First Pres Colorado Springs Sermons: Recent Episodes
First Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs
Sermons from Sunday worship at First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs are available on Monday or Tuesday after they are delivered. We welcome you to visit us in person in downtown Colorado Springs, online at www.firstprescos.org or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@firstprescos).
The appeal of apathy. Actually, there is something that makes us want to be more apathetic these days. It is a pseudo-wisdom that claims to be sophisticatedly disassociated and disengaged from the meaninglessness of life. It claims to be brave, intellectually honest, and unflinching, but it is actually nothing more than cynicism and sarcasm of the most childish sort. Solomon went deep into it in his study called Ecclesiastes. Everything “under the sun” is meaningless. What about life with windows, life that stretches over the sun and past the sun? Speaker: Tim McConnell
The danger of apathy. What a comical picture! This sluggard is so full of lethargy he reaches into the chip bowl and falls asleep with his hand still outstretched, with not enough energy to even retrieve his hand. He rolls around on his bed like a squeaky hinge on a door, moving without getting anywhere. How do we get so stuck? Some say we are in the “meh” generation, a generation unable to find anything to care about or any reason to get out of bed. Let’s find “gospel hope for those who struggle to care.” Speaker: Tim McConnell
From start to finish, the work of salvation belongs to the Lord. Our work is to cultivate a listening heart that is responsive to the voice and call of Jesus. Lydia’s story reminds us of how God works in the life of a listener. Speaker: Jennifer Holz
God cares about the heart not the face, the inner life not the resume. Jesus calls us to do good things in the secret places where no one sees. It is easy to give to the poor in order to gain a reputation or be rewarded by accolades. It is harder to do it in secret where only you and the Lord know. It is easy to show off our religiosity as a show of virtue, but harder to pray in private. As the salty followers of Jesus, I hope the contrast between our lives and the lives of those around us serves to surprise Colorado Springs with the good news of Jesus. Let the difference be a joyful surprise. Christians are statistically 3x more generous. Part of our witness to the good news of Jesus is a surprising commitment to the poor and the marginalized. Surprising those in need can also be fun. Speaker: Tim McConnell
One of the greatest roadblocks for non-Christians approaching Christ is the challenge of a higher sexual ethic. “Isn’t it horrible and backwards that Christians refuse to accept the simple truth that love is love?” Jesus calls us to a higher ethic of sexuality and human relationships. Believers have always stood out on this point. Could this roadblock be turned into a signpost to a better way? The freedom ethic of the sexual revolution has left people unhappy, particularly women. Jesus calls us higher. He does not shy away from this most sensitive of topics. Neither should we. Speaker: Tim McConnell
One of the greatest roadblocks for non-Christians approaching Christ is the challenge of a higher sexual ethic. “Isn’t it horrible and backwards that Christians refuse to accept the simple truth that love is love?” Jesus calls us to a higher ethic of sexuality and human relationships. Believers have always stood out on this point. Could this roadblock be turned into a signpost to a better way? The freedom ethic of the sexual revolution has left people unhappy, particularly women. Jesus calls us higher. He does not shy away from this most sensitive of topics. Neither should we. Speaker: Tim McConnell
I thought maybe I should title this sermon series “Salted Nuts.” The world does think we are nuts. “You believe all of history hinges on the life of one Jewish man who lived 2,000 years ago and died on a Roman cross?” Yup. “You rest your life on the Bible as though God delivered it to you when all of us know it is anachronistic, scientifically-disproved spiritual fluff?” Yeah, kinda. We do stand out. Jesus told us we would stand out. The Christian life stands in stark contrast to the regular patterns of the world. But this is just where the gospel slips in. Don’t lose your salt. Speaker: Jim Edwards
With our roots deep in the soil of the Spirit of Christ, we are overflowing with his fullness. We are not living on the dregs, we are full of the divine life. We don’t live from a posture of lack and scarcity, but from the overflowing “more than enough” of the life of Jesus within us. The fullness within also makes us hungry for the world to be put right, for all the world to be full of the grace of God as the waters cover the sea. Speaker: Tim McConnell
This is an odd verse. In some way or another, our sufferings contribute to the fullness of the divine life. We are connected to Christ, and even share in his sufferings. This life is a contest. We are pitted against evil forces that destroy life. As full children of God who flourish in the divine life filling us up from within, we overflow to fill up the gaps in the world. Wounds become sources of healing for others and we can be agents of flourishing in the name of Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Do you believe in the fullness of life? Can it happen to you? It has less to do with your external circumstances and more to do with the attachments of your heart. Paul has the same attachments of the heart whether he is free or in chains, comfortable or suffering. Fullness happens within. You will know streams of living water flowing from within you (John 7:38) when Jesus pours out his Holy Spirit in you. Speaker: Dave Steane
The seed is the Word of God. The parable of the soil is not determinative. Jesus expects that you have the ability to change your soil, to alter the soil of your heart. How is that done? How can you soften your heart to receive the good news of Jesus and bear fruit a hundred fold? “Come to me in your weariness and distress,” says Jesus. “Take up my yoke. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Walk along with me.” Take up the spiritual practices that keep you near to Jesus. When you do, you find that your heart opens up and softens to God’s purposes. Speaker: Michael Thornton
John 10:10 says, ‘'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus is accused of using satanic power to manipulate satanic forces. Actually, he uses divine power to destroy Satan’s purposes. Are you aware that there is a spiritual battle for your soul and the souls of your family and friends? (C S Lewis, Screwtape Letters) There is no rest in the temptations of the evil one. Rest comes from turning to Jesus and joining his Kingdom, and becoming part of his family. Speaker: Michael Thornton
Family is not always the easiest to navigate. Friends can sometimes be a burden. Jesus drew the disciples near and made family of them. Jesus suffered difficult family dynamics among his own brothers. Jesus can get in the middle of your most trying relationships. Jesus cares about our relationships with others. We can bless one another or curse one another, but with the love of Jesus within us we can find great rest in relationships and peace in the brotherhood of believers. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The fact that Jesus is the source and cause of our salvation and healing is actually an affront to the religious leaders. We can live with a god who tells us what to do and helps us achieve the goal, even one who defines our goals contrary to our personal desires. What we cannot tolerate is the idea that we need Jesus as our Savior. Where does true healing start? We try everything. Diet. Exercise. Travel. Where do we find rest for our weary souls? In bowing down before Jesus, throwing ourselves down prostrate before him, and letting him save us. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Maybe this summer is the summer of sabbath for you. What is the sabbath? Why does God command it? The regular practice of the sabbath alters our lives demonstrably for the better. It honors God, serves neighbor, promotes justice, and betters the earth. But it can also be a temptation to earn God’s favor through legalism. It is neither Jesus’ intent to push us into legalistic and performative behavior, nor to leave us neglecting the healthy practices woven into the fabric of creation. Let Jesus be Lord of your sabbath. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The paralyzed man was lowered before Jesus from the roof. Obviously uncomfortable, obviously lame, obviously in need of physical relief, Jesus forgave his sins. He only healed his body to prove he has authority to remove and forgive his sins. Levi needed correction, prophetic justice raining down on his head. Jesus went to his house and became his friend. He only changed his career after filling his heart with healing love. Jesus knows the help we need. When we think we want Jesus on our side to serve our needs, Jesus knows how to bring us over to his side. Jesus is truly the help we need. Speaker: Abi Tovar
Not them, Lord. Not them. Was it racism? Was it nationalism? Something in Jonah’s heart could not accept the prospect of a Ninevite brother in the family. Families must be models of acceptance and grace. We celebrate the family today. With each new generation we accept new brothers and sisters in faith in Christ. I love stories of mothers who know how to bring new family members into the fold with open arms. The church should be like that. Speaker: Tim McConnell
How amazing is God’s grace? There are none who are so far from Christ that they cannot hear His voice, turn and live. Do you share Jesus with expectation that the person in front of you may soon be your eternal brother or sister in Christ? Can you see the unseen future of the lost being found and finding a new identity in Christ? There are amazing stories of conversion and revival. But every testimony is amazing! Are we truly ready to accept new believers into our community, or do we think, “They are not like us”? Speaker: Jennifer Holz
In one way or another, you will spend your life. The question is what will you spend it on. Jonah realized they were all doomed if he did not change course. He realized that death was coming over all of them, including himself. There was no more choosing. There was only one thing to do—give his life for theirs’. At that moment, he was willing to die to save the lives of the shipmates. Jesus said there is no greater love (John 15:13). Jonah may have done it more out of desperation than love, but he lays his life down. When will you lay your life down for the call of Jesus? The one who tries to save his or her life loses it, but the one who gives his or her life away finds it saved by Jesus (Mark 8:35). Speaker: Tim McConnell
What is your first reaction to God’s purposes in your life? Do you embrace them? Even the hard things? God had an errand for Jonah—go and preach grace to the citizens of Nineveh; go and preach love to your enemies. Jonah probably had a list of reasons in his own mind why he got on a boat to flee in the opposite direction. We are given an errand today. Go and preach forgiveness to the ends of the earth (Luke 24:47); make disciples of all people (Matthew 28:19). How do we respond? Speaker: Tim McConnell
