Speaker: Ty Thomas
Weekend: November 26-27, 2011
Text: Ruth 1:1-22
A popular preacher wrote a book entitled, “Your Best Life Now,” but what if it doesn’t feel that way at all?
Is God against us when things don’t go the way we want them to? Is our faith somehow just not strong enough when our lives don’t feel like it’s the best. The death of a loved one…incurable sickness in your family…or the loss of a great job. In fact, it hurts a lot. How should we respond when this is a part of our lives?
What should our hearts be toward God? How should we as a church respond to others when they are going through painful times? The story of Ruth gives us insight that we need if we are “to live our best life now.”
Weekend: November 19-20, 2011
The stories of Luke 15 have clearly described the value of the lost as objects of the father’s love. And when the lost was found there was a “nothing-held-back” party. They were back where they belonged!
Baptism is another way of celebrating a person who has come into the family of God. It was established in the Bible as a metaphor for death to sin and resurrection to new life, a complete cleansing, and commitment.
All those participating are making it clear to the world they are followers of Jesus. What a reason for a celebration!
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: November 12-13, 2011
Text: Luke 15; Isaiah 25:6-8
It seems that celebration and eating go together! Perhaps we could say that food goes with almost every activity . . . except for fasting!
Sharing a meal together had great significance in Biblical times. It is no accident that the stories of Luke 15 are prompted by a criticism of Jesus’ dinner companions, and the teaching parables end with a feast. The implications pierce the hearts of the listeners.
Who are you willing to accept as a part of your community and eat with them? The “teaser” of a meal we call “The Lord’s Supper” is a way to symbolize that community for the family of God.
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: November 5-6, 2011
Text: Luke 15:17-32
“Home” is a major theme in our world. “Where are you from?” is often one of the first questions in an introductory conversation. The answer may be an address, a city, a state, a region, or a country.
But as a follower of Jesus, what do I really consider “home?” Why doesn’t this world seem to fit us?
In the story of the lost sons, both are encouraged to get home. Actually that is the gospel, the theme of the Bible! Are you there?
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: October 29-30, 2011
Text: Luke 15:17-32
Do you ever try to finish the story before the storyteller does? The listeners to Jesus’ parables about lost things probably did–especially the one about the father and the sons.
If the older brother had done his duty, he would have done everything in his power to keep the family together.
We do have an “Older Brother” who has done that–at great cost!
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: October 22-23, 2011
Text: Galatians 3:26-4:7
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Listen to the Weekend Message
In Luke 15 the picture of the family, especially the relationship between the father and his sons, is prominent. The lostness, the repentance, the forgiveness, the awkward ending, is all dependent on an understanding of this relationship. The people listening to Jesus’ stories had an idea of what it meant to be a “son.”
When we project this picture into the truth about our salvation, what do we see? As followers of Jesus, we are “sons of God.” What does that really mean for us? It certainly will help us understand the gospel and “find our place at the table.”
Speaker: Ty Thomas
Weekend: October 15-16, 2011
Text: Luke 15:17-24
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Listen to the Weekend Message
Forgive and forget…easy to say but hard to do.
It seems easier to hold a grudge and never give that person a chance to hurt me again. But will holding unforgiveness toward someone really work out for us?
How does it affect our hearts? What does God think about it? How can we truly forgive and be free from the pain others have caused us?
Speaker: Ty Thomas
Weekend: October 8-9, 2011
Text: Luke 15:17-21
What is true repentance? Is it feeling really bad about our sin, or could it be something more?
Most of us have felt guilty about something in our past. What does it mean for us to turn to God and have His view on life?
The story of the prodigal son shows us that it involves the heart and it affects our actions. The prodigal son “came to his senses” as a starting point of repentance.
What will it take for us to have a heart of true repentance?
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: October 1-2, 2011
Text: Luke 15:25-32
A major part of the story of the Prodigal Son is about his older brother. That section is pointed directly at the religious people whose criticism prompted Jesus to tell the trilogy about being lost.
The ‘good’ brother was seriously alienated from the father, really lost and didn’t know it. What was the sin of the older brother?
Could it be that spiritual deadness in the church is primarily because we are elder-brother type people–those who don’t realize how far they have wandered from the true gospel?
Speaker: Dan Schoepf
Weekend: September 24-25, 2011
Text: Luke 15:11-24
This is the most familiar of the stories Jesus told. It is delightful because it ends well. It has made its way into Western culture through our common use of the word “prodigal.”
The first scene is a family that is unraveling quickly. It impacts the entire community!
How far did the younger son go in his rebellion? What was the root cause? Could we be guilty of the same?
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