Pastors Blog

Pastors Blog

thoughts from our Pastoral Staff for A Collective Journey Through Scripture and Life
Click On Picture To See All Of Pastor Jim’s Blog Posts
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You Offended Me!

Dealing with Offense The church (unfortunately) can be a breeding ground for offense. I’m not sure why. Maybe it is because we get more personal with each other. Maybe it’s unreal expectations that we have for one another. Whatever the reason, it happens to all of us sooner or later. We are human. In our daily lives, offense can come in many forms—comments made in jest, misunderstandings, or even outright hostility. The key here is that, if we consider ourselves…

When To Cut Someone Off

When do you say enough is enough? When do you cut a person out of your life? When do you decide that a bridge needs to burn to the ground?  “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” The psalmist identifies with our struggle when he wrote, “For it is not an enemy who taunts me—  then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—  then I could hide from him. But it is you, a…

Is God A Monster?

Have you ever read anything in the Bible that made you question God or the Bible? In Genesis 22, we are told that God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Wait, did God just tell Abraham to sacrifice…

Flee Temptation

2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”  

From Division to Unity

Gossip and slander can quietly infiltrate the life of a church community, causing discord and division. Most of the time I hear these issues dismissed as harmless venting or sharing a concern, but they carry significant spiritual consequences with the speaker and the hearer. Gossip usually involves sharing information about someone that we don’t know as true and often lacking the consent of the person being discussed. Slander, on the other hand, is making false statements that can damage someone’s…

Is Jesus the Only Way to God?

With all of the pressures for everyone to be accepting and inclusive of others’ beliefs, and even with the Pope now saying that “All religions are paths to God.” Where do we, as Christians, stand on this issue? Do all religions lead to God, or is Christianity the only one true path to God? To reach a conclusion on this matter, we must first answer this question. Who or what is the final authority on this? In other words, do…

Finding Peace Amidst Chaos: Overcoming Fear Through Faith

The world seems to be spinning with fears right now—fear of the COVID-19 virus, fear of who will lead us next, fear of what that leader might or might not do, fear of potential conflicts and wars, fear of losing jobs or businesses, fear of financial hardships, fear of the pervasive anger and division among people, fear of losing friends over differing opinions, and fear of an uncertain future. It’s a lot to carry, isn’t it? Sometimes, it feels like…

Is Trump perfect?

I found this commentator’s perspective interesting. Love him or hate him, you must agree that God in his sovereignty has positioned Trump to be one of our choices to vote into office in 2024. You must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in how you vote. – Pastor Jim *PLEASE COMMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

The Sharpest Tool

Miriam Webster defines the word practical as “capable of being put to use or account”, “willingness to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly”, and “of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas” All of these definitions fit perfectly for the way I see God’s Word and it’s application in our daily lives as Christians. I don’t believe God ever intended for this Book to be held…

A shipwrecked faith

We all want the type of faith that can move mountains, but are we willing to work for it? I saw a quote the other day and it rings true, “Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do.” There is a whole chapter in the book of Hebrews dedicated to people who “by faith” accomplished great things for God. Without faith, Noah would have never built the ark, or Moses would have never…

What does it mean to take up your cross?

Was Jesus speaking to us when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”? This was only for those who wanted to take their Christianity to the next level right? No this is Jesus’ expectation for everyone who is to believe in him for salvation, in fact, this is the gospel message in a nutshell, that we give up our old life for the new life that Jesus offers. …

What does it mean to be a Christian?

What does a Christian look like? What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be a follower of God? Do we look to a pastor or the church for these answers? With churches running the gamut from ultra-liberal, where anything goes, to extremely conservative, where the members live simple lives and everything else is immoral. What does the Bible say, how are we supposed to live, are we allowed to watch R-rated movies and consume…

What songs can we sing during worship in church

What Songs Can We Sing At Church? Over the years, there has been much debate about what songs can and can’t be sung at church. Churches have split over this topic and many congregants have left their churches because of a disagreement on song selection. Some argue that you can only sing hymns in church while others take offense if the song is about what God does for his people rather than who God is. While much of this falls…