Today we begin a new sermon series that will take us through the summer. It’s a series aimed at tracing the red letters of Jesus and following them through the Bible. We’ll be spending the majority of this series in the Old Testament, looking at the promises of God for his people. This week Pastor Derrick shares some highlights of what it means to follow Jesus as King of kings. He also touches on the power of our baptisms.
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A special day that marked a new beginning for what God was doing in the world. Pentecost was the day when God overflowed the cups of the disciples. In this message Pastor Derrick opens up two words from the original language. Listen and learn what it means to receive this gift of the spirit.
Recently a friend asked me what my favorite bible verse was. Now that admittedly is a difficult task, especially for a pastor. We have so many bible verses floating through our minds. So many of them with significant meaning. I mulled this over for weeks. Probably longer. But eventually it hit me. The one verse that just jumped off the page was right there the entire time. It was a verse that had meaning to my uncle who was a pastor. It was a verse spoken at his funeral. It’s a verse in one of my favorite hymns. Continue reading
The other night I was watching a little television to clear my head. There is generally not a lot good on the tv but one of those game shows popped on that caught my interest. It was a game called Genius Junior. The gist of the game was simple young people generally middle school-aged would solve nearly impossible problems in ridiculously short amounts of time. The math questions were the most startling! Continue reading
One of my favorite bands has to be Rend Collective. Their style is just so unique and fun. One of their most recent songs is titled Rescuer. It’s a straight up gospel song. You can’t mix this message up. There’s only one thing they’re talking about and that’s Jesus. He alone is our rescuer. Continue reading
Have you ever wondered what Jesus would pray for his church? If Jesus could offer one prayer for his followers what would it be? We have this recorded in John 17. It’s a part of the Bible called the High Priestly Prayer. This week Pastor Derrick unpacks the truths found in this chapter and the one thing for which Jesus prays for his church. Our one takeaway truth this week was:
The One that unites us is greater than the things that try to divide us.
I love listening to people talk about work. Some people love to work and others will do anything to avoid it. I know some people who are somewhat addicted to work while others seem more allergic to it. This week we look at another aspect of parenting and family life. We’ll gain a better understanding that when something is done intentionally and over time it produces a specific outcome. And in this case, when we work with and for our children they gain a better sense of significance. Continue reading
This week in our message at Living Word Galena we looked at an account in the bible from the book of Acts. It’s the time known as the ascension. This is the account of Jesus being taken up into heaven. You can find the whole story here, but here’s a quick summary. Continue reading
Before Jesus was taken up into heaven the disciples asked a question that indicated they still didn’t quite get it. They asked about themselves. They asked when Jesus would make them great again. Instead of telling them how wrong they were, Jesus led them to a deeper understanding of why they were here in the first place. Listen as Pastor Derrick shares some truths about where our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the end of the world are.
In Jerusalem we’re called to share the Jesus we know with those who know Jesus.
In Judea we’re called to share the difference Jesus makes with those for whom Jesus wants to make a difference.
In Samaria we are to share the love of Jesus even with the unloveable.
And at times we’re called to go to the end of the world. While we’re there we’re supposed to share Jesus wherever we go with the people for whom Jesus went.
You will be a witness! The question is how intentionally will you make that happen?
Loneliness sucks. There’s no easy way to put it. We sometimes will sit in our homes, or in our dorms, or in our cubicle at work and realize that we’re alone. And sometimes that loneliness pushes beyond the moments when we’re physically without company to the times when we’re with others but still feel disconnected. Continue reading