Your Cheatin’ Heart
Pastor Doug Dent
Who’s more optimistic: the sin-deniers or the sin-acknowledgers? The sin-deniers have yet to come up with a concept that works better. The sin-deniers have cheatin’ hearts. They don’t accept the truth. We acknowledge our sin and we acknowledge a remedy more powerful than the stain of sin: the love of Jesus incredibly displayed on the […]
Side Hustle
Pastor Doug Dent
What does your side hustle for Jesus look like? Is it checking-in on a neighbor? Helping with Kids’ Club? Pounding nails with Habitat? Stocking shelves at the Food Pantry? Caring for an aging parent? Mentoring a student? Teaching music lessons or coaching a sport? When your deep passion and the world’s deep need collide, that’s […]
Disaster Maps
Pastor Doug Dent
Unlike Facebook’s Disaster Maps, which rightly assume that hurricanes and earthquakes are forces of nature beyond our control, there are some human disasters Christ’s church can and should directly address in the form of social action. In fact, Christians spearheaded many of the great social-reform movements over the past centuries. The Spirit of the Lord […]
Stead-fast-love
Pastor Doug Dent
This is steadfast love. This is a love that if we strung all its attributes together it would look like steadfast-unrelenting-unfailing-patient-believing-hoping-enduring-love. This is amazing love! This love comes from God who is transforming us moment by moment and day by day. As we meet today to set our course for the coming year, it is […]
God Didn’t Say That!
Pastor Doug Dent
In our darkest places, we discover that God is our support, and what God says through the prophet Isaiah is true: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. … Do not fear, for I am with you” (vv. 2, 5). Our Lord helps us in difficult times not because we have […]
Epiphany Glory is Good for You
Pastor Doug Dent
When the glory of the Lord is upon us, there’s no way we can sit on our hands or on the bench and watch. Truth is, there will be popcorn and chips flying going to be all over the place. We will shout from the housetops. God has come to us. Our salvation is here! […]
When Fear Gives Way to Joy
Pastor Doug Dent
This is, perhaps, the most important message of this glorious season: we are never alone! The heart of Christmas, as the gospel-writer John puts is that, “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory” (John 1:14). Christian writer and poet Kathleen Norris put it this way: “the Incarnation is […]
The God Who Completes
Pastor Doug Dent
Recognizing the unfinished nature of our practice of faith should help us to expect spiritual progress as we continue to seek God’s will. Going on to perfection is not a DIY project. God helps us. Most of all, we should be hopeful. As each of us remains a faithful disciple committed to following Jesus, “the […]
God’s Emoji
Pastor Doug Dent
Amid the emojis of the world this season, let’s remember the “righteous branch” that God caused to spring up for our sake: Jesus, the Christ, the babe from Bethlehem. With this “righteous Branch” as a central symbol for our lives, we discover what it means to be right with each other and with God. God’s […]
The Prayer Prosthesis
Pastor Doug Dent
Christ the King Sunday is the columniation of the church calendar year. We pray relentlessly for Jesus to come and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords and create the eternal new heaven and the new earth. Next week is the First Sunday of Advent, and we pick up the plea of Scripture, […]
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