Attending college was a goal of mine when I was in high school. To help me get ready, I took college prep classes to prepare for the academic work. Participating in leadership positions in the various clubs not only helped make me a better person, it also made my college applications look better. One club which I felt was vitally important to have on my applications was the National Honor Society. So, during my junior year, I applied and was accepted into membership.

I looked forward to this club because I was friends with most of the other members. We ate lunch together, played sports together and hung out. But something changed when we gathered for our meetings. Some of them became snobs. To make matters worse, the club didn’t seem to have a purpose other than to puff up the members because they had good grades.

The longer I was part of this organization, the more I despised it. During my senior year, the club leaders organized an overnight trip to Marshall University so we could learn more about college life. I was the only member of the club who didn’t go. By this point, I was living in the fringes of this club. Yes, I was a member and attended the meetings but I didn’t really feel like I was part of the group.

It’s OK to be on the fringes of a high school club that really doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of life. It’s much different, however, to be on the fringes of a body created by God to help prepare its members for eternity. (more…)

This Christmas morning, as we celebrate the birth of our Redeemer and Deliverer, do we really want Jesus to take away the sin that is still in our lives? I’m not asking if we want salvation from Him. We all want that. Do we really want Him to come in and change the dark areas we still have in our hearts? After all, this is one of the reasons Jesus left the safety of heaven and came into our evil world.

Jesus, the Creator, Light and Life, came to displace the gloom that sin had cast on God’s creation. He came to bring us salvation. This includes removing the darkness we still carry around in us which tempts us to play around with sin and to ignore God. The truth is many Christians don’t want to let Jesus into these areas because they enjoy sin too much.

What if we want to let go of the struggles, pain and doubt that we still carry with us? How do we let Jesus into the dark areas of our heart? To answer this, let’s look at a Christmas passage in the Bible. (more…)

People have interesting hobbies. A friend of mine collects railroad memorabilia. I have a collection of Looney Tunes glasses from the 1970s and 80s on top of our kitchen cabinets. Some people enjoy buying and restoring old cars. Jim Otto, a member of our congregation, bought a 1930 Roadster to restore. When this car was new, the paint was perfect and there were no rust spots or dents in the metal. However, after decades of exposure to the weather, this car needed a lot of work to restore it to its original condition.

In the Old Testament, the new nation of Israel was once new and impressive. God brought the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and gave them the Promised Land. Once they settled there, they slowly rose in influence and grew in economic trade to become a powerful nation in the region. They were supposed to be a light for God so other nations would want to worship him too. Most of the Israelites didn’t do this. Many of them forgot God and began to follow the gods of the local people. (more…)

I had an opportunity last April to go to Turkey with a group that would visit historical sites in Istanbul as well as the sites of the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. While I wanted to go, I was also concerned. ISIS was growing in size and strength. The cable news networks were filling the airwaves with stories about how many of the ISIS fighters were making their way into Iraq through Istanbul. Naturally, I had questions. I kept asking the trip leader, “Is it safe?” Every time I asked, I got the same response. “Yes, it is.”

After spending some time praying about it, I realized a few things. First, you can’t see the sites of the ancient church staying in Pennsylvania. You have to go to where they’re located. Second, I don’t want to be on my deathbed, reflecting back on my life and saying, “I should have gone to Turkey.” Third, if God was calling me to go, I needed to trust him – no matter what happened. (more…)

If you got a phone call right now from the United States Secret Service announcing the President was arriving at your house later today, what is the first thing you would do? The answer for most of us is the same. We’d make sure the house was clean and everything put in its place.

This is the type of announcement John the Baptist was making in Israel before Jesus began his ministry as the Messiah. The king is coming and we’d better get our house in order before he arrives. (more…)

Please take a moment and wrestle with this question: As I think about my Christian journey, have I pursued God…or has God pursued me?

As I’ve been reflecting about my own life, I’ve realized something. If God hadn’t pursued me, I wouldn’t be a pastor today. I might not even be a Christian.

I grew up in a home with high moral standards which were based on Biblical principles and I was taught Jesus is the Savior, but I wasn’t taught what it meant to walk with God. Although Mom took us to church when I was a child, I hardly attended at all when I became a teenager.

After my wife, Stephanie, and I got married, we sensed God was calling us to attend worship so we started going on a regular basis. Stephanie and I grew in our spiritual maturity but I had no desire to be a pastor. When I was 23, I began to sense that God was calling me to preach. I was so opposed to doing this that I actually did things I knew were sinful just to show God he was calling the wrong person. (more…)

Are you really thankful today?

American author and clergyman Henry Van Dyke said, “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” This Thursday is the day our nation has set aside for us to collectively pause from the busyness in our lives and express our feelings of thankfulness. As Christians, we enjoy it not only because it is a secular holiday – it also has a biblical mandate. Colossians 3:15b says we are to “be thankful” and 1 Thessalonians 5:18a tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

Throughout the centuries of its existence, many individuals and families have formed customs and practices which have become very important to them on Thanksgiving Day. Please take a moment and think about the things your family does on Thanksgiving which have become special to you. (more…)

Jesus says in Matthew 18:15-35 – ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Jesus’ teaching is very clear in this passage. If others sin against you, go talk with them. If they won’t listen to you, take two or three others with you to help work things out. Just remember this doesn’t mean you are to take two or three people who agree with you. You take two or three impartial people who can objectively hear both sides of the story. If this doesn’t work, take it before the whole church and let the church help deal with it. Then forgive whoever sinned against you because God has forgiven you for a lot worse things than what this other person did to you. Jesus ends up saying that refusing to forgive is nothing more than sin.

Before you read any more, please take a few minutes and wrestle with this question: Have I forgiven others the same way I want Jesus to forgive me? (more…)

Matthew 5:1-12 says “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This passage makes it clear that being a disciple of Jesus was never supposed to be easy.

Umar Mulinde grew up in a strict Muslim home in Uganda. His grandfather was an imam (religious leader of a mosque), and Umar was trained in Islamic thought which went unchallenged until he left home for college. (more…)

Historically the United States of America has been a country which based its actions and vision for the future on the teachings found in the Bible. While trade was a major reason for the first settlements in the New World, religious freedom was even more important to most of those who made the dangerous journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Many came to America with the view that European settlers were like the Israelites going into the Promised Land. However, they had a problem. Other people were already living here. In order for them to claim their God-given property, they viewed the Native Americans to be like the Philistines which needed to be driven out. This interpretation of Scripture allowed them to massacre the Indians with a clear conscience. (more…)