What does it mean to have eternal life? It means you are in the love of God. Love goes on forever. As Paul said, hope lasts only as long as you are waiting for what you are hoping for. Faith lasts only until you know by sight the thing you once believed without seeing. But love. Love goes on forever and only grows greater. To put your faith in Christ is to be in Christ, in His love, which goes on and on and on. People ask, “Am I safe?” We want to be safe, and to create safety for others. The one truly safe place to be is in the love of God for eternal life in Jesus Christ. Speaker: Matt Holtzman
The cross is the culmination of Jesus’ mission of love. The only way that God could be both just and the justifier of sinners, both righteous and the forgiver of rebels, is to send His own Son to pay the due penalty for our error and rebellion. God would not do that unless He loved us. God so loved the world, so loved the fallen, rebellious, spiteful world, that He gave His Son, His only Son. That Son is Jesus who died for us on the cross. That Jesus was laid in a tomb outside of Jerusalem. That tomb was found empty and that Jesus was seen again, alive after He was dead. He is risen! Now we can know the truth of the second half of vs. 16 – “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” People ask, “What is my worth?” Your worth is proven in the death and resurrection of Jesus. God sees you worth the life of His own Son. Speaker: Tim McConnell
On Palm Sunday, Jesus came into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Many crowded around singing “Hosanna!” Everyone wanted to see Jesus. Can you see Jesus? In this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus says something has to happen before you can see. You must be born again from above, born again spiritually, fundamentally transformed and regenerated. Like a baby that opens its eyes for the first time, when you believe in Jesus the Spirit of God opens your eyes to see. People ask, “Am I enough? Do I have what it takes?” Nicodemus would never earn his way into heaven. We need need Jesus, we need God to open our eyes so we can see. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus was forceful about removing the marketeers from the House of the Lord. The disciples were no doubt embarrassed and concerned. I wonder if they made up excuses for Jesus. “Honestly, He’s never like this!” Love and truth are connected. Sometimes love looks like this. Love removes what is damaging and perverse to return your life to right relationship with God. Jesus is willing to stand for truth. People today want to ask, like Pilate did, “What is truth?” Jesus stood for truth and love; grace and truth. Truth is out there. “Truth reveals reality, and reality can be described as what we humans run into when we are wrong, a collision in which we always lose.” (Dallas Willard) Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus loved being Jesus. He must have! Look at how much fun He has. It was not a parlor trick. It reveals how invested Jesus is in people and the problems they have. Jesus is invested in us the same way. We ask, “Do all people matter to God?” Here is a seemingly insignificant young couple getting married. Jesus cared enough to expose His power and threaten His agenda. All people matter to God, and all their worries and cares matter too. God loves people all the way down. Speaker: John Goodale
When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, they were moved to drop everything and follow. The conviction was immediate. We have a hard time trusting. Trust is a big deal. You have to earn it. It takes time to build up and can be destroyed in an instant. How did these men and women trust Jesus so quickly? People ask “Can I trust you?” They want someone to trust. Jesus is worthy of all our trust. His love and faithfulness are sure. Speaker: Tim McConnell
God took on flesh in Jesus to become for us the perfect sacrifice of atonement. Jesus came to give His life away in order to rescue us from sin and death. Other gospels tell us all about Bethlehem, where faultless lambs were bred and raised for sacrifice in the Temple. John washed the surface of a person with water. Jesus is the only one who can die for us and make us clean. People want to know, “Will you accept me?” Jesus’ sacrifice ensures the answer is yes. Why would the Son of God agree to become the sacrificial lamb? All for love. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The coming of Jesus, the very incarnation of the Word of God, is a mission of love. God so loved the world. God did not leave His disobedient creation to suffer the eternal consequences of its own rebellion and sin. God did not leave this world to fall into the corruption of its own making. God came. God entered. God took on flesh and walked into our world, full of grace and truth. People want to know, “Am I safe?” There is nothing safe about this world, but God has come to save. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Activated Disciples know what their ministry is. It’s not just about learning more and more information. It’s about serving Christ on mission in this world. Every member has a ministry. What is your ministry? Paul says to see him as a servant of Christ entrusted with mysteries revealed by God. We have been given a trust. How will you use it? The Core is those members who have found their ministry. They have been equipped. They are Active Disciples because they are using their gifts for the Kingdom. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Disciples need deeper discipleship. Worshipers gather on Sunday to experience the joy of worship, but do they grow from milk to solid food? Worship is not a 1-hour a week thing. We belong to Jesus as Disciples. Have you taken a next step? Do you read the Bible at home? Do you pray outside of church? Do you worship God wherever you are? A disciple wants to be like Jesus in everything they do. They are committed believers who need to be edified, built up, given deeper knowledge and love of Jesus to spill out into 7-days a week faith. Speaker: Greg Hartnett
Worshipers need community to begin to grow into disciples. New believers have so much to learn. They are like infants drinking milk. We need the milk of Christian community. Learn how to be together, from all walks of life, and be part of a community of faith, the family of God. These are people who need to be encouraged in Christian community. This is the congregation encouraged to build community. How’s our linger meter? In the garden of Christian community discipleship begins to grow. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Participants have stepped into the stream of the Jesus community, now they need to learn how to worship. These are people who need to be invited to exalt the Lord. We gather this crowd in services of worship and lift up Jesus among them so they can see and know the Lord. Paul told the Corinthian church there was just nothing higher, nothing more important, nothing more glorious than “Jesus Christ and him crucified”—the gospel of Jesus and what he did to save. We are a worship first church. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Community Members hear something about Jesus and his community, his followers. These are people who need to be Evangelized. We reach them through outreach. The believers in Corinth were entrusted with a remarkable mission—reaching people who were very different from Judeo/Christian values. Speaker: Tim McConnell
We sing songs of heaven today. Like a foreigner or immigrant who still sings the folk songs of her native land, we sing the songs of our coming Kingdom. We know them already. The Spirit has ingrained them in our hearts. When heaven comes down, these songs will fill the earth as the water covers the seas. Heaven is singing right now. Can you hear it? Can you join in the song? Speaker: Greg Hartnett
The shepherds were captured in a song of heaven. The chorus of angels appeared in the sky. Suddenly there was an inbreaking of heaven in their ordinary lives. Something interrupted and captured everything in the light of God. The song of heaven broke into the realm of earth. Can you hear the song of heaven? Can you hear the music of God? Can you respond in song? If you are in Christ, if Christ is born in you, you have a song to sing. The song of heaven invades your earth tonight. Speaker: Tim McConnell
But are you happy? What is your deepest longing? What have you been waiting to see from the core of your being? For Simeon, it was the fulfilment of a promise that one day he would see the “consolation of Israel.” I have seen the Lord! Nunc Dimittis, now dismiss your servant in peace. What would it take to say the same? To say, the Lord has provided for me and I am glad. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Zechariah speaks for the prophets about the prophetic work of John the Baptist. John will accompany the prophets in preparing the way for the Lord. When Kings traveled, roads had to be built before them to allow them to come with all their retinue. John the Baptist, and all the prophets before him, call on us to prepare the way for the Lord. Lower the high places, raise the lowered places. Make his paths straight. Zechariah sings that the Lord has come—not just a prophet, or a judge, or a man, but God himself. John, his son, will prepare the way as a prophet. Sing a song of joy. God is on the move. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Mary’s song is sometimes called The Magnificat. My soul magnifies the Lord, she sings. Like many “songs” in scripture, it doesn’t necessarily say that she sang it, but the text is so lyrical and balanced it quickly became a song in the church if it wasn’t one originally. Mary’s song is a reminder of God’s faithfulness through history. God has intervened in the past. God will intervene again. God is intervening right now, and He has power to topple any obstacle and turn over any power. There is no question of God’s power. The question is will He move, will He act, will He come just as He promised? Speaker: Tim McConnell
How does a peacemaker make peace? Like a parent short on patience you could be tempted to simply yell, “Stop it!” But that’s not real peace. That’s not lasting peace. Peace, it is said, is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice and righteousness. Shalom. The world made right as God intended. The world gives a promise of a kind of peace. Take three breaths as your Apple watch vibrates on your wrist. Open your Calm app and travel inside to another place away from the turmoil of the present. Okay. But is there truly peace that endures? Will peace come to the world? Jesus gives peace in a different way; not as the world gives. It might not be insta, but it's good. Speaker: Michael Thornton
Swipe left for love. Or is it right? I don’t know. But I do know this: love grows sweeter with time. Can there be love at first sight? Yes. But romantic fascination only turns into life-giving love with commitment over time. Marriage is an opportunity to grow longstanding love. So is friendship. The church is a housing for the development of longstanding love. The long and faithful love of God for his wayward children is our enduring model. Speaker: Tim McConnell
There are many offers of instant joy, instant happiness, instant satisfaction. They never satisfy. Jesus is invested in your joy. Jesus is sacrificially sponsoring of your joy and happiness. It doesn’t come with the instant solution, but with humble obedience to the Lord’s Word over time and variable experience. Abide with the vine, Jesus, and watch joy emerge from the deepest and darkest roots under the soil of common, everyday life. Speaker: John Goodale
