Church Family: Did God really "Hate Esau?" (Rom. 9:13) Ok, so let's back up and start with the first half of that verse, "God loved Jacob." He did? Jacob the liar, cheater and polygamist? Jacob the husband of four women, and many concubines, resulting in twelve sons and one daughter? Jacob the leader of a dysfunctional family? Jacob the father of sons who hated one of their brothers to the point o...  Read More

Church Family: What Biblical doctrine has created some of the most heated controversy and division since the 4th century? Still today if you hear this phrase within Bible believing Christ followers it can bring heated division. What is the phrase? “God elects some to salvation.” Very often the idea that God chooses some and does not choose others creates within believers and unbelievers alike disg...  Read More

Church Family: I love my Mom. She has been nurturing me for 54 years. Mothers are nurturers. They nurture things, especially their own children. That is what God made them to do, nurture. I love being nurtured by my Mom. Even today, if I go to my parent's house my Mom immediately goes into nurture mode. Steve eat this, drink this, eat more of this, you look tired, you need rest, are you sleeping, ...  Read More

Church Family: Since God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, God will absolutely give us all things with Christ (Rom. 8:32). Whoa! All things?  Will our Father God, who gave up His Son to bear the wrath due to us for our sins, deny us any other good that His chosen people need? Our God who has foreloved us with an eternal love, who has effectually called us, who has justified us...  Read More

Church Family: Do you ever look up into the heavens above during the day or night and let them declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1)? What are the heavens declaring about God? His glory. The glory of God is the splendor and brilliance of all God’s attributes. Glory is not one attribute of God, like His omnipotence. Rather "glory" is the description that summarizes all the attributes of God. Glory ...  Read More

Church Family: I can remember being one of four pastors in a “Bible believing church” when the question was asked by a crew of deacons, “do you pastors believe in predestination?” I thought silently, as the very junior associate pastor, “ummm, yea, it’s in the Bible.” Two of the four pastors quickly said “no” while the third pastor abstained from answering the question. They looked at me waiting f...  Read More

Church Family: One of the biggest questions that we ask God and ourselves is, "What is God’s purpose for my life?" It is easy to think that God plays hide and go seek with His purpose for us, but He doesn't. He wants us to know His purpose for us every day. He is the God of purpose. He has a very detailed and eternal purpose that manifests itself daily in our very mundane lives. God is not random ...  Read More

Church Family: God has had a plan before the beginning of time for us to fully enjoy the benefits of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ and His empty tomb cannot be separated. They are both dependent upon each other. Together they display that Christ’s payment for sin has been accepted and His victory is our victory. Do you enjoy the benefits that Christ has won for you th...  Read More

Our scriptural passages that account for what we commonly call, “Palm Sunday”, are all, interestingly, headlined in our Bibles as, “The Triumphal Entry” (Mt 21:1; Mk 11:1; Luke 19:28; Jn 12:12). I say “interestingly”, because, in truth, if anyone knew how to host a real triumph, and make a grand entrance, it was Rome, with its lavish, elaborate, extravagant, and entertaining propa...  Read More

March 24, 2023 Church Family: I love a good watch. I have worn a watch ever since I was a freshman in high school. Got to be on time, you know. I have always been mesmerized by a mechanical watch. It is amazing to watch the mainspring, balance wheel, hairspring, escapement, oscillator, gear train, dial train and other parts work so precisely to make seconds always be seconds and minutes always be ...  Read More

March 17, 2023 Church Family: One thing that I love watching is the communication that goes on between parents and their young children who cannot yet form words. You know when you see the child who is making sounds, unable to form words, and yet both the Mom and Dad know exactly what the child is saying. There is no confusion in the grunts, groans and sounds of the child as to what they are sayin...  Read More

March 17, 2023 Church Family: Do you remember the last time or maybe you are presently in a time of suffering, hardship or maybe you just need a change in life or maybe a greater opportunity has come your way and you do not know whether to take it or not. Life is full of difficult decisions that have to be made. These decisions will absolutely impact your life, your family, your career, and your h...  Read More

