thinking out loud

In this All Saints Day message, Terry Timm reflects on the Beatitudes as Jesus' vision of the "blessed life," a life marked by open-handed dependence on God, mercy, righteousness, peacemaking, and faithful endurance. He invites listeners to remember the ordinary saints—past and present—whose lives have made God's love, compassion, courage, and faithfulness visible. Ultimately, the message points to Jesus as the fullest embodiment of the blessed life and calls us to receive and reflect that life in the world.

In this message, Richie Reeder teaches from Matthew 22 on Jesus' greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He emphasizes that love is not just a belief or feeling, but the foundation for every decision, relationship, and action in God's kingdom. Richie invites listeners to consider what might change if love became the foundation for everything they do.

Terry Timm explores Jesus' teaching to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's," showing how Jesus exposes the trap of competing loyalties. He challenges listeners to consider what has their deepest allegiance—money, politics, comfort, culture, or the kingdom of God. Ultimately, Terry calls the church to give Caesar his coin, but to give God their whole lives as image-bearers who reflect the character of King Jesus.

Richie Reeder teaches from Matthew 22 and Jesus' parable of the wedding banquet, showing that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of gracious invitation. He explains both the generosity and seriousness of God's invitation, emphasizing that we must receive it on the King's terms rather than our own. The message challenges believers to live as invited people who extend welcome, hospitality, love, and acceptance to others.

Terry Timm reflects on Isaiah 25 and Revelation 7 to describe God's coming kingdom as a great feast where all peoples are welcomed, death is defeated, and every tear is wiped away. Connecting this vision to World Communion Sunday, he reminds the church that God's table is global, inclusive, and centered on Christ. He invites listeners to live toward that future now by seeing people as image-bearers, practicing hospitality, and moving toward those who are in pain.

In the second message of the series, *Kingdom Come*, Terry Timm explores Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20. He shows how the kingdom of God is not built on what we earn or deserve, but on the generous character of a God who keeps coming, sees the overlooked, and gives abundant grace. Terry invites us to receive God's goodness with humility and to celebrate that same grace when it is poured out on others.

In the first message of the "Kingdom Come" series, Richie Reeder introduces the "already but not yet" reality of the kingdom of God and what it means to live under the reign of King Jesus here and now. Focusing on Matthew 18 and the parable of the unmerciful servant, he explores how deeply forgiven people are called to become forgiving people. Richie acknowledges the difficulty of forgiveness while distinguishing it from reconciliation, reminding us that forgiveness releases us from bitterness even when restored relationship is not possible or wise.

In this Labor Day message from Terry Timm, he frames work as a God-given calling to "cultivate and care" for the places and people entrusted to us. Acknowledging that because of the fall, work is often marked by frustration, toil, and distorted identity, our true worth is found in being beloved children of God. Through Christ's finished work, we are empowered to join God's redemptive mission, praying the words of Psalm 90:17, "Establish the work of our hands."

In this message, Richie Reeder reflects on Jesus' invitation to choose presence over performance through the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. In a culture marked by busyness, striving, and distraction, this talk invites us to slow down, sit at the feet of Jesus, and rediscover the gift of resting in God's presence. You may want to watch this video, Be Still, before or after listening to the message.

In this message, Terry Timm brings the "Blessed and Broken" series to a close by reflecting on the deaths of Jacob and Joseph in Genesis 49–50. He shows how Scripture makes room for grief, names brokenness honestly, and reminds us that evil is never the final word in God's story. Through Joseph's trust in God's unseen promise, this message points us to the hope that all of God's promises find their "yes" in Jesus Christ.