Independence Day:God's Closeness in Uncertain Times
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Faithful to the Finish
Peter's final call to a young and growing church
Grace and Glory
A short series through the highlights of 1 Peter
Entrusted
Gifts, risk, and the return of the King
BURIED CHICKENS, BURIED SIN One of our youth, Andrew Plasier, shared this true story about an uncle of his in South Dakota and what happened a few summers ago. His uncle raised chickens, about 1200 of them, year round. In July the fans to the chickenhouse malfunctioned and stopped fanning the ...read more
Scripture: Luke 12:1-3
Tags: Sin Exposed
Denomination: Baptist
SUBWAY SUPERHERO Just a few years ago, an astonishing thing happened in New York City. A construction worker named Wesley Autrey was standing on a subway platform with his two young daughters waiting on a train. Suddenly another man on the platform, apparently suffering from a seizure, stumbled ...read more
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
Tags: Heroism
SURPRISE WITH JOY AND DELIGHT She squealed with joy – I just know she would. She grinned and chuckled while dashing from room to room as she gazed at all the balloons, streamers and other decorations scattered about. Her little fingers mined through the candy, presents, and other trinkets of fun ...read more
Scripture: Luke 1:11-17
Tags: Joy
Denomination: Lutheran
LOST AND FOUND Our tummies rumbled --it was time for lunch. "What do ya say we head-in," I asked, as the girls strapped in. We careened down the mountain and caught the chairlift. My baby and I rode on one chair, behind her two, older sisters in another. The view ahead would make a great shot, ...read more
Scripture: Luke 15:8-10
Tags: Parable Lost Coin
AFRAID OF THE GRAVE Cemeteries can be spooky places. I heard a funny story about a guy in Scotland we'll call Ian McGregor. After a long evening in the pub, Ian took a shortcut to his house that took him through a dark cemetery. He accidentally fell into a freshly dug grave. Ian tried to climb ...read more
Scripture: Luke 24:1-12
Tags: Easter Resurrection
MAKING YOUR LIFE COUNT FOR SOMETHING Many years ago at a Presbyterian retreat center near Asheville, NC, the annual summer conference was being held. An elderly man with a neatly clipped white goatee and resonant voice rose to speak. He explained that he was a medical doctor and he had a story to ...read more
Scripture: Luke 14:25-33
Tags: Missions
SIBLING REVENGE The desire to "get even" seems to be a part of the human psyche. It is like the story of a mother who heard her seven-year-old son screaming. She runs into the next room to see what is wrong, and discovers her two-year-old daughter is pulling the hair of her brother. The ...read more
Scripture: Luke 23:32-43
Tags: Child, Children
STOP OR SLOW DOWN Pastor John Hagee told us a story of a driver that refused to stop at a STOP sign; he was then pulled over by a cop. The cop told him that the reason he pulled him over was because he refused to stop at a STOP sign. He replied that he slowed down, the cop then explain to him that ...read more
Scripture: Luke 6:38
Tags: Sin Bondage To
Denomination: Pentecostal
AN UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT In those times in our lives when we receive big news, whatever that might be, our minds are forever imprinted with the emotion and excitement captured in that moment. We hear of an upcoming marriage, a baby on the way, an acceptance to school, whatever it might be – and ...read more
Scripture: Luke 2:28-32
Tags: Birth Of Jesus
A SAVIOR, NOT AN EXAMPLE D.M. Stearns was preaching in Philadelphia. At the close of the service a stranger came up to him and said, "I don’t like the way you spoke about the cross. I think that instead of emphasizing the death of Christ, it would be far better to preach Jesus, the teacher and ...read more
Scripture: Luke 2:10-11
Tags: Jesus Christ
JACK NICKLAUS AND REPENTANCE Jack Nicklaus is considered by most as the greatest golfer who has ever played the game. Once, when he was at the top of his game, he quit playing for 30 days to correct something with his game. He couldn’t correct it. He tried but to no success. Then he went back to ...read more
Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Tags: Repentance
WAITING 20 YEARS FOR THE END OF THE STORY In her book The God Who Hung on the Cross, journalist Ellen Vaughn retells a gripping story of how the Gospel came to a small village in Cambodia. In September 1999, Pastor Tuy Seng (not his real name) traveled to Kampong Thom Province in northern ...read more
Scripture: Luke 24:46-48
Tags: Evangelism Urgency
THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE 6 "Then Jesus told this story: 'A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it ...read more
Scripture: Luke 13:6-9
Tags: Suffering Joy In
Denomination: Other
What Really Matters It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more
Scripture: Luke 2:1-40
Tags: Christmas, Tree, Poem, Santa Claus
THE RING OF SALVATION It began at West Point in 1835. It is a practice that has endured almost 200 years. You may have chosen to obtain one, and undoubtedly you waited anxiously for it to arrive. Others of you weren’t really that into it and decided to pass. Some of you in the room may still wear ...read more
Scripture: Luke 15:22-24
Tags: Easter Good Friday
DO YOU BELIEVE THE EASTER STORY? I heard a story about a family that tragically lost three of their four children within just two weeks to a deadly, virulent disease. One child was left--a four year old boy. The family had buried the third child just two weeks before Easter. On Easter morning ...read more
Scripture: Luke 24:1-49
MAMA'S PRAYERS E. V. (Ed) Hill, who pastored Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, tells the story of how "Mama’s" love and prayers changed his life. During the height of the Depression, Hill’s real mother, who had five children of her own, didn’t have enough food to go around, so ...read more
Scripture: Luke 11:1-13
Tags: Mother's Day
A UNIQUE EXCUSE A man who bought a brand new Mercedes and got out on the interstate. It was a convertible and the top was down, the breeze was blowing through his hair, and he decided he would open it up to see what it could do. The needle hit 80 miles an hour, then 90, then 100, then 110, then ...read more
Scripture: Luke 14:16-24
Tags: Lies
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE USA Today had an article on the front page about those who escaped the World Trade Center on September 11. After interviewing over 300 survivors and family members of victims, USA Today concluded that in the South tower those who didn’t delay but ran for safety immediately ...read more
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
SPINNING A WEB: ANDY'S STORY Andy Fastow was a brilliant kid in the high school graduating class in New Providence, New Jersey. He was one of the really good kids. In fact, he was the student body president of his senior class. He went on to get a great education and a fantastic job. He climbed ...read more
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26