What is our vision and idea of heaven?  Many pop culture misconceptions about what heaven is can flood our imagination, but what does Jesus say about heaven? In the Gospels, heaven is mentioned 126 times.&n...

Last week’s sermon was about how God interrupts his people as individuals to call us into deeper trust.  This week, we look at the church and see how disruption is a consistent part of our story.  The Body of Christ ...

Nobody likes to be interrupted. Interruptions remind us that we’re not in control.But one thing we see clearly in Scripture: God interrupts.From creation, to Joseph, David, the disciples, and ultimately the Incarnation—...

Listening is essential to our relationship to God.  The Hebrew word for listen is SHEMA.  In Hebrew culture, there is an expectation to respond to what one hears.  It was a listen AND obey scenario.  Listen AND act.  In...

Let’s start with what the Kingdom of God is not.  It is not any modern nation, not Republican or Democrat.  It is not Christian Nationalism. We don’t build, bring, or extend the Kingdom of God.  But instead: <...

There Was Darkness: Jesus’ Death and BurialWeekly Devotional 6.30.2025“Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn?…In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at n...

June 22, 2025 - Dr. Jeff RainesWhat is the Gospel? - Romans 1:1-7What is the gospel?In Greek gospel means good news and here in the book of Romans Paul is laying out this theology in a systematic way. So how does the gospel...

Mocking the King: Jesus’ Trial and CrucifixionWeekly Devotional 6.23.2025Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ...

Today we’re looking at a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth.  The Corinthian church was like a rebellious teenager- they thought they knew it all and that Paul wasn’t measuring up.  Corinth was a thriving metropolis and they th...

My Betrayer is at Hand: Betrayal and ArrestWeekly Devotional 6.16.2025“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with m...

Today is a big day on the church calendar: Pentecost.  There are two groups in Acts 2, the early days after the resurrection.  The first group is the disciples of Jesus who were asking “What’s next?...

Your Will Be Done: The Garden of GethsemaneWeekly Devotional 6.9.2025“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” <...

Do you try to hide your scars?  None of us can get through life without them.  Today’s scripture prominently features the disciple Thomas- often known as doubting Thomas.  Thomas is a straightforward person, not prone to metaphor...

My Body and Blood: The Last SupperWeekly Devotional 6.2.2025“Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of...

Over and over in scripture, we are called to remember.  Remembering is essential to living well.   We MUST remember: Who created usWho saved usWho holds our future

Maranatha: Come, Lord JesusWeekly Devotional 5.26.2025“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” Revel...

We all love a good story. Today we have a story within a story as we look at the story of two very different characters:  Jarius and the bleeding woman.  Jarius was an important man who knew the Jewish law and underst...

The Christian Life: United in ChristWeekly Devotional 5.19.2025“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

What’s your impression of Mary in the Bible?  She has a major role in Jesus’ life for sure but is not mentioned by name in the Gospel of Mark or John, any of Paul’s letters or in the rest of the New Testament after the Book of Acts.  ...

Pentecost: The Gift of the Holy Spirit Weekly Devotional 5.12.2025“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever...

In our text today, Paul is writing to Timothy, a younger brother in the faith. There are a number of imperative verbs in our passage - these are commands that Paul tells Timothy. FLEE - Run from what will trap you. Paul s...

Weekly Devotional 5.5.2025Glorious Ascent: Jesus’ Exaltation as Lord “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on acc...

How do we give thanks for what God has done for us?  We give thanks through the memories, for remembering what God has done for us.  “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pra...

Weekly Devotional 4.28.2025Making Disciples: The Great Commission “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are ...

Today, we celebrate the incredible truth that Jesus Christ is the only person in human history to rise from the dead—and this is not just a historical fact confined to the past. Jesus calls us to follow His path now. He invites us to take up ou...