"Kings of Israel " Feb 4th

This morning we are going to look at 3 kings, Saul, David and Solomon.

They all had different strengths and weaknesses which we might be able to glean something for our own life in the setting of being saved through Jesus Christ.

As we talked about last week, Israel had rejected God multiple times and yet God promised that in the future they would come back to Him, and He would accept them back.

God will sometimes give us what we want just so we can see the emptiness of it all and repent and return to him.

These three kings, from two different families will take us through their triumphs and tragedies, their deceptions and outright lies, and their character (both good and bad) and how they responded to the prompting of the Lord.

We might be led to ask ourselves how we respond to God’s prompting and what questions (or excuses) we ask ourselves about our situations.

Respond like David, “Against thee and thee only have I sinned,” God wants us back and He paid a terrible price through Jesus’ sacrifice to receive us back.

"Kings of Israel/Judah" Jan 14th

There are 43 monarchs in the Old Testament listed as those who led the nation of Israel. 42 kings and 1 queen.

Four of those rulers were there when Israel was still a united kingdom and the other 39 ruled after Israel and Judah split.

I think we shall examine the kings and how the nation fared under each one as God is dealing with His kingdom as well as his leaders.

Can we glean anything from the good kings and the bad kings that will help us to lean into God more closely, or to listen more carefully to His Word and His warnings.

God is interested in all there is. He doesn’t have to focus on one thing while neglecting the others.

As world leaders meet and seemingly decide the future of the world, God is taking care of the remote raven or sparrow in some lonely place that only God will see.

Not everything is done for us. This is all God’s amazing plan and we get to be in on what He would have us be a part of.

"Hosea Pt2" Jan 7th

In this second message on Hosea, what is to be said?

Hosea married a prostitute to show the relationship Israel had with God.

God, forever faithful, dealing with Israel, forever chasing their own desires and whims.

Sound at all familiar?  In this conclusion we see from God’s point of view how He feels about us.  In spite of our unfaithfulness, He continues with pure love.

But what do we do about it?   What, if anything, affects us to the point of change?  Because if we just come and nod in agreement but don’t let the Word get planted and change us, what actual good is it?

Luckily, or fortunately, God sees us through His eyes.  Eyes that only see our future and the person God has created us to be.  Eyes that know the actual predestination of the person and give us the full benefit of God’s love.

As we listen to the story of Hosea, let’s know that our role is that of a fallen woman, but one that is loved freely and fully, and express our gratitude to the one who loves us that way.

Pastor Brent 

"New Love" Dec 31st

There is a story in the Bible not often talked about because of its scandalous nature and the frankness of the Lord our God toward His own people.

It is the story of Hosea.

Hosea was a prophet who was told to marry a prostitute. Someone who would definitely be unfaithful to him no matter what he might do to make her love him.

There are many things about this story—firstly, priests and prophets were only to marry virgins. Secondly, why would God ask His loyal prophet to endure a life of pain and heartache?

Many of us go through trials of our own making and have regrets and shame and guilt, etc.

But not many of us endure undeserved suffering because God has invited us on His side of the veil.

On God’s side of the veil is continual ungratefulness, hate, loathing, ridicule, denial, unbelief, treachery….do I need to go on?

But we rarely consider these things when called on to suffer for the kingdom.

When God says, “My mercies are new every morning!” do you take the time to enjoy the newness of them?

If they truly are new, they need to be received as new, with a joy that appreciates mercies from God.

There is a new year tomorrow. Will you receive it as a new mercy from God...or not?

Pastor Brent

All new in “24”

Dec 24th

Whether you believe Christ was born on Christmas or in September on the Feast of Tabernacles and conceived on Christmas.

The important thing is that you believe Christ was born!

If you believe Christ was born, you receive every gift the Father has for you. In this season of gifts, never has there been a gift so complete, so inspiring,

so thorough for the human condition.

We get to honor our gift-giver by being gracious, kind, grateful, and encouraged to be like Him.

We receive a gift that will never grow old, never break, one that gets better and better with each passing year, and makes you the amazing person you were made to be.

Our family is blessed to be joined with like-minded people who want to serve the Lord for no other reason than gratefulness.

Please know, we are very grateful to you.

Pastor Brent and Eileen

"Spirit" Dec 17th

The Spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus said this at one of the most critical and crucial moments of His life.

He said it as He had asked His disciples to, “Watch and pray with me,” and when He came back, they were all sleeping.

The s pirit that God shared with us to give us life is constantly tugging us toward God.  It’s these other two that drag their feet.

Paul said in Corinthians that it is his will that determines when he speaks in tongues and when he speaks in English. Even if his understanding is unfruitful, his spirit is satisfied.

Within the will is something called our intuition.  That voice that warns us about possible danger—or even what choices to make in our lives.

It is led by the Spirit of God once we have been saved. And it is to be trusted once we pull ourselves out of the equation.

The Spirit of God is able to invest deep traits and intuitional knowledge we may not have even thought of, and as long as it’s backed by scripture, we can be assured it came from God.

Allow a new teacher to come from God to lead you into all righteousness.  Learn from Him, lean on Him, and lean away from your own previous understanding.

Pastor Brent 

"Soul " Dec 10th

The word “soul” occurs 459 times in the King James Version of the Bible, including this one, “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul.

Breath of life Is not the soul, but it is what you receive to become a living soul.

Even as the flesh is driven by the eyes, ears, nose and the touch of our fingers; the soul can be influenced by the same.

Or we can allow the Spirit of God to retrain the soul by only receiving the breath of God to restore us.

David cries in Ps 51, for God to create in him a clean heart, one that can be remade from our old corruptible heart. One free from influences that the flesh had over it before.

Also God can divide out our soul and spirit so that, again, we might have a heart that is free from outside stimuli.

The soul which contains our freewill, our intellect and our emotions controls what we do with the stimuli that the body receives.

I should note that not all scholars agree on the trichotomy of man’s being, but it does fit with many of the scriptures we will bring forth in this teaching and, as always, I leave you to decide.

Pastor Brent

"The Whole Human pt2" Dec 3rd

As we mentioned Sunday, this series will consider the make-up of we humans.

The flesh is the first of the three we shall observe. The flesh is obvious to us because it is what we see, what we hear, and what we smell.

The flesh is suited to being driven by animalistic desires. It consumes but is rarely satisfied, it is driven by the idea that there is something better or more satisfying.

And, it doesn’t have the capacity to consider the consequences. There is nothing the flesh, given the circumstances, wouldn’t pursue.

So, what is there to be done with this unruly, obtuse, and obstreperous interloper that would thwart our true desire to follow Jesus here on earth?

Give it to the Spirit. Easier said than done, but hardly impossible. We have the opportunity to allow the Spirit of the living God to renew our minds, which can turn the desires in the direction of Jesus.

Discipline is a welcome friend of bringing our flesh into order. We limit or deny that which we know is not helpful to us. Paul compares this to getting ready for an Olympic event. Setting our eyes on the prize and counting the cost of the sacrifices needing to be made to get there.

We pursue whatever we want most. Pursue God at all cost.

Pastor Brent