Abide in me, says Jesus. Hang on to me as I hang on to you. Stay attached. A vine is like a hose in being connected to the source, but it is so much unlike a hose in the slow and unseen way that life moves through it in its connection to the trunk. You don’t grow fruit by dipping the roots of a fruit tree into the soil once or twice a year. You keep the roots in the good soil and you watch, and you wait. Then comes the fruit. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Show me a picture of home. Is that too much to ask? God doesn’t think so! In fact, Revelation paints the picture well. Like a brochure of a coming glory land, we have a picture of heaven. Not enough to fill in every detail, but enough to make us hunger and know that we will one day be satisfied. Like the brochure for Alpha Centauri in “Lost in Space.” I can’t know every detail, but it looks good! What do we really know of heaven? Where are we headed after all? What does the future home look like? The more I can see, the more I see it will satisfy my longing heart. And the more of that I understand, the more ready I am to invest in heaven. Put your treasure in heavenly places where rust and moth do not destroy. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Hope is borrowing the future to pay off the present day. The reality of what is coming changes the reality of what I experience today. Home is out there. It is on the way. My longing is not just endless, existential angst. It is a thirst that will one day be slaked, a hunger that will one day be sated in a glorious exercise of feasting before the Lord with joy. This promise is not an empty encouragement. It is the statement of a reality not yet present, but on the way. The reality of what is coming alters the reality of what is here. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Yes, you have already been adopted into the family of grace. You have a home waiting and you are beginning to see your place at the table. You are on your way home. Your story (narrative) attaches to God’s great story (metanarrative). The fact that you are part of that larger story makes your own story tolerable. How can I keep connecting to that larger story? Prayer, the Word, sacraments and sanctified imagination where I can see myself already at home in the family of God. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Finally, yes, finally, we come to Jesus. What if I told you that Jesus Christ is the satisfaction of every longing you have? He is the fountain of life that satisfies the thirsty; the bread of life that satisfies the hungry. He is the way home for the lost and wandering. He is the home, and He is the way home. Scattered across the globe are believers in Jesus Christ meeting today at table to receive the bread, the cup, the tastes and smells and nourishments of home. Speaker: Dave Steane
But is there a home? It seems so far away now, I can hardly recall it. Maybe there is no home, just the longing. No. The longing proves we were made for something called home. (“…physical hunger does not prove that man will get any bread…but surely a man’s hunger does prove that he comes of a race which repairs its body by eating and inhabits a world where eatable substances exist.” C S Lewis, The Weight of Glory) So then, what of our longing for home? What of our longing for God? In our wandering places, far from home, God sends Jeremiahs our way to call out “Turn! Turn for home!” God will carry you home. He promised. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It is the story of the people of God. They wandered. Abraham wandered from his homeland (a wandering Aramean). The Israelites wandered in the desert after liberation from Egypt. The people of God wandered away from faithfulness over and over, called back to salvation by a faithful and loving God. I wonder how you handle the wandering in your own soul? Has it caused you to make a few wrong turns? There is a Taizé song called “De Noche,” that says: “De noche iremos, de noche; que para encontrar la fuente, sólo la sed nos alumbra, sólo la sed nos alumbra.” In English: By night, we hasten, in darkness; to search for living water, only our thirst leads us onward, only our thirst leads us onward.” How will your thirst ever be satisfied? “…we remain conscious of a desire which no natural happiness will satisfy” (CS Lewis, Weight of Glory). Speaker: Tim McConnell
Now we all long for home. We are wanderers in a foreign land. It’s hard to remember what home was like. Ruth is a good picture of this. Far from home, she seeks solace in a connection with her mother-in-law. It is a good connection. But the real home she needs is somewhere held by a Kinsman Redeemer who will welcome her into the family she was always supposed to join, the land where she was always supposed to dwell. Boaz is a Kinsman Redeemer, but the true Redeemer of the displaced is Jesus. Speaker: Greg Hartnett
In the beginning, we were home. We were very much at home. Everything the Lord created, the Lord created to make us feel at home. The world we live in still reflects so much of this. The anthropic principle stuns us thinking about the carefully crafted home that sustains our life. Deep within every human being is a knowledge that there is a place called “home” that we must somehow find. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Never forget God is there. This is a psalm worthy of memorization. Hide it away in your heart. When you are challenged, shaken, pressed upon and sad, this is the message to remember. The Lord is my shepherd. God is there, even when I feel like He is absent. He never stops caring for me. He never stops guiding me. He never stops restoring my soul. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Never forget the Lord who leads you into eternal life. Speaker: Greg Zaloom
Never forget God is there. This is a psalm worthy of memorization. Hide it away in your heart. When you are challenged, shaken, pressed upon and sad, this is the message to remember. The Lord is my shepherd. God is there, even when I feel like He is absent. He never stops caring for me. He never stops guiding me. He never stops restoring my soul. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Never forget the Lord who leads you into eternal life. Speaker: Abi Tovar
Never forget God is there. This is a psalm worthy of memorization. Hide it away in your heart. When you are challenged, shaken, pressed upon and sad, this is the message to remember. The Lord is my shepherd. God is there, even when I feel like He is absent. He never stops caring for me. He never stops guiding me. He never stops restoring my soul. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Never forget the Lord who leads you into eternal life. Speaker: Marcos Henry
Depression, like anxiety, can be a serious mental and emotional disorder. It can be a cause to reach out for help and bring a professional into your life. If you are looking for help, we have a Counselors Coalition. Remember when you are sad, or even if you are walking through a long season of depression, coming to terms with your emotional health as a part of your life that doesn’t sit right all the time, God is there. God is not turning away from you in your darkened emotional state. God is not repulsed or turned away by your sadness or broken spirit. Cry out to God and find that God hears. God is there. Speaker: Jennifer Holz
Sometimes smart people do dumb things; wise people do foolish things; good people do bad things; godly people do sinful things. The older I get, the more tempted I am to think that God may just be done with me. Will God really forgive me AGAIN? When you fail and fall into sin, it is time to turn toward God, not away from God. You need humility and forgiveness, not shame and guilt. God will forgive. It amazes me that David is called a man after God’s own heart even with this shameful, murderous event as part of his life story. I think this Psalm reveals why. God never expected sinlessness and a mistake-free life; but God expects and responds to humble hearts that turn to Him. Speaker: Greg Hartnett
I do love that phrase, “an ever-present help.” What does it mean to be ever-present? That’s more than just present. Can I believe that God is ever-present to me in my life? In times of joy and laughter, God is there. In times of distress, God is there. When I’m thriving, God is present. When I’m active in sin, God is even there. Sometimes we fall fearful. Sometimes we burn with anxiousness or even suffer a bout of anxiety. In those times, we can turn to God, remembering how He sustained us in the past, resting in the knowledge that He has a city of refuge for us in the present, and finding hope in Him for the future. Speaker: Dana Allin
When you get a bad deal, or something comes out in your life unfair, it can turn your heart away from God. Why would God let this happen to me? Doesn’t God care that I am being treated this way? The Psalms are the prayerbook of the Bible, and in many ways a wonderful guide to the range of emotions we experience in life, and in our life with God. Psalm 73 is a guide for us. How can we navigate those moments when life doesn’t seem fair? Open your heart and pour out your frustrations before the Lord. He will give you a new perspective and renew your faith. He is a refuge. Speaker: Matt Holtzman
Walking With Jesus begins when you put your faith in Him and believe. It doesn’t just change your mental landscape. Belief in Jesus is not just one more idea to add into your conception of the world around you and the life you lead. Putting your faith in Jesus is the opening of a door and walking through, a commitment of your whole life into His hands, a stepping out on the water from the boat. This commitment of faith becomes an open avenue for the grace of God to come flooding into your life with power. Jesus asks even now, Do You Believe? Speaker: Dave Steane
Have you ever had the experience of showing a friend around town who comes from another place? All of a sudden, you see everything through his or her eyes. It all seems new and fresh! Walking with Jesus has a way of making all things new. The light of Jesus shines on all we see. Embrace the newness of life by Walking with Jesus. Speaker: John Goodale
There seems to be so much power in those words, “Follow me,” from Jesus. Never does it read, “So the person said to Jesus, ‘OK, I’ll think about it. I’ll get back to you.’” No. It is always just as it is for Matthew here. So he got up and followed Him. Matthew was leaving a lot behind. It was a radical and transforming decision to stand up, walk away from his past, and begin walking with Jesus. And where does Jesus lead? Into a ministry of seeking and saving the lost. Jesus walks us right up to the sick and the sinful, the broken and needy. It is not a walk into power and success, but a walk toward those who need the saving power of Jesus. Speaker: Dave Steane
Who has the authority to forgive? A judge can expunge your record. A principal may be able to erase your demerits. Usually, the person you wronged has to offer and provide forgiveness if you want to be forgiven. Who can forgive sin against God? Only God. In this moment, Jesus claims the authority to forgive sins. The man had a problem with his physical body. Jesus gave him the ability to walk. But Jesus knew the real problem this man faced was in his eternal relationship with God and the sins that kept him from life in the Kingdom. Walking with Jesus means walking paths of forgiveness. As we have been forgiven, so we forgive. Speaker: Jennifer Holz
