Pastor's Corner: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

  Pilgrim Living: Praise God, Our Hope is Sure! I Peter 1:3-5 Introduction :   Thousands of Afghans are seeking to flee their country in the face of the Taliban take over. Some of them are at least initially finding their way into screening centers on military bases in our area.   Exiles in a foreign land . Peter began this letter addressing his readers as exiles and pilgrims. They are exiles, chosen of God, citizens of heaven, but scattered like seeds through the nations. They are dispersed through Asia Minor, most importantly, for a while, they are citizens of heaven, but for now, resident aliens in the world. In the face of rising pressure from Rome, Peter wants them to have hope.   God intended this word for us as well. We too are in the world, but not of the world . If you turn on the news, evil is evident, we live in a broken, sin cursed world. That was evident long before the 21 st century! In the early third century AD, Cyprian wrote this in a letter to his friend… “It i

  Pilgrims in a Fallen World: Who is Your King? I Peter 1:1,2 Introduction : The reports of death and suffering in Haiti, and news of violence during the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan this week have been heart breaking. And Christians are not exempt from suffering, in certain places they can even be targets of hatred. We should not be surprised, right? After all, Jesus said " In the world you will have tribulation. .." He said " Do not be surprised if the world hates you, it hated me first ." We live in a fallen world. That is why Jesus came. I have a card in my office from David Jeremiah’s ministry. It has a reflection on John 14:1-3 on the back, let’s read those words of Jesus: "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.   2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.   3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and r

  Kingdoms in Conflict (or, What Matters to God ) Jonah 4:4-11 Introduction : You have heard the old story of a Native-American chief who said to a young man,      “There are two dogs fighting inside of me. One is filled with hate and evil. The other is filled with love, and good. This battle rages inside of you, and all men.”      The young man asked, “Which one will win?”      The wise old chief replied, “The one you feed.” There is a battle raging in the hearts of men and women that does not cease the moment we believe (see Romans 7 if you doubt that!). The good news is that if you know Christ as your personal Savior and Lord you have what you need to choose well… We have the Bible. As surely as God’s Word came to Jonah, it has come to us. We have God’s word, and we also have the promise of His presence . He is with us, and in us. Walk in the Spirit, Paul said, and you will by no means fulfill the lusts of the flesh.        We’ve been reading this story about Jonah, a