March 3, 2023 Church Family: Does your hope make you happy? It is supposed to. God left you great promises for you to bank on while in this sinful world so that you would be happy. If you do not have a hope that makes you happy then your hope is placed in something or someone on this earth that is broken. Everything on this earth has been subjected to futility (Romans 8:20). Everything on this ear...  Read More

February 24, 2023 Church Family: It is interesting to me how many in this world look at “nature” as innocent, pure and kind. We can make cliché comments like, “get back to nature" thinking that returning to a life that existed before the development of our modernized world will cure all our problems and evil.I love creation. I spend as much time as possible in God’s creation. I especially enjoy wa...  Read More

February 17, 2023 Church family: You are an heir! Have you ever inherited anything? It goes like this. If you are an heir to your father’s estate and that consisted of a stamp collection, his old 1971 Chevrolet truck, 50 acres of land and a house, then that is what you would inherit. Everything your father owned is yours. Now take that same thinking and apply it to the promise that you are an heir...  Read More

February 10, 2023 Do you know your real identity? Do you know your real destiny? As one redeemed, brought from death to life, made holy by Jesus Christ, you are a child of God, a son/daughter of Father God, heirs of God’s kingdom, fellow heirs with Christ, and brothers and sisters with other Christians and Christ (Rom. 8:14-17). God is not only your heavenly Father but your "Abba Father." You have...  Read More

February 3, 2023 Church Family: As believers we are debtors. We are debtors to many who have come before us. We are debtors to parents who fed, clothed, taught, corrected, protected and loved us. Take time and think about all the people in your life, past, present and future who have or are pouring into your life to bless you. The list is long. You would not be who you are without them. As the say...  Read More

January 27, 2023 Church: We live in an overlap of two realities. Do you feel the fight? Do you experience the drama? Our first glorious reality is that in Christ or because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection, the “righteous requirement of the law has been fully met in us” (Rom. 8:4). Because of Jesus Christ fulfilling the law perfectly for us, we can no longer be condemn...  Read More

January 20, 2023 Church Family: After last week’s sermon on Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” I was asked the following question on four different occasions: Will this promise from God that we, as believers, will never experience any condemnation from Him only encourage us to sin?Let me answer this question by asking two more questions:1-   Do ...  Read More

January 13, 2023 Church family: The world says, you are your past failures. The world says, you are your work. The world says, you are your education. The world says, you are your performance. The world says, you are your social connections. The world says, you are whoever you want to be. The question for you to truly ponder is, “who are you as a Christian, what is your identity?”Paul tells us mor...  Read More

January 6, 2023 Church family: What do you think when you hear the phrase, “The Law of God”? Does dread and condemnation flood your heart and mind or does happiness, joy and peace consume you? Do you know what God’s purpose is for His law in your life? Do you know how to live under the gospel of God’s grace while also pursuing a life of holiness in obedience to His laws? Can you say as Paul says i...  Read More

December 30, 2020 Church family: If God wanted to remind you of only one thing to pursue for the new year that begins this Sunday, what do you think it would be?Would it be to reflect on His amazing love for you, in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Would it be to spend more time in prayer and communion with Him? Would it be to evangelize more? Would it be to earnestly pursue the gifts of the Spirit? Wo...  Read More

December 23, 2022 Church Family: Are you enjoying the peace of God today? There is no more thorough test of our profession of Christianity than enjoying peace with God? God, the Creator of the universe, wants you to rejoice, enjoy, exalt in the certainty that through His incarnate Son you can be at peace with Him. God wants you to receive this message with absolute clarity, so much so that on the ...  Read More

December 16, 2022 Church Family: Have you ever been on the other end of someone's condescending attitude. It is not a joyful event. But when God condescends to us it is infinitely perfect, loving and redeeming. This is the good news of great joy (Luke 2:10).Christ, as He is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is higher than the kings of the earth, for He is King of kings, and Lord of l...  Read More