Know that God is our Savior (v 35). How? In Jesus Christ. Jesus has come near to save. Jesus has delivered us among the nations. Keep the fires alive. Keep the honor and reverence and worship alive. Let’s be serious about our salvation. Let’s be serious about our relationship with God. Jesus gave His life to save us. Honor the Lord. Fear the Lord. Worship the Lord. Jesus is our Savior. What is your part in keeping God “Higher” here at First Pres? The church doesn’t work unless every part does its part. Just like this list of leaders forever memorialized for their assignments to serve the Lord in the tabernacle, what is your place to serve? Speaker: Michael Thornton
God is worthy of praise. It is right to give Him thanks and praise. It is good for you to worship the Lord and to take pause to remember all that God has done for you. Remember His covenants. Remember the answered prayers. Remember how God has moved from generation to generation. We sing and celebrate the faithfulness of God today in our moms, kids, grandkids, graduates and more. Lift God higher and proclaim His name among the nations. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Is it really necessary to spend so much? Is it really appropriate to make such a big deal of worship? Is it worth the cost of bread, cakes and dates for every citizen? David is extravagant in celebration of the Lord. In fact, David lets his passion go and dances in the street before the ark in the presence of the Lord. His wife didn’t like it. But David told her, “I will become even more undignified than this!” (2 Samuel 6:22). God is worthy of celebration, worthy of sacrifice, worthy of passionate and unrestrained praise. Remember Mary of Bethany and the alabaster jar (Mark 14). God is worthy of all you have and more. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It wasn’t a problem of making too much of God; it was a problem of being too familiar with God. When I was a child, God seemed very distant and frightening. I was relieved by Jesus’ teaching to pray to God as Abba, Father. I was relieved to see how Jesus wants to call us friends (John 15:15) and wants to walk intimately with us. But have we lost something of the reverence? Not a distant fear of an unknown God, but an honor and reverence for God as God is—all powerful, almighty, above us in every way. Lift Him higher. Worship the Lord as He demands to be worshiped. Speaker: Tim McConnell
This is one of the stranger moments in the Scriptures. What was so wrong with trying to steady the ark and keep it from falling? Did this man really need to lose his life for this error? Nevertheless, this is how the life of Uzzah came to a sudden end. Lives end suddenly in all kinds of ways, and those of us watching should try to learn what we can in our confusion and grief. David did learn. He was trying to use the ark as a production for his own fame. He disregarded the careful instructions God had given. He did not fear the Lord with reverence. The damage was severe, and the lesson cut deep. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The high priest, Caiaphas, had no idea what he was truly saying. John points out the irony in John 18:14. But the truth of it remains. Jesus, one man, has died for the many. Jesus has paid the ransom price to bring the disobedient nation, the people of God, into eternal life in God’s Kingdom. On this Sunday after Easter, we celebrate that eternal life is welling up within us if we have faith in Jesus, that mortal death is not the end of our immortal life in Jesus, and that the brothers and sisters we have in the communion of saints that have gone to sleep before us are not dead, but are experiencing everlasting life just as Jesus said Speaker: John Goodale
This is the story of Lazarus. Before Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning, He called His friend Lazarus out of the tomb and back from the dead. Lazarus came out with his graveclothes still on. Jesus commanded those around him to unbind him and let him free. Jesus has granted us new life; we act as though we are still dead. Jesus has gained us forgiveness; we act as though we are still condemned. Jesus has gained eternal life; we act as though this life is all there is. In many different ways, we wear the graveclothes of the dead even after the Lord has called us into new life. Some say Christianity is a straightjacket, but Jesus says to Unbind Him. In Jesus’ resurrection, the graveclothes and spices and ointments are all left behind in the tomb. This is one of the evidences of the resurrection as a supernatural event. How did Jesus get out of those wrappings and 70 pounds of ointments and waxes? Why would a grave robber or body snatcher take all that off and leave it behind? Jesus was resurrected from the dead and we can believe it. Jesus’ resurrection proves that as we believe in Him, we too are freed and released. You can be unbound. Speaker:
Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday humbly riding a donkey. But His presence turned a walk through a gate into a parade into the city of God. The people could see something of His glory, enough to make them sing and shout. How do you see the glory of God? It will remain hidden to you until you believe. We want to see in order to believe, but some things you have to believe in order to see. Jesus has the power over sin and death. Before He died, He wanted His followers to know just how strong he was to conquer the grave. Can the glory of God show up in the realities of this sick, dying, smelly world? Jesus makes it plain: “Lazarus, come out!” Did anyone expect to see the man walk out? Speaker: Tim McConnell
Why? If only. When we are hit with unexpected tragedy and loss, we ask why. No matter how much you expect it, the loss of a loved one leaves a great hole and causes us to ask why. It is OK to express our disappointment and pain with God. If only you, God, would have cured the cancer, stopped that drunk driver, turned the heart of my wayward child… But God didn’t. Mary, so close to Jesus in Luke 10, is struggling to keep her faith in this moment in her grief. Jesus’ love for her is apparent. He stitches His emotions to hers and weeps alongside her weeping. Sometimes this is the best place to be. Unanswered questions. Aching grief. A God who walks beside us in it. Speaker: Michael Thornton
This is an “I Am” statement of Jesus. One of the seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John, and one of the most powerful! There is no use pretending that Jesus never claimed to be God. “I Am” is the name YAHWEH (cf. Exodus 3:14). And who is Jesus? Jesus is the resurrection. The promise of life after death and the restoration of all things all hang on the person of Jesus. Jesus is the life. Eternal life begins today when you put your life in the hands of this man. Martha, who was a little off track back in Luke 10, is now redeemed with one of the strongest statements of faith in the New Testament. (John 11:27). Speaker: Tim McConnell
Thomas, often called Doubting Thomas, shows the other side of his character here. If Jesus is courageously walking back into Judea where powerful opponents seek to take His life, Thomas is resolved in his heart—he will give his life for the Lord he loves. There is little more freeing than finding that cause worthy of your life. Jesus is worth dying for. Once you have given your life to Him, no one can take it away from you. You are unbound and free with your life in His hands (cf Jn 12:25). Speaker: Tim McConnell
We are so often bound by fear of what may happen to us in the worst case. The disciples were scared that the enemies of Jesus would capture Him. Jesus responds that His day is not done; He has a full "day" of work to do and it will not come to an end until his "hour" is come to be lifted up and draw all people to Himself (cf. Jn 12:32). Jesus is at peace walking in the light. Can we find freedom and peace walking in the light of Christ? There is plenty of time. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Lazarus was sick, and would die. But Jesus says his illness would not end in death ultimately. He knew He had the power to raise Lazarus up again. But there is a sickness that leads to death. Sin. We are all subject to it. It binds us and captures us. How can a kept person be made free? Speaker: Tim McConnell
We do not rejoice in ourselves, or in our position, or in our capabilities, or in our good fortune. We rejoice in the Lord always. If you believe in Christ, then you are “in Christ.” In union with Christ, we rise. Our lives are not our own. We belong to Christ and we receive His eternal life as we rise in Him. Take Joy. Wherever you are and whatever you are suffering, from there you can, in Christ, rejoice. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It is easier to move through struggle and trial when you know there is an end on the horizon. Paul knows there is an upward call in his life. He knows that Christ has won a place for him in heaven, in the eternal kingdom. It is an upward call—not so much because it exists up in the clouds as that it lifts our heads. Jesus ascended; we will too. Forward into God’s eternal world-put-right. That gives me energy and motivation to push through my day and take joy. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Friendship helps us find joy in the midst of sadness and trials. Friendship is no small thing. Paul names two friends, Timothy (“I have no one else like him.”) and Epaphroditus. Paul finds relief in thinking of these friends in his suffering. He is blessed by their presence and shares in relationship with the community through them even when he is himself imprisoned and separated. Take joy in friendship. Don’t take it for granted, but welcome it and cultivate it. Speaker: Matt Holtzman
Fear stems from believing something else is Lord other than Jesus. When we give our allegiance to competing “lords” we fall into sin. Where is your hope? Where is your joy? To take joy is not an act of Christian triumphalism, winning our way victory by victory into heaven by overcoming our enemies by strength. To take joy is to walk with Jesus into the humble self-giving life that knows its soul belongs to the Lord, the true Lord, and will rise again with Him. Speaker: Tim McConnell
This life is not all there is. Paul is aware that his life is bigger than his natural life in this world. In fact, his life in this world is suffering. But there is life after death and that changes the way he lives. His suffering in this life only heightens his desire and thirst to be at home with the Lord after he dies. Suffering is real and should be acknowledged. We can name and lament our pain. We can also still take joy. Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). Speaker: Tim McConnell
Paul wrote the letter of Philippians from prison. Prison in his time meant being constrained by chains and locked up in small places, but also being kept under constant watch by a group of soldiers. His imprisonment was the product of awaiting trial for upsetting Rome. His life and future were in the balance. Separated from friends and bound in chains, Paul wrote a letter about joy. It is not escapism. Paul knew that he could rejoice in the Lord no matter his situation. He wanted the church to know the same. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The Great Rescue is something to share. The glory of Jesus is a light for all nations. There is not a soul on earth who does not need to know and celebrate what God has done in Jesus Christ. Every soul is equally in need. Every person is equally in peril. Arise and shine, the glory of the Lord is shining on you and its reflection is for all people. 2023 begins. One more year to be Light and Life for the City in Jesus’ name. Who will you tell about The Great Rescue? Speaker: Dave Steane
