RG AUDIO 031821   Romans 2:25-29 Pastor Carol received a frantic call from the father of a newborn son. “Pastor, come quickly to the hospital! They are about to circumcise the baby. We need you to do the official circumcision ceremony!” “Oh my!” Pastor Carol thought, “they didn’t teach me that one in seminary.” The […]

RG AUDIO 031721   Romans 2:17-24 There is a great weight upon those who teach and preach to be certain they speak the truth and point people toward God’s paths of righteousness. Yet we should pay close attention to the fact that we are all teachers in the sense that how we live reflects on […]

RG AUDIO 031621   Romans 2:9-16 It has been said that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. As we walk through the season of Lent, we should all take a penitential posture. Apart from God’s grace through the atoning sacrificial love of Christ, we would all be lost forever. When scripture […]

RG AUDIO 031521   Romans 2:1-8 People who do not know any moral code such as the Ten Commandments can still identify right from wrong by the assessments that they make of other’s behaviors. If they look at someone stealing from another person and draw the conclusion that they should not have done that, then […]

RG AUDIO 031421   Hebrews 4:6-16 On my latest coaster adventure, my white-knuckled grip on the shoulder harness seat handles wasn’t enough to calm my nerves or convince me of security. Risk and concern loom larger in my mind with each passing amusement park season. As I read Hebrews 4, I think of the rollercoaster […]

RG AUDIO 031321   2 Timothy 1:3-14 I enjoy watching the youth of our church growing up, becoming leaders, and exploring their independence. We’ve all been there before, mortified by the seemingly “outdated” ideas, interests, or actions of our parents, especially in public. We’re easily concerned with what others think of our beliefs, activities, or […]

RG AUDIO 031221   2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 I’ve discovered I’m really comfortable with someone when I can road trip with them and be content riding for hours in complete silence. I’ve also realized the better I get to know someone and care for them, the more opportunities surface for disagreement and conflict. We run into […]

RG AUDIO 031121   1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Hard work. Personal discipline. Tenacity. These are attributes that we’re taught are the ingredients of success, of accomplishment, of becoming who and what we want to become. We embrace the notion that “the sky is the limit” to what we can become and accomplish. The theological reality Paul […]

RG AUDIO 031021   Acts 14:8-18 Election cycles are fascinating social studies. Human rhetoric, relations, and behavior gets highly scrutinized and diversely interpreted. During the 2020 United States presidential campaign I heard someone flatly judge the candidates as only wanting power and prestige. We can easily be tempted to reach these cynical conclusions. How unfortunate, […]

RG AUDIO 030921   Exodus 32:1-20, 30-35 A common relational transaction is often attempted in our lives and in our world. A teenager is out past curfew and a sibling tries to cover for them. Or a business colleague drastically messes up and a senior associate tries to take the heat. We laugh or cringe […]