Category: Life

Belief in One

4/13/2025

Luke 23:26-48
Good news and bad news are on the opposite spectrum. The doctor calls and says the health report is not good, or you get a call about the birth of a grandchild. We enjoy the good, but our life is build around the bad. Our brain has a way of paying attention to what is bad and looking for a solution out of the predicament. Very simply we become people that want to find the good in the midst of the bad. God has intentionally created us to be searchers. Why are we like that? We are born into a broken world as people needing answers to life and we spend a lifetime working to provide those answers. We think, read, and search for God’s good in the bad. In the crucifixion of Jesus we see the bad news play out. Some mourned (27-28) while rulers and soldiers mocked Jesus (35-37) as he was placed on a cross between two thieves (32-33). The bad news and the reality of death seemed hopeless. Yet Luke records the change that occurred in one of the thieves , the centurion and even the crowd. God was at work bringing His good out of the worst bad that could ever happen. 1 Peter 3:18 states that, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.” The broken world of Jesus day contained people looking for something better. The centurion found a righteous man in the midst of corruption and death (47). The thief found new life at the end of his own life (42-43). God even worked in the crowd to change their thinking (48). The good news is that Jesus has taken the bad news of our sin for us. Our broken world can only show us more brokenness and death, yet Jesus came to be the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Belief in Jesus is good news for a broken world.

For More See LUKE

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Christmas & Invitation

12/11/2022

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John 3:16
What do you do with that unwanted gift that you will never use? The best option is to return it to the store and exchange it for some item you really want. The exact numbers of post Christmas returns are not in for this year, but based on previous years, retailers expect about 55 percent of shoppers to exchange or return an unwanted gift. What is the problem? Why so many returns? The issue is the giver and the ability to fully know the one receiving the gift. With all the returns some stores turn to post holiday sales to move the unwanted merchandise. But have you thought about the time when the giver got the perfect gift for everyone? God did just that at Christmas. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” God is the perfect giver who gives with a purpose to display His love to a world full of people that have no idea what real love is. God gave His one and only Son at Christmas as a personal gift for every one. This gift and His sacrifice in our place for our sin provides new life now and eternal life for the rest of time for all who believe in Jesus. The gift is given freely by God with the all the benefits of life and not death. The only requirement is belief in Jesus as the Son of God who has come to save us from our sin. Do you believe that Jesus is God’s gift for you? When we understand the greatness of this gift we not only treasure it but also tell others about it. It is the gift that we can continually give away and never lose. It is the best gift that we will never return.

For more see JOHN or SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS

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Why Are You Angry?

4/17/2022

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Jonah 4:9-11
A while ago I found a five dollar bill after the snow started to melt. It was soaking wet and dirty. I had never found any thing larger than a quarter until that day. My regular finds were made up of simple pocket change. Did I really want it? How much is a dirty and soaking wet five dollar bill worth? It is still worth five dollars. I realized the value of my find, cleaned off some of the mud and brought it home. After it had dried I was able to take it to the store, spend it, and no one knew that it was unpresentable just a few days ago. Are we thankful that God does not treat us as our dirty sinful lives deserve? The book of Jonah displays a contrast between God’s response to the sinful city of Nineveh and Jonah’s response. God’s perspective of Nineveh’s sin caused the people to respond and turn from their sin (3:9). God in turn relented from bringing judgment on them (3:10). However, Jonah was angry at God’s gracious response (4:1-2). Jonah angrily wanted calamity on the sinful, but God displayed compassion (4:11). God’s grace made the difference for the sinful people of Nineveh. Out of his holiness, God would have been justified to display his anger in judgment on their sin. Jonah had no such foundation to provide righteous judgment. He acted in anger because he did not get to see sinners punished. God responded in grace and gave sinners life. God saw through the dirt of sin in their life and had compassion on Nineveh just as he does with us. That is why we celebrate Easter because God’s grace has overcome our sin. Because of God’s grace displayed through Jesus we can now have life, hope and peace and not God’s judgment. That is good news of great joy!

For more see QUESTIONS FROM GOD

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Belief in One

Christmas & Invitation

Why Are You Angry?

Pastor Ken

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