Posts by Michael Nelson

Weekly Update – December 19th, 2024  Christmas is almost here.  Some will have family come into town this weekend, others will connect with family next week and in the days that follow.  Either way, many of us will have some sort of contact with friends and family members as we get together to share a meal, celebrate the holiday and remember the birth of Christ.  The question that should come to mind is, “How can we make the most of…

Weekly Update – December 12th, 2024  Traditionally, Christians will remember four weeks of Advent as we look forward to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Advent means “longing” or “anticipation” for the coming of the Messiah.  It reminds us to look back in joy to the first coming of Christ, but to also look ahead in expectation to his return.  It is a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle that often accompanies this frantic season of events,…

Weekly Update – December 5th, 2024  The Christmas offering that we as Southern Baptists participate in every year is named in honor of a woman named Lottie Moon.  On July 7, 1873, the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) of the Southern Baptist Convention appointed her a missionary to China. Lottie spent most of her missionary years in Tengchow and P’ingtu, China where she taught at mission schools and ministered to women. Through having immersed herself in Chinese culture,…

Weekly Update – November 28th, 2024  Thanksgiving is often a great time to catch up with friends and family members. Sometimes though, in the midst of trying to talk with someone you haven’t seen in a while, or sitting around a table with a bunch of people, it can get difficult to have real, meaningful conversation. Below are a list of questions, put together by Donald Whitney, to hopefully aid in meaningful discussions that fit the season. – What’s your favorite…

Weekly Update – November 21st, 2024  One of the common trends among many Christians is discouragement when it comes to prayer.  Often times, we have the tendency to set out on the path of prayer looking to pray for everything we can think of to only glance at our watches and discover that we have only been at it for all of 3 or 4 minutes.  Quite frankly we feel as if we are simply praying the same old things…

Weekly Update – November 14th, 2024 This week we returned to our series in the gospel of Luke.  So far, we have seen the births of John that Baptist (1:57-66) and Jesus (2:1-7), side by side. We have also seen a bit of John the Baptist’s ministry (3:1-20), ending with him being in prison for calling out Herod Antipas’ sin of adultery and incest (3:20). Yet as we came to chapter 3 verse 21, it is almost as if Luke…

Weekly Update – November 7th, 2024 One of the fundamental graces that has kept our democracy going for over 245 years is the smooth transition of power that occurs every 4 to 8 years.  Elections occur, voters vote and the losing party concedes allowing this country to remain peaceful as its history continues.  We all had the opportunity to witness this up close on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning as Donald J. Trump became president-elect of the United States.  President Biden has…

Weekly Update – October 31st, 2024 As many of you have recognized over the years, my main objective in communicating to you, whether from the pulpit or through this newsletter, is to make Christ known and how knowing him applies to our lives.  Therefore, I don’t stump for political candidates, nor do I advocate for certain political measures.  Yet, I want to delve into this area with you today because the amendment that is up for a vote this coming…

Weekly Update – October 24th, 2024 In Luke chapter 3 we are introduced to the ministry of John the Baptist.  He is the miraculous son, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth in their older age (Lk. 1:13), who is now in the wilderness preaching a “baptism of repentance” (Lk. 3:3).  He is said to be the forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the hearts of all who will “see the salvation of God” (Lk. 3:6) through Jesus Christ. But as people hear…

Weekly Update – October 17th, 2024 As was announced on Sunday, we as a church will be participating in Operation Christmas Child (OCC) this year.  OCC is an effort organized by Samaritan’s Purse and it involves a simple concept – providing boxes of Christmas presents to needy children.   On a grand scale, OCC will bring gift-filled shoeboxes to an estimated 220 million children in 170 countries on six continents this year. The idea behind OCC is for volunteers to fill…

Weekly Update – October 10th, 2024 No one ever expects their town to be the one hit when the storm warnings appear.  The storm’s path may be predicted, the weather sirens may go off, the skies may be black and a tornado may even appear, but hope is always held out until the last minute that disaster may somehow be averted.  This was not the case for many in Florida this week. As residents packed up and left under mandatory…

Weekly Update – October 3rd, 2024 It’s Sunday morning and it is raining.  One of the easiest things to say is, “I’ll just watch the service from home today, I won’t be missed this one Sunday.”  Or, it is Sunday morning and you are tired, “I’m going to catch up on some sleep today, I’ll catch up on the service later online, it is almost the same thing as being in person anyway.”  Perhaps you are having a conversation with…