Not only is the season of Lent a preparation for the resurrection of Jesus, it is also a reminder for us to examine our lives and to make the needed changes in order for us to b...

As we begin our series on Lent, we read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. During this time, Jesus is tested and tempted by Satan, and he relies on Scripture and ...

Over the past year and a half, we have had 5 babies born into our congregation. This Sunday, we blessed our children and their families, promising to help raise these kids, teac...

What do we do when we take communion?  In the book of Mark, Jesus speaks of his disciples taking the bread and cup and that it represents the his body and blood. What does this ...

In this special bonus podcast episode, John Mark sits down with neurologist Dr. Alan Martin to talk about what "the Christ" means to him and how this message could change the wo...

In the New Testament writers referred to Jesus as the “Christ.” This comes from the Greek word christós, meaning “the anointed one.”  Early Christians believed that Jesus repres...

When Jesus is referred to as “Lord” in the New Testament, it is in direct response to the common propaganda of that day propping the Roman Emperor as “Lord of All” When the earl...

We begin a series this week on the life and identify of Jesus. Who is Jesus? No person has ever changed the landscape of the world more than Jesus. To fully understand his teach...

The book of Lamentations expresses the pain, doubt, and hurt that the people of Israel, God’s people, feel in the midst of exile. The people are crying out in lament to God, ask...

As we continue to learn from various books of the Bible about How to Be Sad, we read the Psalms of Disorientation seeking to learn and practice the confidence these Psalmists ha...

The book of Job teaches us an important lesson about difficult moments in our lives. Whenever we experience difficulty, we tend to search for a reason why we are hurting. This i...

This week, we will look to the book of Ecclesiastes to find out what we can do or think when life doesn't go according to our plan. Ecclesiastes teaches us some important things...

Around the change of each calendar year, we tend to remember, reflect, and to imagine new beginnings. This year, rather than simply making resolutions, we want to pay attention ...

John Mark invites us to participate in the heart of the Christmas story: love. God loved us enough to come to be with us, and Jesus teaches us to love one another just as God lo...

The Advent season reminds us to live with joy--not based on what we have or what we want, but on the gift that God has given to us in Jesus. We live with Joy because it is the e...

The night that Jesus was born and the subsequent nights were a busy and perhaps hectic set of nights. In the different Gospel accounts, we see not only Mary and Joseph present, ...

This week, we begin a season called “Advent.” This is a Christian season of anticipation of the coming of Jesus. We both look back and remember the coming of Jesus in the Incarn...

John Mark concludes our series on the book of Ruth by reading from chapter 4. Ruth and Boaz leave Israel with quite the story leading to the eventual reign of David as king. We ...

In Ruth 3, we encounter a story of Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor. Ruth and Naomi are in need and have no security for their future, like so many in our world today. They ...

In Ruth chapter 2, Boaz enters the story. Ruth is a nobody.  She is a foreigner with no husband, no job, no education.  She is Ruth "the Moabite" and in a position of complete p...

The book of Ruth opens with a story of a family who is searching for a place to belong. Their situation in life changes drastically, and they seek to find a true home. As follow...

John Mark leads our communion meditation this week as we focus on worshipping and giving, and ultimately, becoming one with Christ as the table signifies.

As Jesus nears the time that he will leave earth, he encourages the disciples to understand that a Companion is coming and will be with us in the place of Jesus. We find in thes...

The New Testament gives quite a bit of attention within the early church to the various gifts that a believer might have. We see in these gifts that God is active within ourselv...

The Skillman church has big plans.  This month we will speak about our hopes, dreams, and visions for local and international missions.  Last week Mike Young also spoke of a sea...

In Romans 8, Paul reveals much about the working of the Spirit. Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly at all), Paul includes that the Spirit intercedes in our moments of pai...

Today, we encounter the active, working Spirit of God in our lives. As we consider our world and the darkness of sin, pain, and death around us, we may wonder whether God is act...

This week, we begin a new sermon series focused on the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity. While the word “Trinity” does not appear in Scripture, we still find evidenc...

John Mark welcomes us back into the Worship Center of the Heritage building by reminding us that all breath, all life, all wind, and even all Air Conditioning (ha!) comes from t...

This week is the final week of our sermon series "Where the Wild Things Are - How to Neighbor Well." John Mark will lead us through how important it is to greet one another well...

In Matthew 25, Jesus says that those who welcomed the stranger have welcomed him. Those who love and care for those in need do it also for Jesus. As we explore what it means to ...

John Mark begins a new sermon series where we will be discussing what it means to be a good neighbor. This week, John Mark reminds us of the story of the Good Samaritan, where J...

The 5th chapter of Ephesians continues Paul’s call to grow to maturity in Christ. This chapter describes how to do this by inhabiting, inaugurating, and introducing a new way of...

In Ephesians 4, Paul begins to let us know what he has been building to in his letter. Verse 15 shows us what Paul’s desire is for the church: “to grow in every way into Christ....

This week, we continued our series studying the book of Ephesians. We read Ephesians 3 on Sunday, particularly emphasizing Ephesians 3:14-20.

The second sermon in a series on the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 2:1-22.

The beginning of a study in the book of Ephesians on following Christ.

At the end of Jesus’ ministry and time on earth, he invites and commissions his followers to share in the mission of God. He instructs them to spread the good news of what God i...

As the people of God, we are tasked with many different things. From advocating for truth and justice in the world to seeking to love our neighbors to raising children faithfull...

As we continue our series on the church family, we look this week into the role the community of faith plays in the lives of youth and children. Children are precious and the im...

As a family, one of the primary things that we seek to do with our lives is to worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. We remind ourselves every week when we ga...

As a family, one of the practices that we engage in regularly is prayer. Prayer is more than simply speaking to God or asking for what we want or desire. It is the very connecti...

Each of us enter into the world through families. Some may be good families, while others struggle, and some are harmful and hurtful to us. Some of us have 2 parents, others hav...

It is not uncommon in our daily routines to hear questions like, “Where is God?” or to hear places or times, even people, described as “godless.” We often seek to express our fa...

Matt Hurley leads our seniors in a blessing as they prepare for graduation and their futures. George Johnson will be attending Stephen F. Austin in the fall, and Eddie Lwate wil...