The Great Rescue includes a hero who must die to save others. Jesus laid down His life as a sacrifice for our sins that we might be reconciled to God for eternal life. He came to be an atoning sacrifice, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. As we enter a new year, let us come to the table recognizing that Jesus did not rescue us through teachings or philosophies or arguments, but through His body broken and His blood shed on our behalf. Speaker: Greg Hartnett
How beautiful the baby. How beautiful the Christmas celebrations. How beautiful the One who brings Salvation. The baby in the manger is the fulfillment of the promise, and the One who will follow through and execute The Great Rescue. Speaker: John Goodale
The birth of Jesus was not an accident, nor was it an afterthought. This was all part of a plan, a great plan of salvation. It was all part of The Great Rescue. The birth of Jesus is more than the first breath of a man who would grow to be a hero; it is the entrance of God Himself into the world He made. It is incarnation. God enters the world in His Son Jesus Christ. But why? In order to seek and to save the lost. The birth of Jesus is a light to all people, a light to people who have been sitting in darkness. Like miners trapped in a collapsed underground mine for days, finally a light breaks in and someone yells, “Come with me! You are saved!” The shepherds were bathed in glory which struck them with fear; they were blinded by the bright light, but the good news did not escape them. Will it escape you? The birth of Jesus is the Great Rescue plan of God. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The proud will be brought low; the humble will be lifted up. The powerful will find that they are weak; the weak will find that the Lord has empowered them. It is hard to follow through on any plan without a full vision of what is coming and what can be accomplished. God wants you to see that the end and goal of His Great Rescue is a feast, a banquet, a celebration with joy. And what are we celebrating? That all things have been put to rights. And what is more, death has been defeated! That’s the promise. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The proud will be brought low; the humble will be lifted up. The powerful will find that they are weak; the weak will find that the Lord has empowered them. It is hard to follow through on any plan without a full vision of what is coming and what can be accomplished. God wants you to see that the end, and the goal, of His Great Rescue is a feast, a banquet, a celebration with joy. And what are we celebrating? That all things have been put to rights. And what is more, death has been defeated! That’s the promise. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Here comes the seed, the plant, the embedded revolutionary catalyst. Something is coming and you can see the green shoot poking up from the soil, or from the middle of the stump. What is wrong is promised to be made right. The plan of salvation is unfolding. Speaker: Tim McConnell
There is hardly a more dire or more accurate picture of the position we find ourselves in when separated from God. We are one open sore from head to foot. To be in sin is to be separated from the Holy One, the Author of Life. To be separated from the Author of Life is to be subject to death. Sometimes we neglect to truly ponder the weight of our sin and the peril we have pitched ourselves into. You don’t appreciate the medicine until you fully understand the sickness. We are sick. We are lost. But God is launching a Great Rescue plan. Speaker: Michael Thornton
John the Baptist is a great model for humility. Jesus said he was the best guy ever born! But John himself, knowing who Jesus is, bent his direction downward. I must decrease. He must increase. Humble yourself before Jesus. Seek to glorify Jesus in your life. You might find in following Him that you find yourself lifting others up. You might find that to follow Jesus is to set your selfishness aside and see others as more important than yourself. This humility will render glory to Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Remember when Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist and washed the disciples’ feet? At the end of it, He said, this is an example for you. I’m pretty sure they laughed. If you want to cultivate humility, get yourself into a place of service. If you want to make humble pie, get yourself into a place of service to someone who does not appreciate it at all! Serve in a way that is unseen and unknown. “The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service.” (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline) Speaker: Jennifer Holz
"Pride goeth before a fall." It is easy to trip when your nose is in the air. Humility is a chief virtue. Pride is the chief of sins. Augustine said, “It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” Aquinas wrote, "Inordinate self-love is the cause of every sin (1,77) ... the root of pride is found to consist in man not being, in some way, subject to God and His rule." It is hard to root out pride because we grow proud of our humility! But the first step to growing in humility in the likeness of Christ is to root out pride and selfishness (Philippians 2). Jesus emptied Himself. One of the most interesting ways to develop humility is to increase in curiosity. Wisdom is more valuable than gold. Curiosity about anything or anyone is a way of acknowledging I don’t know it all, and I’m not the center of the universe. Ask the follow-up question. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Martin Luther said, "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." (Freedom of the Christian) Having been liberated by Jesus, we are free to love and serve one another. This is a liberating constraint; a limit that brings life. We put ourselves into humble service of God and neighbor. In that position, we are free from the tyranny of our self-centered existence. We are free to enjoy relationship and friendship. We represent Jesus and His self-giving sacrifice. Having been freed, we serve, to the glory of God. (Like St. Patrick, who returned to evangelize his captors.) Freedom in Christ is very different from what the world calls freedom, and so much better. Speaker: Tim McConnell
How fun to be young and free across the landscape of the world! Parties don’t always end up delivering as much joy as promised. Self-indulgence is an empty track and false freedom. However, the fruit of the Spirit, these things bring fullness of life. There is no law or limit against them. You can have as much love in your life as you’d like, and it won’t leave you sick or hungover. As much joy, as much peace, as much kindness… Go ahead, drink deep of the fruit of the Spirit of God within you. This is Freedom Fruit. Speaker: Tim McConnell
For freedom Christ has set you free. How many ways do you try to find greater freedom? Freedom is not liberty to make choices with no bounds. You can severely injure yourself and others with that mentality. Think of a fish—it is free within the liberating constraint of the water. Beyond these boundaries is not freedom, but death. G. K. Chesterton tells a mythical story about children on a walled island. An adventurer found them and “liberated them” by removing the walls. A year later he came to visit and they were huddled in the middle of the island for fear because one of them had fallen off the cliffs. The freedom Christ offers is a liberating constraint, walking in His ways and His paths for your fullness of life. This freedom you must defend from those who seek to control you. Sometimes they offer a worldly brand of “freedom” but that is not the freedom you need. Speaker: Tim McConnell
When we are freely bound to Christ, we are bound for freedom from slavery. Paul uses the story of Sarah and Hagar as a metaphor, but we must first address the issue of slavery. Does the Bible reinforce slavery? No. The end and destruction of slavery, and racism, are written into the very pages of scripture. We are bound for freedom. Still, the main point today is that there are two covenants. One is the covenant of works, which we could never satisfy. The other is the covenant of grace. Jesus satisfied the covenant of works so that he could bring us the covenant of grace. By faith in him we are made children of God and heirs of the promise. We are bound for freedom. Speaker: Greg Hartnett
Once free, there are so many ways we pick our chains back up and lock ourselves into them once again. After knowing freedom in Christ and walking with Jesus for some time, we can fall back into “the way things really are.” “Nice ideas, Jesus, but the real world works like this.” But we were freed from slavery to the “elemental spiritual forces of the world” (4:3, RSV) and we should not now freely enslave ourselves again to these false gods, the “weak and beggarly elemental spirits.” (v9, RSV) Even as believers we have a tendency toward idolatry. Your idol is whatever takes up the most space in mind and spirit; what you think about last at night and first in the morning. A idol promises deliverance but delivers bondage. Do not be freely bound to a false god; freely bind yourself to Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
We are freed in Christ from the false lines of separation we create. There are few verses in Scripture that have had a greater impact than Galatians 3:28. Some verses paint a picture of a future ideal which, for most periods of history, only appears as a distant hope. But the longing to know such a society has a steady impact over time until the reality of it comes. Slavery ends. Bigotry ends. Sexism dies. Many of the ways our culture talks about racial and other differences actually pins people in place, opposed to one another, with no opportunity for reconciliation or a new, bright future of unity. In Christ we are one. This is true freedom. Speaker: Michael Thornton
Sin’s curse is heavy. This is primarily the freedom we are talking about that Christ has won. Do you know the weight of the curse of sin? All of us have fallen short. None of us is righteous. The law demands perfect holiness. Our mistakes follow us around. Our errors weigh us down. The curse of the law lays heavy across our shoulders. Jesus became cursed so that we could know freedom. This is something God wants “given” (v22) and received as a gift. Not earned by merits. Through Christ we are forgiven and freed from the curse of sin. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Speaker: Tim McConnell
Even Peter got confused. The temptation to do right and thereby justify ourselves before God by our own good works is so very strong. We want to be in control of our salvation, so we attempt to prove ourselves holy by doing good. This actually causes us to become slaves of works righteousness, unable to participate in the freedom won by Jesus. How do we find that freedom? We die to ourselves and live to Christ. We must give up our self-individuation project and submit fully to Christ. Christ gave his life on the cross so that you could have life to the fullest. It means trusting Him with your whole life, resting on grace and being saved rather than trying to save yourself. Speaker: Tim McConnell
