Pastor's Pen

  Pastor’s Pen, This Sunday: A Mountaintop Experience!                                                                              Mark 9:1-29 Have you ever had an experience so dramatic, so unique, that even a Hollywood script writer couldn't do it justice? We have a term for such an experience—we frequently refer to it as a “mountain-top” experience. Our passage in Mark describes what we might refer to as the original mountaintop experience. What Peter, James and John experienced on that mountain was one of the most dramatic events recorded in Scripture. Our purpose this weekend is not just to look at the event, but to see its significance both for the disciples and for us. ***** This Sunday we are celebrating a baptism! Water baptism by immersion identifies us with our Savior whe...

  Pastor’s Pen, This Sunday: A Mother’s Role in God’s Plan                                                                              Acts 12:1-25 SUNDAY IS MOTHER’S DAY — PLEASE PLAN TO WORSHIP WITH US, HONORING OUR LORD AND SHOWING APPRECIATION TO OUR MOTHERS! Throughout Biblical history mothers have played a key role. Eve was called ‘the mother of all living.’ (Genesis 3:20) Other key mothers in Scripture include Jochebed the mother of Moses, Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, and of course Mary the mother of Jesus. And let's not forget Timothy's mother Eunice. This Mother’s Day, since we have been studying Mark’s gospel, I felt we should take a look at the mother of the man who wrote one of the four Gospel accounts of the life of our Savior....

  Pastor’s Pen, This Sunday: Mark’s Purpose; Christ’s Product                                                                             Mark 8:27-38 There once lived a young well to do resident of Israel, whose mother, whose name was Mary, owned a large home in Jerusalem. He may have been the “rich young ruler” of Mark 10:17ff who asked Jesus, “Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  This young man traveled with Paul and Barnabas, but quit during their first missionary journey. Because of his failure to stay the course, Paul became very unhappy with this young man and insisted that he not be a part of the second missionary journey. He traveled with Barnabas, who provided him with encouragement and discipleship, and later spent a significant amount of time with Peter. If ...

Pastor’s Pen, This Sunday: The Heart of a Pharisee                                                                                        Mark 7:1-37 If you want to make a Bible believing Christian mad, just call him or her a Pharisee! Our concept of Pharisees is that they are all bad. Yet in the New Testament era they were considered the good guys. They were guardians of the law, believed in the resurrection, and professed to keep all the commandments. If the Pharisees were among Jesus bitterest enemies! Why? Because unlike our Savior they were committed to…tradition. The heart of Pharisee-ism is it substitution of man's tradition for God's Word, and its stress on external conformity rather than internal reality. Him ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facil...

Pastor’s Pen, Easter is just two weeks away! I’d love to see each of you, especially those of you who have not attended services in person recently at church on Easter Sunday! Will you prayerfully make plans to attend? We are still wearing masks, social distancing and weekly sanitizing our facility! What is the most important issue which our hurting generation must consider? Not COVID 19, nor the economy, nor any political issue.  That most important issue? Who is Jesus Christ and how will I respond to Him? The problem is, so many people are preoccupied with the immediate they are unwilling to focus on the eternal.  As we continue our study in Mark's Gospel, Jesus sends His disciples to be lights to that generation, to draw their attention to Him as the light of the world.  In similar fashion, we who have trusted Christ are sent to point our generation to the One who has the ultimate answer to the dilemma of life.  In our test, Jesus shows the disciples what to expe...

Pastor’s Pen, REMEMBER—DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGE THIS WEEKEND—SET CLOCKS AHEAD 1 HOUR! Recently an epidemic has occurred at our house, not of physical illness, but of the: appliance problems.  We have dealt with an automobile challenge, a microwave failure, a dishwasher dysfunction and a refrigerator outage.  In a couple of cases I tried to come up with a repair or a solution, even diagnosing the refrigerator problem through an online YouTube video. However, each problem was beyond me. I needed someone who had the knowledge and ability to deal with these issues. Our section of Mark’s Gospel demonstrates how Jesus is the Master over all life's problems when we turn to Him in faith. He is the master over disaster, over demonic forces, over devastating diseases, and over death itself.  In the aftermath of Jesus’ teaching through parables about His kingdom, He is about to perform four miracles to demonstrate the validity of His claim to be the Messiah. Thus He is worthy of...

  Pastor’s Pen… Last Sunday in our study of Mark's Gospel, we examine the first of four miracles Jesus performed to authenticate his message and the parables about Himself and His kingdom. We saw the response of the disciples as He demonstrated power and authority over the storm on the Sea of Galilee, proving Himself to be Master over disaster.  This weekend we will take a break in our study of Mark, with plans to resume next Sunday March 14, looking at His mastery over demons, disease and even death. T Since our ‘Valentine weekend getaway’ was postponed due to snow and ice, Kathy and I are taking a break this weekend, and John Royal will be speaking on “ The Husband of Blood” from Exodus 4:24-26. I would encourage you to be present either in person or through our live Facebook feed as John explores this portion of Scripture from the life of Moses. ***** We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday wors...