This week I was attacked by the devil and the attack came from the unlikeliest of places. Message after message came at me ripe with the devil’s lies. He was telling me exactly the things I wanted to hear, the things that pet my ego. Subtle little whispers, stuff like, “Nothing you can’t handle!” “You […]
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Savior born to change our world. The text for our mediation on this joyous Christmas Eve celebration is the Christmas Gospel from Luke 2, the 10th and 11th verses for emphasis. “The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause […]
In the name of the One who will come and make rivers of living water flow out from within us. The driest most desolate place I’ve ever been was on top of a plateau in Southern Israel called Masada. It was about a hundred degrees the day we were up there, but after an hour […]
There once was a boy who had been taught the truth of God by his mother, but his father was a pagan, an unbeliever. The boy grew up knowing what his mother was teaching him, but his indifference to his mother’s Bible stories grew with his age, and the mischief inside him began to take […]
In the name of Jesus Christ, who freely gives living water from the spring of the water of life. The word of God for our consideration today comes from Revelation 21:1-6 as previously read. Two different people can look at a world that is full of death and mourning and crying and pain, and they […]
In the name of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. All through the summer, we’ve been following Luke’s account of Jesus on his way to from Galilee to Jerusalem to fulfill his duty and die for us and for our salvation. Along the way, Jesus has been alternating back and forth […]
It was a mixed bag of people who were following Jesus, and now the size of the crowd that was traveling with him was getting bigger. He could tell that there were some who had thrown in their lot with him and were following along, but they weren’t going to make it with him to […]
Sermon Text Study, “A Closer Look” In 2002, shortly before his death, country music legend Johnny Cash, my personal favorite, released his last album. The most notable song on that album was actually a cover of a song called “Hurt” that wasn’t even his. Soon the song became his, as it served as the gut-wrenching […]
Sermon Text Bible Study Guide Sermon Text Bible Study Guide – Leader’s Notes Last week, I got out golfing and I got paired up with another guy about my age. We got to chatting and asked about each other’s jobs. Then it came, the question I’ve sweated for years, probably the single most frequent question […]
Life Guide Have you ever wondered why we call this place Mount Olive? If I had to take a guess on why a church like Riverview in Appleton is called Riverview, well I’d have to guess it’s because they’re in a neighborhood with a view of the river. But our little Mount Olive neighborhood isn’t […]