March 22, 2020
We need to feed our minds with thoughts worthy of who we are, and whose we are. Don’t let the world conform your thoughts, but let God transform your thoughts. We are children of God, whose minds are being renewed my God so we might have the mind of Christ and live a life that honors Him.
November 7, 2017
Our Problem: We come into Christianity by receiving Jesus Christ by faith, but then we try to live this new life OUT OF OUR OWN ABILITY and STRENGTH. And when we do that we fail. We try to love but we can’t. We try to be kind but sometimes we don’t really feel like it. We try to not get angry, but we lose our cool. And then we feel like we’ve let God down; so we try again. But we fail again and again and again. And eventually we find it’s TOO HARD to live this new life, so we stop trying. Oh a part of you still wishes you could live this new life, but you’ve figured it’s just not worth the aggravation or disappointment. And if that’s where you find yourself this morning, then I have some good news for you. You are right! You can’t live this new life, but Jesus can.
January 24, 2017
God makes us Oaks of righteousness so we can bring new life and peace to our neighborhoods, to our cities, to our nation. To rebuild broken lives through things as simple as the Santa Cruz Valley Food Bank. To restore hope for a generation who has been overwhelmed by poverty. To renew lives by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We are planted here as Oaks of righteousness for the display of His splendor, to show our world there is another way of life… the way of the kingdom.
February 2, 2016
Without the truth we are at the mercy of the Father of Lies, of whom Jesus said, There is no truth in him.” His strategy is to keep you away from the truth. If he can keep you from opening your Bible, learning His Word, believing in His unwavering grace and precious promises to you… he can keep you off balance; he can cripple you with doubt, anxiety and fear. If he can keep you from knowing His will, he keep you from loving your neighbor. If he can keep you from sound biblical teaching, he can keep you sidetracked, confused and engaged in foolish arguments rather than the mission of Jesus.
November 26, 2015
When we shine our light, we don’t just make Jesus visible to them, we make their own darkness visible to them… and when their darkness is exposed, they come to a conviction of their own sin, their a need of a Savior, and having their eyes opened by the light, they too will become lights.