Text: Mark 1 : 9-15In times of waiting for God’s grace, there is a call to commit ourselves to Him; oftentimes being asked to make sacrifices. Jesus – who is the Messiah and is the one to usher in the kingdom of God – is baptized into that mission but also finds himself waiting in…

“Raised for Service”Text: Mark 1:29-39We continue learning about the life and ministry of Jesus through the Gospel of Mark. When Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law from her illness, she immediately began to serve. The use of the Greek word for “raised” in describing Jesus helping her up not only foreshadows His own resurrection, but also describes…

“Intersections: Giving Purpose to the Imperfect”Text: Mark 1:14-20When Jesus calls His first disciples, they leave their unmended fishing nets to follow Him. God does not demand perfection from us from the start; rather, beginning to following Jesus is often an action where we anticipate the salvation He is going to bestow upon us and trust…

An Active FaithActs 19:1-7There are moments in life who define who we are. In Acts 19, Paul recognizes that one such moment is when the Holy Spirit enters our lives. When we receive the Holy Spirit, God begins equipping us for the life that we live, for the people we will encounter, and the trials…

“Can We See Our Salvation?”Text: Luke 2:22-40When Jesus was presented in the Temple, both Simeon and Anna praised God for the child and recognized that they had seen God’s salvation for both Gentiles and the people of Israel. We can view Christmas as the birthday of our salvation; the beginning of God’s new plan for…

“What Are You Looking For?”Text: John 1:6-8, 19-28On the third Sunday of Advent, we look at John the Baptist’s testimony to the Jewish leaders found in the book of John. While answering questions about who he is, John the Baptist points to Jesus. Our lives and activities and can lead us down many different paths,…

Text: Mark 13:24-37Today we enter the season of Advent; one of expectation of not only the birth of Jesus, but His return. In Mark 13, Jesus warns us to stay alert and not let our faith become inactive, for even He does not know the time He will come back. The way in which we…

“When in Rome… Bless”Text: Romans 12:14-13:7In the second week of a series on Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pastor Tim provides historical context for the time in which the letter was written. Paul’s call to overcome evil with good and to bless those who persecute you in chapter 12 is tied to what directly follows…

2 Timothy 1:1-14While our own faith is always something that is personal, it is often developed through the people who have informed and guided us. Our faith in Jesus is a faith in the culmination of God’s salvation and His plan for His people that began in Genesis. In this passage, Paul recalls the faith…