We need hope more than ever.  How does hope spread? From the time of Jesus until now, it has spread from life to life, from story to story.  In Acts 1, Jesus tells the disciples that they will ...

What if we had an important letter from home but we never bothered to open it?  The Bible is God’s love letter to us!  Are we reading it?  Are we committed to God’s word? Jesus’ Great Commission tells us to “Go a...

There’s never a bad time to set a good goal. Goals really can move and change us and challenge us.  Over the next six weeks, we’re going to be talking about goal setting, aligning ourselves with the Great Commission and the Ba...

We are all prone to procrastination, but sometimes it helps to think through tasks and create smaller, achievable goals.What unfinished task has God given us? In Matthew 28:18-20, we find The Great Commission: “Jesus came a...

We are like sheep and Jesus is like the shepherd.  We wander off the path a lot because we are prone to sin and this is why we need a shepherd.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Psalm 23:4 says “Even though I walk t...

What does Psalm 23 mean to you? It’s a psalm of God’s protection, care and provision.  Sometimes we can slide into feeling like we can provide for ourselves.  Sometimes we’re too proud or too distracted to reali...

This week, we are considering what the Bible says about Hell and judgement.  Of the 23 times Jesus mentions it,  Hell is most often spoken of regarding the need for repentance. Universalism is the idea that everyone goes ...

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.”