was completely fake. The mother […]

RG AUDIO 052919   Acts 17:32—18:11 A mother awoke from a deep sleep, hearing one of her children babbling somewhere in the dark house. She immediately got up and walked room-to-room as she continued to hear the child say, “Hello. Is anybody there?” continually. As the mother approached the stairs, she noticed two little feet […]

RG AUDIO 052819   Acts 17:16-31 The people of Athens had many gods and idols they worshipped and served. The same can be said for many in our world today. While we might not have a specific graven image that we bow down and pray to, many of us allow idols to get a foothold […]