A reflection on our current state of affairs by Scott Jepson. The other day as I was preparing to lead Communion in our time together, I was struck by some thoughts. I thought back several years ago to when Kerry and I were members of Life Bible Fellowship and our senior pastor was Ray Schmautz. He taught us that the New Testament can be divided into 3 parts. First, the Gospels; second, the Book of Acts; and third, The Epistles or Letters. He said if an something shows up in only one of the three sections it’s probably special for […]
This last week we lost someone we deeply love. It is a loss we will always feel. Each time we see his name, or a memory of him crosses our mind, there will be a weight – the weight of grief and sadness. And yet, this weight forces us to see the tension in which we live. Because of the faith we have in Christ, we know that grief and sadness are not all there is. We have hope. We have hope in the promise of Christ, the promise of eternal life and the power of resurrection. We rest in […]
Anxiety is similar to Fear, but different. I see Anxiety as cousin to Fear. Fear mostly are more specific to certain things, like speaking in public, heights, fear of rejection, etc. Anxiety is really about dealing with a lot of “what ifs” constantly, uncontrollably floating in your mind. It feels like our mind is being pulled apart. High blood pressure So I have been on a diet and exercise regimen starting in July and I feel physically well! But recently, I was with some friends at work and we were having a competition of who has the lowest blood pressure. […]
In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul says he is the worst of sinners. And it was for him, the worst of sinners, that Christ came into the world. If Christ was willing to come for Paul, who had been dead set on destroying the Church, how abundant is God’s grace to all of us!
Has it been a long time since you dreamed of doing something crazy for God? It is very tempting to fall into the rhythm of our daily lives and allow time to float past us like the current of a stream. God wants to wake us up!
The life God has given you is uniquely yours. All of the struggles and challenges you face are an important part of the power of your unique story. We are all broken.
They say, “It takes a village.” Raising kids is not easy. Add in the influence of social media, smart phones, and video games and you’ve got a recipe for disaster! But take heart, there is help out there. One of the biggest aspects of life missing in the world today is a deep sense of identity. Historically, the people of God, the Jews, have had a deep sense of identity. They know who they are, and they know Who’s they are. It is time for the Church to capture that conviction and begin passing it along to the next generation. […]