People don’t actually like others to be free. That’s the hard truth of it. People prefer to be in control of others. The freedom found in Jesus Christ is an offense to those who seek to hold control over others. Sometimes we have to defend Christian freedom from our own tendency to make rules and exercise controls. What does a community of grace truly look like? It isn’t libertine. We are bound by love for God and love for neighbor, but this is a liberating constraint. It frees us to make a bigger difference in the world than we ever imagined. Paul wanted to help the poor; so the instruction to do it was not at all infringing on his freedom. God’s ways are free. Speaker: Claire Berger
Truth is not a human invention. Some argue that all truth claims are power plays, that to say something is true is actually to oppress someone else. In the Christian worldview, truth is something you bump into. “Truth reveals reality, and reality can be described as what we humans run into when we are wrong, a collision in which we always lose.” (Dallas Willard, Allure of Gentleness). Freedom is actually aligning ourselves with God’s ways, not demanding freedom from all bounds (like a fish on the beach). Paul reminds us that the truth that matters is not human invention but God’s revelation. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Through Jesus Christ we are liberated. We are rescued and set free. Why does the world see Christianity as a straightjacket? We might have the wrong idea about freedom. Freedom is not so much the unlimited liberty to do whatever, whenever. It is the ability to do and be what we were made and intended to do and be. The freedom found in Christ beats the freedom offered by the world we live in. Jesus frees us from this present evil age and rescues us from the binding power of sin and sin’s curse. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It is right to designate a place for worship. Solomon dedicated the Temple with a mighty plea: God, please hear us when we gather here to pray. Forgive our sins. Renew our hope. Rescue us from evil and plague. Make a home for the homeless. Welcome the alien and exile. Father the fatherless. Heal the afflicted. Afflict the comfortable with conviction to change. Be, in this place, a heartbeat of your Kingdom pulsing through our lives and our city. With Jesus, we become the Temple of God. There is power in us coming together. We can gather in any place, but we set this place aside with resolve to be together regularly to seek the Lord, glorify God in worship, deepen our discipleship, celebrate our fellowship, be renewed in mission, and feel the power of God launching us back out into a broken, darkened and needful world. Speaker: Tim McConnell
My God so protects and sustains me that not one hair of my head can fall to the ground without His allowing it. We rest in the sovereignty of God. As we pray, do we know that we are laying our petitions down before the Almighty One? God makes the dry tree green and the green tree dry (Ezek 17:24). God can move mountains. God is in control. All our requests are heard by the One with power to change anything. (John 14:13) Ask whatever you will in Jesus’ name, and in the asking you will find the answer. God answers with Yes, No, or Maybe Later! Speaker: Dave Steane
We cannot come into God’s presence without the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. With God there is forgiveness. The heart of the gospel message is the availability of forgiveness (Luke 24:47). We don’t find forgiveness by making excuses or by asserting our rightness. We find forgiveness by admitting our faults and confessing our sins before the Holy One, and allowing Him to take our sins to the cross. Speaker: Tim McConnell
We live as dependents, fed by the hand of God. God gives what we need. (Psalm 104:27-31). All existence is contingent on the active and sustaining hand of God. He holds all things together by His will. What do you have that you have not received from God? Living in dependence on God is not constraining, but liberating. With each ounce of daily bread, our love and trust in our Father grows. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. (John 6:35) We don’t entrust our lives to an unseen spiritual force or principle, but to Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
When we pray, we catch glimpses of another Kingdom, another place and way of life. In that Kingdom, all that exists loves and serves the Lord in perfect obedience. This produces peace, order, prosperity and joy. Prayer is a way of calling that Kingdom down. If there were no Kingdom of God, we would truly be in hopeless despair. But the Kingdom is there, and we can see its power breaking into our world as we pray “Your Kingdom Come.” Speaker: Tim McConnell
Salvation in Christ means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within you. A heart of stone is removed; a heart of flesh is installed. This is more than open heart surgery, this is whole heart surgery. It is only possible because of Jesus Christ whose sacrifice on the cross makes the cleansing possible. Water cannot remove sin. Only the cross. We pray Come Holy Spirit and make our hearts new! Speaker: Claire Berger
Good dads are good rescuers who fight for what is just and right. Bad shepherds lead us into bad places. The selfish use people for their own pleasure and gain. But God promises to shepherd His people Himself—“I myself.” We can see the promise of Jesus here. God will come Himself to be the Good Shepherd. Bad leaders will be set aside and justice will reign. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). Speaker: Tim McConnell
In the Valley of Dry Bones, the prophet speaks the Word of God. The Word brings order out of disorder, clarity out of chaos. But there is still no life. Then the Lord tells Ezekiel to prophecy to the breath, the Spirit. Now there is life. The Spirit comes over the Word and brings life. We pray “Come Holy Spirit” today, that God would send His Holy Spirit to us and bring us to life. We can receive the Holy Spirit because of Jesus, who took on our sin, who let His bones be pulled apart, so that we could be forgiven and whole. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Again and again, Jesus demonstrates awareness and full dignity toward women. It is difficult for us to reach back into a time when women were diminished so terribly and disregarded so horribly. But this represents most of world history. Jesus was radical in his regard for women (Luke 10). Radical in his inclusion of women among his disciples (Luke 8). Ultimately radical in appointing and sending a woman to proclaim his resurrection news (John 20; our basis for women’s ordination). Where many were asleep to the ways women can be disregarded and dehumanized, Jesus was awake. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Politics can take over everything. When we put on the lens of politics, it can take over our view of economics, race, sexuality, religion—even, as we saw last year, medicine and science! Politics is simply the way we dialogue with one another about the best way to live together, to find the most good for the most people over the most time. Keep it in perspective. We have two parties with competing ideas for the common good, both of which are seated in the greatest democratic system the world has ever known. We have it pretty good in comparison to world history. Jesus put politics in its place with one sentence. “Render to Caesar…” As simple as this saying is, it was also one of the most revolutionary statements ever made and laid the foundation for Western Civilization. Jesus shows us a healthy relationship to politics and money. Speaker: Michael Thornton
In the ancient world, children were not regarded. A child was ranked somewhere just below a slave and above a domesticated animal. Many children were aborted, or left to die of exposure, or enslaved and worked to death. No great teacher would speak to children. Often portrayed as a sweet and tender moment (which it was), this was also one of the most revolutionary moments in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus put a flag in the ground for the inherent dignity of every human being, no matter how young. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus interacts with a Syrophoenician woman, a Gentile. This is a woman of another race. At first it appears that Jesus is defending the idea that people of different races cannot interact, and that his blessings do not extend past the Jewish people. But then we see that Jesus has actually been naming the difference in order to break it down and cross over. Some say Jesus has already removed the walls that separate the races, but we still have to learn how to walk over the rubble and get into each other’s lives with understanding. Jesus knows our tendency to separate out into sameness, and again and again demonstrates the way to reach and befriend those different from us. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus has redeemed our lives by his life, death and resurrection. Now he calls us into a purposeful life. Not the empty way of life we were handed (1 Peter 1:18) but the life that is truly life. The life we live as a living sacrifice to our Lord, submitted for his service and empowered by his Spirit to love God and love one another in the great mission of Jesus to continue to redeem all the world, to overcome evil with good, until all is set right again. Many of our friends have graduated from service in this life to glory in the next. They know the truth. In Jesus Christ we are Redeemed. Speaker: John Goodale
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culmination of all Jesus intended to do to accomplish redemption—the buying back of your life for God. It is the culmination of what Jesus promised to do when he said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Jesus came to pay whatever the cost to get you home. He saves us not by a mere show of power, nor by his teaching, nor by his example, nor by moral influence, nor by emotional influence over his followers, nor by mystical spirituality, but “as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God, by making it consistent with his perfections to exercise mercy toward sinners, and then renewing them after his own image, and finally exalting them to all the dignity, excellence, and blessedness of the sons of God.” (Charles Hodge, ST, p520) We cannot save ourselves. Our efforts to fix what is wrong and reconcile ourselves to God all go wrong and make things worse. But we have a Redeemer, Christ the Lord. He paid the price on the cross to remove the guilt of our sins and set us free for eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus is not something to be argued or considered. It is something to be proclaimed and believed (verse 9). What Christ has purchased by giving his life is yours as a gift to be received. You have been Redeemed. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The wages of sin is death. Who will pay? Jesus paid the wages of sin so I could have the free gift of life. He paid it on the cross. If I try to pay that wage, I make it worse. Jesus paid it on my behalf. I am Redeemed. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The whole world is twisted up and distorted, waiting and groaning in agony and discomfort until things get put right again. There is something wrong in the world and it must be put right. Someone must pay the price. A young lady in Argentina in 1999 was reflecting on the “Dirty War” of 1976-83 during which thousands of political prisoners were thrown out of airplanes over the Atlantic (the disaparecidos). One was her mother. The New York Times quoted her saying, “The last time I saw my mother was when I was 7, and I will never see her again. Someone must pay for my pain.” Someone must pay for injustice. The cycle of revenge never satisfies. Jesus paid the price when He suffered the “agony of death” (Acts 2:24) and suffered injustice so that we could have the promise of a coming justice in His Kingdom. When I try to fix what is wrong, I often make it worse. I need to let Jesus pay the price and be my Redeemer. He will make it all right in the end. