Valuing Our Vision series #6: Empty Bleachers
message title: Empty Bleachers message text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 message date: 07.25.10 Ownership matters. When I possess something as its owner I also possess the authority to determine the usage of that thing. This series will answer questions of ownership and management. It will look at the world, our lives, and our resources in light of the reality that God owns everything and →
Time to Reflect
I am headed to my 20 year high school reunion this weekend. Special occasions like this always put me in a reflective mood. Personally, I like to reflect. I like to evaluate the ebb, flow and patterns in my life, even though I don’t always like what I see and what God tells me I must do →
Homes and Hearts in Order
A transformation takes place in our home in the days leading up to the arrival of guests. I don’t know if it is a result of how my wife and I were raised or if it is a common practice among human beings, but we shift into a different mindset during this time. We do everything we can to →
Beyond My Control
The older I get the more and more I realize there are many things in life that are beyond my control. Yet, I find myself trying on a regular basis to control many of them. What I have also realized is this is a phenomenon that is shared by many of my fellow human beings. Take time for example. →
Thanks in Everything
I recently had a stark reminder of my tendency to take things for granted. It all began when I arrived home after a day out with the family to find our homestead engulfed in a cold front. I immediately checked the circuit breaker thinking that maybe we had tripped it, but to my chagrin everything was fine there. It →
“a must read” series #2: chapter one: a heart two sizes too small
message title: Chapter 1: A Heart Two Sizes too Small message text: Revelation 2:1-7 message date: 03.14.10 These days it seems that everyone has a strategy, opinion, plan, or formula for how the church should look and operate. However, only one voice really matters, the voice of the one who gave His life for the church, Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation contains →
Nip and Tuck
The wonders of modern medicine never cease to amaze, neither does the depth of human vanity. The combination of the two has turned into a booming business in which anything we want nipped, tucked, tweaked, or enhanced is medically possible. It is literally possible with the right amount of money or the right insurance to transform oneself into someone →
50 forward series #8: vine
message title: vine message text: John 15:1-17 message date: 02.28.10 In this 50th year of ministry for MorningStar Baptist Church we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ has been our all-sufficient source and solidifying this reality for the years to come. Jesus makes 7 sufficiency statements in the book of John. This final sufficiency statement made by Jesus is reassurance to His followers →
50 forward series #5: Shepherd
message title: Shepherd message text: John 10:11-18 message date: 01.31.10 In this 50th year of ministry for MorningStar Baptist Church we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ has been our all-sufficient source and solidifying this reality for the years to come. Jesus makes 7 sufficiency statements in the book of John. This fourth sufficiency statement affirms that Jesus is our good shepherd →
50 forward series #4: Gate
message title: Gate message text: John 10:7-10 message date: 01.24.10 In this 50th year of ministry for MorningStar Baptist Church we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ has been our all-sufficient source and solidifying this reality for the years to come. Jesus makes 7 sufficiency statements in the book of John. Jesus' third sufficiency statement centers around the reality that only one gate →
50 forward series #3: Light
message title: Light message text: John 8:12, 9 message date: 01.17.10 In this 50th year of ministry for MorningStar Baptist Church we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ has been our all-sufficient source and solidifying this reality for the years to come. Jesus makes 7 sufficiency statements in the book of John. This second sufficiency statement asserts that spiritual seeing comes through →
50 forward series #2: Bread
message title: Bread message text: John 6:22-59 message date: 01.10.10 In this 50th year of ministry for MorningStar Baptist Church we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ has been our all-sufficient source and solidifying this reality for the years to come. Jesus makes 7 sufficiency statements in the book of John. This first statement made by Jesus reveals that He is the →
High Yield Investing
I’m starting to think a lot more about investing than I did a few years ago. For one thing I’m older and realizing that someday I may retire, but in order to do that I’ve got to have something stashed away somewhere. I also have a family now and I am thinking about their security if something were →
Missional series #1
message title: Go... message text: Matthew 28:16-20 message date: 11.13.09 Our central mission as disciples of Jesus Christ is reproduction in others of what Jesus Christ has produced in us. This mission begins with the realization that disciples of Jesus Christ go.
Information Overload
Have you noticed how we analyze everything? You can go on the internet, pick up any newspaper or switch on the radio or TV and inevitably you will find someone analyzing something. Whether you are interested in an analysis of something as significant as the inner workings of the human heart or as insignificant as the evolution of the Oscar →