Contributors
Steve's church

Maple Grove Christian Church
Charlottesville, Virginia 22911
434-973-2066

About Steve
  • Education: I spend 9 1/2 years in the submarine force of the United States Navy in the nuclear power field. At age 27 I enrolled at Florida Christian College and graduated with a BA in 1992. I graduted from Loch Raven Sr High in Baltimore Maryland in 1978. Home of the best seafood in the world. And the best beach - go O.C.!
  • Experience: I have been in full time ministry since December of 1991 serving in 3 churches in Florida and 1 in Georgia before coming to Virginia.
  • Comment to those looking at my sermons: If anything I have put down can help you - I think that is sooo awesome! Back in Kindergarten I was told to share and I can think of nothing better than sharing truths of God with fellow believers (but don’t ask me to share chocolate with you - that would be asking too much). Feel free to use all you can - nothing is ever 100% original. And sorry for all the typos.
  • Sermon or series that made a difference: A verse by verse study of the Gospel of Matthew.
  • Family: I am married to an incredible lady named Lauire who is not only a partner at home but a great partner in ministry, she teaches me much and keeps me on my toes. I have 5 children - Chelsea, John, Leila, Mei-Leigh, Jin-Tao (the two youngest were adopted from China) and I have 7 grandchildren (Zebulon, Micaiah, Micah, Asher, Lucy, Cana, Ezra)
  • What my parents think of my sermons: My dad went home to be the Lord in Sept of 1999. My mom went home in August of 2013 but she loved my messages - you know how moms are.
  • What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: I think, she thinks they rock... but that they could be a little shorter. I’m working on that.
  • Best advice given to me about preaching: Make sure that you are spending time with God as a first priority - you know what I mean Q.T.’s (quiet times) - it is hard to talk about a personal God if you don’t have a personal relationship to him. I find that when I have been ’hangin’ with God things flow naturally. ALSO when you preach make every effort to do so for God and not the applause of men (I find that to be hard at times). REMEMBER - your job is to put the beauty of the Christ on display not your own or even your churches’.
  • Books that have had an impact: Waking The Dead, Signature of Jesus, Seizing Your Divine Moment, ME, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
  • Hobbies: Hanging with my wife & kids... Reading books, playing racketball and working out. Watching the NFL.
  • If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: There is nothing greater in life then KNOWING Christ. He is all we need.
  • Something funny that happened while preaching: Once when I was trying to rent out my house I forgot and left my pager on.. Right in the middle of my sermon it went off (I was talking about materailism) - I turned it off and then acted as though God had just given me a message - the people got a kick out of it.. Also I once preached an entire sermon with my zipper down (I’ve been paranoid about that ever since)
  • What I want on my tombstone: He saved nothing for the next life
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Newest Sermons

  • Storing Up Treasure

    Contributed on Aug 9, 2023
    based on 2 ratings
     | 822 views

    In this conversation we will answer 3 very important questions in regard to our treasures... 1) Where’s your heart? 2) How’s your vision? 3) Whose your master?

    Storing Up Treasure Matthew 6:19-24 Welcome to church. Welcome to day 50 of the year 2023! So – how is the new year going for you? NOW – I want to begin our time this morning... by reading the passage of Scripture that we will unpack today. It is Matthew 6:19-24... let's take turns reading it ...read more

  • What Happens When The Church Prays

    Contributed on Jul 28, 2023
    based on 1 rating
     | 1,093 views

    The way I want to attack this conversation is by looking at 3 statements: 1) What Prayer Is 2) What Prayer Can Do 3) When the Church Prays (6 awesome things happen)

    What Happens When The Church Prays Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the ...read more

  • Getting The Victory Over Temptation

    Contributed on Jul 28, 2023
    based on 1 rating
     | 493 views

    To get the victory over temptation... we must know: 1) our enemy 2) our responsibility 3) our God

    Getting The Victory Over Temptation The King and His Kingdom OKAY – I want to start off today by reading a passage from the book of Deuteronomy. Anyone know... • What the name means? Second law • What section of the Bible it is found in? Pentateuch (5 books) In this book the new generation ...read more

  • About Our Father

    Contributed on Jun 8, 2023
    based on 1 rating
     | 913 views

    TODAY RATHER THAN TALK ABOUT EARTHLY FATHERS I want to in the brief time that we’ll spend together talk about OUR FATHER..... Recently I was once again reminded of just how great our Father really is and I want to talk about Him this morning.

    ABOUT OUR FATHER" TEXT: LUKE 15 TODAY IS FATHER’S DAY, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE. LET’S BE HONEST THOUGH FATHER’S DAY IS JUST NOT AS BIG AS MOTHER’S DAY. THAT’S NOT SOUR GRAPES, THAT’S THE TRUTH. ON MOTHER’S DAY THERE IS A HIGHER ATTENDANCE AT CHURCH, MOTHER’S HAVE ...read more

  • Lead Us Not Into Temptation Part Two

    Contributed on Jun 7, 2023
    based on 1 rating
     | 561 views

    Part two of Leads Us not into temptation... 1) Know Your Enemy 2) Know Your responsibility 3) Know your God. (in this conversation we talked about the armor of God... what it is and how to practically put in on.

    Lead Us Not Into Temptation (2) The King and His Kingdom OKAY - I want to start off this morning by reading several passages of Scripture that are both powerful and inspiring. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, ...read more

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  • In The Name Of Jesus Stop!

    Contributed on Sep 7, 2022
    based on 1 rating
     | 1,425 views

    Telemachus was a monk in the 4th century. One day in prayer, He felt called by God to leave immediately and head to Rome. So he put his possessions in a sack and headed out. Upon arriving in Rome, he was immediately caught up in the crowd. The crowd was immense and excited. Soon ...read more

  • Forgiveness

    Contributed on Feb 3, 2021
    based on 2 ratings
     | 4,972 views

    It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come from ...read more

  • Giving

    Contributed on Oct 2, 2019
    based on 1 rating
     | 3,037 views

    “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving ...read more

  • No - I Don't Look As Good As When I Was Brand ...

    Contributed on Mar 15, 2005
    based on 1 rating
     | 6,445 views

    NO - I don’t look as good as when I was brand new… AND - that’s why I need someone who will hold me and love me, like they don’t even notice the difference… ONE - of my favorite authors writes; There are 2 truths about human beings that matter deeply. We are all rag dolls. Flawed and wounded, ...read more

  • There Is Such A Love That Creates Value In What ...

    Contributed on Mar 15, 2005
    based on 2 ratings
     | 3,814 views

    There is such a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. There is a love that fastens itself onto ragged little creatures, for reasons that no one could ever quite figure out, and makes them precious and valued beyond calculation. ...read more