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The great lie is that running my life according to what my flesh desires will bring me an abundance of happy life. (Cf. Romans 8:5-15) Sin is at work in the world and in me. The promise of sin is amplified by the world, the flesh (my disobedient patterns), and the Devil. Satan is an active force of confusion and deception in my life. Does Satan have a claim on me? No. Jesus has purchased my soul for himself. But I can give Satan access and influence in my life by believing his lies and acting on them. This brings me great pain and deep confusion. Jesus paid the price to deliver me from the dominion of the Devil. When I try to find my way out of my confused state, I only make it worse. I have to let Jesus deliver me (verse 25) and be Redeemed. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Sin is not just a word for a mistake you made. Sin is a power. It is a force and a presence. When we leave the dominion of God’s Kingdom and enter the dominion of the rebellion, we submit ourselves to the powers that oppose God. Sin grabs us and holds us, and we feel like slaves—because we are. Sin gains mastery over us. But Christ redeems us from the mastery of sin and sets us free. There is power in Christ to be freed from sin, but it comes on the other side of the baptism of the cross. You can, today, die to your old self and know new life in Jesus because Jesus died and rose again. When I try to free myself from sin’s chains, I only make it worse. I have to let Jesus break the chains and set me free. I have to be Redeemed. Speaker: Matt Holtzman
When we were enemies of God, God sent Jesus to buy us back from the enemy camp. We made ourselves God’s enemies by disobeying His Kingdom rules. We were in active rebellion against God, and still are every time we choose our own will over His ways. Jesus paid the price for our rebellion so that He could snatch us out of the enemy camp and get us back home to God. The first way Jesus did this is through the incarnation (Philippians 2). He came where we are and made himself one with us, even while we were camping out with the enemy. When I try to make myself God’s friend, I only make it worse. I have to let Jesus take my place as God’s enemy, take the punishment and pay the price, and then let Him restore me to God as God’s friend. Jesus takes the place of exile so I can be restored to citizenship. I can’t redeem myself; I have to be Redeemed. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus is our Redeemer who purchases us with a ransom price. He paid it on the cross by his blood. By paying the penalty for our sins against the law, Jesus redeemed us from the obligation to save ourselves by keeping the law—something we never could have done! We can’t earn our salvation by good works. Religious performance is an empty way of life (1 Peter 1:18). Jesus wins it for us by paying the price. The price is paid by Jesus, who is God, to the Father, who is God. This is God’s way of salvation He has made for us, as way that God is both just and the one who saves and justifies (verse 26) those who have faith in Jesus. If I tried to save myself by obeying all that the law requires, I would only make it worse. I have to receive the gift of righteousness Jesus purchased for me and be Redeemed. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus came to give his life as a ransom, a redemption, a price to be paid. This is the cup Jesus came to drink; the baptism with which he was baptized. Are we ready to follow in his path? Speaker: Jamal Sarikoki
We come back to where we started, the early church gathered and devoted to bear witness to Jesus in a darkened and hostile world. People long for purpose and meaning in their lives. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves; something that makes a positive difference in the world. There is great power in joining with others on the mission of Jesus. You have a purpose. You have a mission to give all your greatest energies toward. The world needs Jesus and you are his witnesses. When we are faithful to the mission of Jesus together, it helps things. We are 3,000. Are there 3,000 we have yet to reach? Speaker: Tim McConnell
What do we believe happens in baptism? Different churches do this in different ways. We believe baptism is the entry point into the community of faith. Like circumcision was to the community of God’s people in the Old Testament, baptism is a marker and emblem of our people, including our children — that we belong to Jesus in a world that denies Him. Faith is necessary to salvation. Baptism and faith go hand in hand. Some believe they must only happen in a certain order, but we believe the order is not important. Baptism is a sign to the world that you are a Christian, but it is also a sign and symbol of God’s grace active in your life, sometimes before you know what to say about it. Paul equates baptism and circumcision in this passage. So do we. He baptized households, surely including children. So do we. Peter claimed God’s promises are “for you and your children” (Acts 2:39). With respect for other believers who practice this differently, so do we. Speaker: Tim McConnell
We are all unique. God never made two people the same. Even twins are different! God makes you a single, unique, individual person. But God also makes you and gifts you with other people in mind. You were made for others and others were made for you. We find the power and truth of that in the community of faith, when we come to church and gather together. Some of us get along easily and wonderfully! Others of us have a hard time loving one another. It is easy to love the lovable, but there is more to learn in loving the other who is different from you in big ways. You can know God has intentions in every relationship because together we are one big body of Christ, and there is joy in Christian fellowship. You can’t love and be loved by yourself; you have to come and be with others. Speaker: Jennifer Holz
At the Lord’s Table, we sit face to face. During COVID we took communion at home with family, or even sometimes by ourselves. That was a way of accommodating to a global pandemic, but it was not the real intention of communion. God brings us together to the table. We believe some very unique things happen when we come to the table together. We believe Jesus Christ is present to us in a supernatural and divine way. The Holy Spirit does not pull the body and blood of Jesus down from heaven, but does lift us up together to enjoy His real presence. We don’t take communion alone except in extreme circumstances. The point is to be together. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Peter’s teaching to the gathered people is full of love and compassion. He truly wanted them to receive God’s Word and understand the power of Jesus Christ. He longed for them to be convicted by God’s Word and turn around, to repent and find refreshment for their souls. One of the key elements of church is coming together to hear the Word of God in a posture of humble receptivity. From the beginning, God told His people to gather for the purpose of hearing His Word. It is just not the same to get good teaching on a podcast. Something uniquely powerful happens when you come with other believers to hear the Word. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It’s one thing to hold a personal opinion. It’s another thing to be part of a community of faith that believes together. We say “we believe.” You must have an individual faith, trust and belief in Jesus producing a personal relationship with him. But no faith stands alone. To have God as your Father is to have the church as your mother, because God uses His church to draw you into the community of faith, nurture and sustain you, and grow you up to full maturity in Christ. In the church we submit to our common faith in Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
It was something going through a global pandemic that did not allow us to touch one another, or even get within six feet. Before the pandemic began, a dear woman hugged me in the hall before church, almost lost in my robe. It was such a warm hug, I thanked her for it and looked forward to it each week. She said it is one of the only hugs she gives and receives in her regular week, as she lives alone with no family nearby. I thought of her all year through COVID. We were made to touch, and there is power in human touch. Jesus rarely healed without touch. Peter reached out and took the lame man’s right hand. Human contact can be misused, violent, painful, risky and traumatizing. But in Christ and in the community of faith there is a pure and holy touch Speaker: Tim McConnell
People want community, but they don’t always want to submit themselves to one another in a way that produces genuine community. We want to stay our independent selves, but also experience genuine relationship and meaningful unity with others. The early church demonstrates that it was necessary to have devotion. They devoted themselves. “Devoted” in the OT is used to describe a sacrifice; an ox was “devoted” to the Lord on the altar! What happens when we devote ourselves to Christian community at church, attending to Word, Fellowship, Communion and Prayer, just like this first church? Speaker: Tim McConnell
We are adopted by Christ into God’s family. The communion table is a family table, and we are invited to be a part of it. The visit of the Magi is a clear indication that the family of God is extending all across the world, into every nation, every people. Do you feel far from the family of Jesus? His family table spreads across the globe right to where you sit. Jesus always intended that there would be a place at His family table for you. Will you take your seat at the Lord’s family table? Speaker: Michael Thornton
Jesus’ own brothers (and mother) doubted Him! Wow. Families can be messy. But these siblings show that there is room in the family of Jesus. There is room in the family for doubters. Room for those who don’t immediately believe. One of these brothers is James. We know he had a turn of faith after the resurrection. What a challenge to understand that your brother is the Lord! Hebrews 2:11-12 reminds us that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Actually, He is ready to go to the Cross to make it possible for us to be adopted and join the family. Do you have your doubts? You can join the family of Jesus from there. Speaker: John Goodale
