"Mary" - Christmas Series Part 2 of 4. SUMMARY: In this Christmas series we are attempting to show how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things through Him. Mary was one such person. As I survey the Scriptures I find we are given windows into Mary?s life that are instructive for our very own lives. God is still in the business of using ordinary people if they, like Mary, would say ?"May it be to me as you have said."

Today’s Message: “Getting It Right” - Christmas Series, Part 1 of 4. SUMMARY: As we kick off this Christmas season it good to remind ourselves what it all means. Like Scrooge in the CHRISTMAS CAROL (Jim Carrey?), we can “bah-humbug” the season because of the “in your face” commercials and the raw commercialism that beckons us all season long (starting a week before Thanksgiving!)…did I mention mall parking lots and long lines? This message is designed to come to grips with God’s Perfect Timing (Why did He wait so long to send Christ?) and the fact that He Gets it Right… every time.

SUMMARY: As we kick off this Christmas season it good to remind ourselves what it all means. Like Scrooge in the CHRISTMAS CAROL (Jim Carrey?), we can “bah-humbug” the season because of the “in your face” commercials and the raw commercialism that beckons us all season long (starting a week before Thanksgiving!)…did I mention mall parking lots and long lines? This message is designed to come to grips with God’s Perfect Timing (Why did He wait so long to send Christ?) and the fact that He Gets it Right… every time.

Thanksgiving can be an empty holiday if we fail to understand our true condition as revealed by the Bible. At the THANKSGIVING TABLE we may have the custom of asking everyone to prepare a one sentence prayer or statement as to why we are thankful. As beautiful as this custom may be it sometimes is minimized to ?I?m thankful for?? instead of ?I thank God for?? The first statement is merely descriptive of some sentiment; the other clearly points to the one we are indebted to and acknowledges some sort of concrete debt (e.g. for health, home, family, forgiveness, finances, etc.). Make Thanksgiving more meaningful and be prepared to say ?I thank God for??

Thanksgiving can be an empty holiday if we fail to understand our true condition as revealed by the Bible. At the THANKSGIVING TABLE we may have the custom of asking everyone to prepare a one sentence prayer or statement as to why we are thankful. As beautiful as this custom may be it sometimes is minimized to ?I?m thankful for?? instead of ?I thank God for?? The first statement is merely descriptive of some sentiment; the other clearly points to the one we are indebted to and acknowledges some sort of concrete debt (e.g. for health, home, family, forgiveness, finances, etc.). Make Thanksgiving more meaningful and be prepared to say ?I thank God for??

SUMMARY: If we only see what is immediately before us (e.g. a child squealing with delight, a fan jumping up and down, a concert goer doing the pogo, etc.) we may miss the point altogether for their strange behavior. There is reason for their emotional expression. When we as worshippers enter into acts and moments of worship someone outside of our experience may think us strange because they do not understand what moves us?especially if our joyful noise sounds more like noise to them?but not to our God!

SUMMARY: If we only see what is immediately before us (e.g. a child squealing with delight, a fan jumping up and down, a concert goer doing the pogo, etc.) we may miss the point altogether for their strange behavior. There is reason for their emotional expression. When we as worshippers enter into acts and moments of worship someone outside of our experience may think us strange because they do not understand what moves us?especially if our joyful noise sounds more like noise to them?but not to our God!

SUMMARY: Often we think of worship as an act to God although it is true that we do acts of worship to God it is not complete. The kind of worship that God seeks is TOTAL devotion of our very lives (acts included). Jesus is not looking for our spiritual life, or religious life, or our moral life, etc. He seeks TOTAL devotion (not meaning perfect devotion). When we worship as the Bible describes, ?You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul and strength,? we find that we become the beneficiaries of a transformed life.

SUMMARY: Often we think of worship as an act to God although it is true that we do acts of worship to God it is not complete. The kind of worship that God seeks is TOTAL devotion of our very lives (acts included). Jesus is not looking for our spiritual life, or religious life, or our moral life, etc. He seeks TOTAL devotion (not meaning perfect devotion). When we worship as the Bible describes, ?You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul and strength,? we find that we become the beneficiaries of a transformed life.

Today's Message: "Praise Him." Worship Series, Part 1 of 4. SUMMARY: As a philosopher I find so much philosophy about God is framed in propositional language, e.g. ?If God?, then God?? which I find to be sterile and static; and so unlike the God of the Bible that I worship. As a pastor I find so many us Christians having an unimaginative view of God that we easily lose sight of the true greatness and grandeur of our God as revealed in Jesus Christ, which is a face to face encounter with the Maker of the cosmos. We need to be reminded of our Living God and it ought to produce in us genuine praise.