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

  OUR REASONABLE FAITH: Easter Means Hope! I Corinthians 15:1-11 Introduction :  Everyone wants something to hope for, without hope, comes despair. For many “hope” is simply wishful thinking, “hoping” that things will all work out in the end. Someone said nothing in the world arouses more  false  hopes than the first few hours of a diet! (With our dinner plans firmly in place, let’s change the subject!).  A pessimist would agree with the little boy who said “Hope is wishing for something you know ain’t gonna happen!” The only hope that matters is hope that is based on  truth .   The Bible defines our “hope” as Christ followers as a confident expectation about the future, a calm assurance that God will accomplish the good work that He has begun . Herman Bavinck’s theology in the English translation is entitled, Our Reasonable Faith . In the sermons of the apostles in the book of Acts, there is one historical truth that is repeatedly mentioned, which, by its very emphasis lies at t

  The King and the Cross - Palm Sunday 2024 John 12:12-16 Introduction:  The story of Palm Sunday recognizes a moment of celebration as Jesus came into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds. It is exciting to read, and to imagine what it must have been like to have been there. Were the disciples thinking the moment was at hand when Jesus would reveal himself as the promised Rescuer of Israel, the long-awaited Messiah? Were the crowds beginning to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that soon the Davidic Kingdom would be re-established?        Of course, we know the full story. We know that Gethsemane is coming. We know that there would be betrayal, desertion, and denial by some who were closest to Him. So we acknowledge the celebration, but we also feel the irony. We know that, according to the Divine plan, Friday was coming. It was Passover, and God had provided the Lamb . The disciples did not yet understand, even though, as we’ve seen in our study of Mark, Jesus had repeat

  Living By Faith When Life Gets Hard Mark 14:43-52 Introduction : Jesus had predicted, based on Scripture, how history would unfold… Many of those predictions must have seemed unimaginable to the disciples, like the Temple being razed and Jerusalem overrun by armies (Mk 13). But at a personal level, they had to be hit hard when Jesus made two shocking predictions: First, one of them, one of the twelve who ate with Him at the Passover table, would betray Him; and secondly, that they would all desert Him. Not only did He make these predictions, but he quoted Scripture to show that these developments were part of God’s plan and had been revealed in Scripture. Peter was even told that He would deny Jesus three times that very night, before the rooster crowed twice!        We can miss how stunned the disciples must have been in hearing these predictions. Since we have the whole story, we can put together why Jesus did not expose his would be betrayer (Judas), nor did He avoid the mo