January 30, 2012 by Worship Director.

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.” - Mark 12:41-43

This lesson of the widow is more than a message on financial giving, it is a story of giving one’s all. The widow in her society was nothing.  Without a man to protect and provide for her, she was helpless and defenseless, an outsider and object of injustice. Even so, she came to the temple, probably alone.  She walked to the front, even if invisible among the crowds. She placed her offering before the Lord, unashamed of what others would say, but in obedience to her God.

She knew those two coins could fill her stomach for a day, but then, would never sustain her soul for eternity.  Those two coins in the offering bought her immortality through the eyes of Jesus and just perhaps, through her example we would examine ourselves today.

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January 28, 2012 by Worship Director.

Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. - Isaiah 43:1b

We know His name, but more importantly, He knows ours.

There is nothing we can hide from God, not our thoughts, our finances, our intentions or our fears.  He has already paid the price for our mistakes, our secrets and our failures – He has “got our number” and He owns us.

Yet far from a malevolent Master, He remains a generous benefactor.  He knows our needs, He will provide, He knows our names and He will not let us down.

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January 26, 2012 by Worship Director.

And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” - John 1:34-36

“The Lamb of God,” “The Alpha and Omega,” “The Way,” “Emmanuel – God With Us” are just a few of the names used to identify Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of God, Savior and Messiah. More than identifying Him, these kinds of words describe Him in so that we can begin to understand all that He is to us.

As the Lamb, He is our sacrificial redemption.

As The Way, He is the journey mapped out for our happiness and success.

As Emmanuel, we know that we will never be alone. He was born to be one of us, and walk with us, to suffer and cry and rejoice and laugh, as Son, Brother and Friend.

We may call on Him by many names, but we know Him by His love.

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January 22, 2012 by Worship Director.

Psalm 139:1-14

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me.You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there;if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning,if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

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January 19, 2012 by Worship Director.

John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. - Acts 1:5

The act of baptism, as we practice it in water, is an outward, public, expression of how we express to the world that we wash clean our lives to follow Jesus.  Our old self goes into the water and the new us breaks back through the surface unstained and refreshed to discover God’s plan for us. But water is never enough; it is the Holy Spirit that will set us in the right direction and guide us to the best God has in store for us.

Immerse yourself in His Spirit and emerge fully in His will.

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January 17, 2012 by Worship Director.

Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.  He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. - Acts 16:33-34

This jailor met most unusual prisoners.  In his short time with Paul and Silas, he came to understand that it was he who was imprisoned – not them.  While no doubt he had heard many under his lock and key, complain that they were jailed unjustly; likely none had opened their mouths to pray and sing praises in his keep. For no others, in his experience, had the Hand of God moved to set men free. None would have stayed with their way out so assured, to protect the life of their captor, who would have forfeit his life in payment for their escape.

The jailor kept to his employer’s charge, holding the men safely under his care and bringing them into his home, but in the end he found a new Master that would keep him and his whole family safe in HIS care and HIS home. The jailor left his prison in chaos and brought his house into order.

He may have gone back to work, but not to jail, for he was set free indeed.

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January 15, 2012 by Worship Director.

Please, Lord, prove that Your power is as great as You have claimed. - Numbers 14:17

Always doubting God. Like Thomas, we can’t believe it until we see it. Even though we have the audacity to ask God to prove Himself, to exert His power at our demand, He responds.  Yet, no amount of proof ever seems to be enough.

How fortunate for us that our God is big enough to accept our unbelief, our distrust, our lack of faith and says, “Try Me.”  Taste and see, for the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusts in Him (Psalm 34:8).

Try Him and prepare to be amazed.

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January 12, 2012 by Worship Director.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. - 2 Corinthians 4:7

Knowledge is power. Winning and wealth are power. We all need some level of personal power to live healthy lives.  Subsequently, to possess power, we may work, struggle, bargain, cheat or steal.  What makes God’s power so excellent is that is it free, unearnable and undeserved. The weaker we are in our physical form or financial standing, the more His power can become the only explanation for our success, strength or solace.

Over and over throughout the Bible, God chose the underdog, the unexpected, and the unwanted to demonstrate what can happen when we unleash Him to use our weakness for His glory. Whether it is the under-rated quarterback who beats the odds and wins the day, or the terminally ill loved-one whose peaceful presence gives us the will to go on, it is in these excellent examples that all can see a power not of this world, but simply superior and definitely divine.

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January 9, 2012 by Worship Director.

He [God] never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. - Isaiah 40:28-29

Many are starting this new year deeper in debt than the year before.  A moment’s weakness may cost months of regret.  Financial instability can make life difficult, make us feel powerless, make us fearful of what lay ahead.  But our God is strong in our weakness and powerful in our feebleness and fear.

He can take control of our finances if we allow Him.  He can raise our bottom line and bring us into the black if we use divine accounting, that doesn’t always seem to make sense.  The more we give, the more we get, the less we have to fear in our finances or anything else.

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January 7, 2012 by Worship Director.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. - 2 Corinthians 4:7a

The human body is a fragile thing.  Just a fall, a few days without water, exposure to temperatures too cold or too hot; and our bodies will cease to function. It is not our physical frame, a shell of flesh and bone, wherein we find our real strength, but from the inexplicable spark within that drives us to go on when there seems to be nowhere to go.  It is an ineffable quality that fortifies our emotions and steels our mental toughness beyond mere corporeal matter.

For Christians, we know that it is God living in us that generates that power which holds us together when our frail vessels should fall apart.  While it is unlikely that one would put a treasure in brittle clay container, God came to live inside the vulnerable human heart to make us stronger than we could ever be without Him.

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