This Weekend's Message: The Final Election

In less than a week people all over our nation will be going to the polls to vote. Those that actually make it to the polls (probably less than 50% of eligible voters) will vote for the men and women they want to lead our nation, our states, and our cities. For many this is an election like none other. Pundits have told us that the future direction of our nation is going to be dictated by who wins. Many are placing their hope for the future in this election. For those who see their candidates win, they will think their hope has been realized and all is well with the world. And for those who vote for the losing candidate, they will feel like their hope has been dashed. They will believe there is much to feel anxious and concerned about.

But the truth is that all people who put their hope in this election will be disappointed. Why? Because there is only one ultimate hope for humanity and it is not found in this election. Come this week as we explore "The Final Election” and how we can be hopeful no matter who wins the election on Tuesday.

Gary

This Weekend's Message: Is God Green?

What is our responsibility when it comes to taking care of the earth? Are the planets resources ours for the taking, or do they need to be conserved? The answer doesn't just relate to climate change or endangered species. The biblical answer relates to the very foundation of your purpose here on this earth.

Dan

This Weekend's Message: Abortion: Valuing Life or Valuing Choice?

Abortion is one of the most hotly contested issues of our time. Even the framework of the debate is contested. Is it pro-choice vs. anti-choice? Is it pro-life vs. pro-abortion? In the ultimate meanings, I think just about everyone wants to be both “pro-life” and “pro-choice.” We all want to value life, and at the same time we all want to value individual human freedom.

Is the abortion issue truly a clash between life and choice? If so, what wins out?

And, perhaps most significantly, it is the oft-stated claim true that the Bible is silent on this issue?

These are some of the questions we will explore this Sunday. Come with a heart prepared to listen, to think, and to respond to God’s heart.

Dan

This Weekend's Message: Immigration: Good Fences?

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Many of us know that the words above are at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. The United States is often called a nation of immigrants. At the same time, the question of immigration, and specifically illegal immigration, is a hot political topic.

What should drive our attitude on the issue of immigration? Should it be fear and a desire for protection? Should it be a desire for fairness? Should it be compassion and sympathy? What has your attitude been, and how does the gospel of Jesus impact how you should view not only the issue, but the immigrants themselves?

Dan

This Weekend's Message: Jesus Had a Poor Response. Do You?

You’re pulling off the freeway and come to a stop just behind the crosswalk and on the inside lane. Then it happens... As you casually look around to take in your surroundings you inadvertently make eye contact. It is just for a split second, but it was long enough to communicate, “Hey, come on over.” Suddenly a homeless man is standing by your car looking in your window. It is a moment of decision; “Should I give him money? Will he use it for drugs? Would it be better to go to a restaurant and get him food? What bad choices led him to this situation? Does he deserve my help?”

This and situations like this can create quite a dilemma. While there is something that causes us to feel like we need to help, there is also this social skepticism that can cause us to second guess that decision. This weekend we are going to talk about the issue of the poor, see what kind of “poor response” Jesus had, and discuss what we can learn from a biblical perspective on this issue. As we talk about this you may find yourself uncomfortable and challenged, but hopefully open to how God will lead us in our response to those in need.

I guarantee this will be the poorest message you will ever hear, full of poor examples and poor storytelling. But in the end, I hope the Holy Spirit generates a poor response in your life.

See ya Sunday,
Jeff

This Weekend's Message: Homosexuality: The Right to Marry?

To be against same-sex marriage in our culture is increasingly being equated with being racist or sexist. It is often equated with those who were against school integration and interracial marriage. As states vote on amendments, as protestors demonstrate, as celebrities and politicians take sides, the issue is coming to a boiling point.

How does God’s Word guide Christians to think about a tough issue like same-sex marriage? And then, how does God guide us on how to respond to this issue in our cultural context?

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: Homosexuality: Is God Bigoted?

In our current cultural setting, no issue is more emotionally-charged than the issue of how our culture responds to homosexuality. For the past decade, the issue has dominated the spheres of politics and popular culture. It seems like a new celebrity “comes out” nearly every month, and measures concerning same-sex marriage appear in each election year.

One of the reasons why this issue is so emotionally-charged is because there have been poor responses on both sides. Sadly, there have been Christians (and churches) who have acted ignorantly or spitefully toward homosexuals, alienating and dehumanizing them. Then there are other Christians (and churches) who have decided that the biblical teaching on homosexuality must be either culturally driven or antiquated, and so they have embraced homosexuality as a normal and acceptable activity. There are many questions surrounding this difficult issue.

This weekend we will not resolve all of them. Two questions will dominate this weekend’s message:
(1) What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
(2) How are we to respond to individuals who are impacted by homosexuality?

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: Is God a Masochist or Pacifist?

If you stay current with the events in our world, I don’t have to tell you that across our globe many are in the midst of conflict and war. For Americans, the war in Afghanistan is mostly on our minds, but let’s not forget about the recently ended war in Iraq or what happened in recent times in Egypt or Tunisia or Libya – that some call the Arab Spring. Even more current is horrific killing of innocent people in Syria and just Wednesday the burning of the U.S. Embassy and killing of the U.S. Ambassador and three others in Libya. And finally, let’s not forget this threat of terrorism we have been living with for over ten years.

War, the threat of war, and the effects of war are all around us. What are we to think about this? What are we to do about it? How should a Christian think about war? How should a Christian react to war? 

This is what we will talk about on Sunday as we continue our series “American Christian or Christian American?” I hope to see you.

We will also have a baptism after third service. Please stay for that service as well. You will be blessed as you get to see and hear how God has changed the lives of people in our church. This will be an exciting time!

Gary Keith

This Weekend's Message: Fight or Flight?

Some of us have taken tests that reveal our conflict management style. It can be a helpful experience. Some of us respond to conflict by striking back with full force. If someone is against us, we decide that we are against them also. Rather than being punching bags, we decide to fight back. On the other hand, some of us respond to conflict by trying to keep peace at any cost. We will avoid, over-apologize, and keep silent if it will help the conflict to go away. As you read this, you can probably identify which extreme to which you lean.

Our conflict management styles can play themselves out in the way that we respond as Christians to the culture around us. Some of us experience the opposition of the world against Jesus (and his people), and we fight back. We start organizations and launch protests to protect our rights from the powers that be. Others of us retreat so that we won’t have to deal with the unpleasant aspects of the world that cause conflict and difficulty. We pull back from any level of engagement and just try to stay pure until either we die or Jesus returns.

Often we think that “fight” and “flight” are the only options Christians have to respond to the world around us. In this passage, Jesus gives us a completely different way to engage. He calls us to something that has much greater difficulty for us, and much greater impact for others.

Dan Franklin

This Weekend's Message: Whose Side Are You On?

By now it is impossible to be unaware of the fact that 2012 is an election year. Campaigns are in full swing and people all around the country are taking sides.

Are you?

Is God?

Both sides certainly seem to think that God is on their side. This is nothing new. For the next several months Americans everywhere will be called to take a side, and part of the appeal will be religious in nature. Both sides of the debate will claim that they are led by God’s values (perhaps even Christian values) when it comes to their positions and policies. This can be confusing and frustrating. It can bring us to a point of looking upward and asking God, “Whose side are you on?” God has something to say in response.

Dan Franklin