I was pulling into a parking lot this morning when an older woman in front of me started backing up. I honked to let her know I was directly behind her.  A few minutes later she was behind me, and graciously apologized for nearly backing into me. She told me...

Several weeks ago, Tara Orchard wrote about discouragement as an often-overlooked scheme of the enemy. Discouragement can arrive at any time and paralyze our faith. It often comes out of nowhere and catches us off guard. But there are other schemes that can ensnare us if we are not on...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Battle-Ready". [Watch video]For years, I believed that Jesus died on the cross. But I also believed that if I was a good boy I’d make it to heaven. If I wasn’t, well then. I believed a distorted gospel. At the...

This post is a response to Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Drawing the Battle Lines". [Watch video]Our Life Group was discussing some of the schemes the enemy uses in our personal lives. As I listened to the group conversation, there was one thought that was headlining in my mind. It was discouragement. That's...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Chris's sermon entitled "Fatherhood". [Watch video]Repentance is a humbling concept, especially for men. If repentance could be taken in pill form, it would come in a brightly colored jar with all sorts of wonderful benefits printed on the label. But inside that jar would...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "The Mystery of Marriage". [Watch video]My wife and I love a good whodunit. We often watch British mysteries online or on TV. The thing about mysteries is this, someone has to die. Yup, someone dies just for our entertainment! Of...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "A High Calling". [Watch video]Many years ago, our family experienced a couple of Navy deployments. The first one was when Ben was on an aircraft carrier, and the other was when he went to Iraq. Both times meant months of...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Marriage Equality, Part II". [Watch video]Does God know the end from the beginning? Is He really the Alpha and Omega, the God who was, and is, and is to come? Does God know what is going to happen in history? Consider...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Marriage Equality". [Watch video]Last Sunday we began laying the groundwork for the subject of marriage in Ephesians 5. Why must we lay groundwork by talking about “Marriage Equality” before we address husbands and wives? The reason is that our culture...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "A Life of Fullness". [Watch video]More on the filling of the Spirit... Certainly, when the Holy Spirit is working unabated there will be realization that God is doing something unique and supernatural. J.I. Packer in his excellent book, Keep in...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "The Walk of the Wise". [Watch video]If you’ve ever traveled on the Tube, London’s underground rail system, you’ve heard this recorded warning to “mind the gap!” Each time you get on or off a train you are warned of the...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Light, Dark & Shades of Gray". [Watch video]It really is quite simple. Christians are to be light in a world of darkness. One of our immediate thoughts is that this is about “witnessing.” Perhaps. We should always be looking for...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "The Great Imitation". [Watch video]The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God as beloved children.” We saw Sunday that beloved children will imitate their fathers naturally and willingly. God is our Father, but also our God....

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Ephesians 1-4 Rewind". [Watch video]As I said Sunday, Ephesians 2:1-10 is the most personal passage in the book for me.Ephesians 2:1 states, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked…” We used to “walk”...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Steps to Forgiveness". [Watch video]This past Sunday we wrapped up a mini-series on forgiveness that was based on Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” I’ll end...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Forgiveness in 3D". [Watch video]Sunday we listed a number of common statements people make about forgiveness. One of them is, “We should just forgive and forget.” James Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, “I never forgive and I never forget.”...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "On Vices & Virtues". [Watch video]This past Sunday we saw the list of vices we are to excise from our lives: bitterness, wrath, anger, shouting, slander, and malice (Ephesians 4:31). But we must realize that these are more than bad...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Chris's sermon entitled "The Art & Science of Words". [Watch video]On Sunday, we saw Paul’s encouragement to skillfully speak words that are the right words (edifying), at the right time (for the need of the moment), spoken the right way (to impart grace).After the...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Give or Take?". [Watch video]In our message this last week we saw how the subject of laboring with our hands is found throughout the scriptures. God has given us work as a way to find meaning and significance in life,...

This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Truth or Consequences". [Watch video]Ephesians 4:25 - "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."One of the ways Christians often speak falsely to one another is duplicity. According...