The birth of Jesus is not just for Joseph and Mary’s family, but for all families, for all people. Like the sweet song, “No ear may hear his coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in. O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us we pray, Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us today.” Phillips Brooks was not just waxing poetic to produce a sweet Christmas song, but expressing a very real truth of Jesus. Jesus was born into the world, into a family, into Mary and Joseph’s home, but Jesus is born still. Every heart that opens up to Jesus, turns from sin, gets humble and calls on Him experiences a birth, a new birth of Jesus. Jesus arrives, comes to that person and enters into their lives. It’s not a change of mind, or an adoption of a new set of thoughts, or adaptation to a new way of life, it is a birth of Jesus into the heart and soul of the believer. (Rev 3:20) What we need this Christmas more than any other gift, or turn, is for Jesus to be born in us today. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Mary. Mother of God. She is revered by Catholics and Orthodox (almost deified sometimes). She is not God, but she is among the very greatest models of faith we can possibly imagine. She is open to the Spirit of God moving within her. She is a heart free and ready to receive the Word of God. “I am the Lord’s servant, let it be unto me…” This is where we all need to be. Let it be unto me. I’m yours. Can you relate to Mary? There is much to fear and many ways your expectations might get derailed and discontinued, but with hearts open to the Lord in faith there is no limit to what God can do. John 19:26-27, Mother behold your son. Mary remains at the heart of the family even after Jesus’ crucifixion. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Joseph was the silent and obedient man of God who protected his family as best he could. Twice we get the same pattern. An angel tells Joseph what to do, and Joseph does it exactly as he is told. (v13-14 and v20-21). These are actually the 2nd and 3rd acts of obedience Joseph demonstrates. The first was the dream in Matthew 1 that kept the marriage together and the family Jesus would enter into. We might think that Joseph adopted Jesus as son, but truthfully Jesus adopted Joseph to be His father (and also His son). Maybe you relate to Joseph. Quiet, faithful, hoping in the Lord. Be obedient to His Word. You have a place in the family of Jesus. Speaker: Tim McConnell
John the Baptist was Jesus’ wild cousin. Always a little off track. Always dancing to a different tune. But God has purposes for John to pronounce the coming Messiah. Do you ever feel strange and out on the edge, like you don’t quite fit in? You can find your way to Jesus from there. If wild cousin John could find his home in Jesus’ family, so can you. Speaker: Tim McConnell
I know we don’t preach genealogies much. I mean it’s just a list of names, right? But take a look at some of the people in the family line of Jesus. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Rahab. Ruth and Boaz. David. This is no fairy tale. God entered into a real family line, into human history. We are talking this Christmas about the family of Jesus. Each one is also a place where we can relate to our own journey toward Christ. Does your history seem messy and unorthodox? You can get to Jesus from any family tree, because Jesus enters our messy family trees. Speaker: Jennifer Holz
'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ' (Galatians 5:22-23) John 16:33. John 14:27. Romans 5:1. The way of peace is to walk in step with the Spirit of God within us. Gratification of the desires of the flesh does not produce peace. Peace is good for the soul. Good medicine. Side effects include integrity, wholeness and consistent character. Side effects include lack of indigestion, sleeping through the night, and feelings of integrity, consistent character and increased patience. Speaker: Tim McConnell
'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ' (Galatians 5:22-23) Joy. “Joy is the serious business of heaven,” C. S. Lewis. Joy isn’t just a balloon floating by in the sky. Joy is a fight with powers of evil and hopelessness. Jesus is serious about our roots of joy, knowing that His sacrifice connects us with a root of joy that nothing can rip out or take away. Your joy will be complete. Side effects may include laughter, elevated heart rate, smile lines, resilience and hopefulness. Speaker: Matt Holtzman
'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.' (Galatians 5:22-23) Without love, we are nothing. Love holds us together. Love is good medicine to the soul. How do we find and express more love? Follow the “love chapter”—that’s your prescription. Side effects may include a bleeding heart, smiling at strangers, emotional worship, forgiveness and reconnecting with old friends. Speaker: Tim McConnell
So, finally, hear the offer of Jesus Christ in your life. You have been called to belong. Move out of isolation, through fear, to Jesus and into belonging. Peter had a favorite verse: “the stone the builders rejected.” His name means Rock. He was rejected, alone, set aside before Jesus pulled him in and started to fit him into the community of faith with others leaning on him, and him leaning on others, like a cornerstone. Of course, Jesus is the cornerstone, the true Rock. In Him, we never need to be alone again. We never need to be isolated and cut off again. We can find true and eternal and everlasting belonging. Speaker: Tim McConnell
There is an old saying, it is hard to hate up close. The nearer you get to someone, the harder it is to hold ill will or bad feelings about them. Sometimes we just need to hear and understand each other a little better. God encourages our hearts too as we remember that revenge and justice are not ours to make happen; God will take care of evening all the debts in the end. We can just move toward people in love and break down barriers to community. From isolation and fear, through Jesus, to community. Move closer to others in Jesus’ name. Speaker: Tim McConnell
If we are truly a body, then we do not belong to ourselves anymore. We belong to Jesus and to one another. The price of belonging is to give yourself away. When you do, you actually find that you have a new life. In losing yourself, you find yourself. In giving your life to Christ, it is actually retained and kept and saved. Belonging to the body means giving yourself away as one member. This is the second stage: fear of vulnerability. Give yourself away instead of defending your false front. Speaker: Michael Thornton
So, what is our response? We long to belong. Jesus has a way of breaking into our isolation. What are we supposed to do? Present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. In view of God’s mercy and love, respond with devotion and worship. Turn in your lonely life for a life of belonging to God and serving under His will. Join in the mission of God that extends from these front doors straight around the world. The pattern of this world is isolation, fear, individualism and defensiveness. The renewing of the mind is a new life of belonging to Jesus and one another. Don’t sit in isolation but look to God. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Why is God so interested in expanding belonging? God is a God of eternal belonging in community. The Trinity is the Divine Community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The mission of God to the world He made, the mission we participate in, is a mission of an ever-expanding inclusion into the divine community of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God purposes to make of the world a true family united to His own (G. MacDonald, Knowing the Heart of God). Belonging is a big deal. We were made with this longing and it only comes home to God and the divine and eternal community. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Jesus executes this same pattern of breaking into belonging over and over again. Look at the story of Simon Peter. At first, Simon Peter wants to resist Jesus. Go away from me Lord. But Jesus persistently pushes into Simon Peter’s life. Then Simon Peter finds a new community among old friends, a new purpose, a new mission, a new way of being in the world rather than the one he knew in the past. He is still a fisherman, but now he is a fisherman for Jesus. The pattern is Isolation and Need – Fear and Vulnerability – Interruption by Jesus – New Community. This is Jesus’ solution to our longing to belong. Jesus breaks through our shields and barriers to bring us what we truly need—belonging. Speaker: Tim McConnell
The woman is now at home enough in her own skin and with her Lord that she can open up to others. In fact, she moves toward others. The others she once avoided at great pains she now moves toward with openness. Through Jesus, a new belonging erupts. A new community begins with those who turn together toward Jesus. She is not alone among the crowd anymore but together with others in Christ. Belonging can only happen when we are open to others. Jesus and the community of believers around Jesus that He creates, this is the belonging our hearts need. She is also a model for evangelism and spiritual conversations. Do we think spiritual conversations drive people apart? Research says otherwise (D Everts). Speaker: Tim McConnell
What happens to the soul when you join in worship? God is seeking worshipers, those who will open up their hearts toward Him in Spirit and in truth. A true worshiper is honest and open before the Lord, singing and praising from the heart. A person enters worship alone but soon finds that they are part of a body, a group of people turning their hearts toward God. Looking to God and joining in worship in the church can be a moment when loneliness starts to dissipate and cracks begin to form in the frozen isolation of individualism. You are not alone. Solitude can be a gift, but alone is no good. When you find Jesus, you will never be alone again. Speaker: John Goodale
It’s very frightening when you risk being known by others. We have masks we all wear, fronts we put on, a persona we want everyone to see that hides the parts of our lives we think we should be ashamed about. We think our weaknesses and mistakes will drive people away from us or cause them to love us less. This is a lie. People are impressed with competence, but they are drawn to character. They might be inspired by your persona, but they will love you for your person—with all the wounds and mistakes and vulnerabilities and questions, along with your confident faith in Christ. Risk being known to escape the loneliness and move toward belonging. (Brene Brown) Speaker: Tim McConnell
When I think about the search for belonging, I turn to the Samaritan Woman at the well in John 4. We all have a longing to belong. She came out to the well at noon, at the heat of the day. This was a way of avoiding the regular gathering of women and children who would carry water in the cool of the morning. We all find our patterns of managing our aching need to belong, our need for community, or the pain caused by not fitting in and not finding belonging. We numb that pain with “drinks that do not satisfy.” Jesus meets her in her longing to belong and says very plainly that the water she drinks will only leave her thirsty. Speaker: Tim McConnell
Time to move. Time to wake up. This is not a cruise ship; this is a battleship. Every man, woman and child to their stations. The battle is on, and we cannot fail. Time to find motivation of ministry in every heart. If two-thirds of us are asleep, then our ministry sleeps, our impact sleeps, and the lost remain in darkness. If two-thirds of us are drunk on wine (deadened and numbed by the false comforts of American society), then our ministry is dead in the water and the souls who need Jesus perish in eternal darkness. We have limited time, limited energy, limited strength, and every bit of it must be focused earnestly on reaching Colorado Springs for Christ. Did you fill out your My Part Card? Do you have your opportunity for ministry right here in First Pres? Where will you move out in ministry this year? Where will you sow seeds? Where will you make an impact? Where will you shine light? One year from now, will this have been another year of slumber or the year First Pres broke into a new plateau of effective ministry in the name of Jesus? Speaker: Tim McConnell