Posts by Michael Nelson (Page 4)

Weekly Update – April 11th, 2024 In Luke 10:25-37, we find the popular account of what has traditionally been called, The Parable of the Good Samaritan. As the parable begins, there is a lawyer who comes up to Jesus and asks him what he needs to do to ensure that he has eternal life.  Jesus masterfully turns the question around and asks lawyer what the Scriptures say.  This lawyer replies in Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God…

Weekly Update – April 4th, 2024 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  That verse from Genesis 1:1 is probably very familiar to you.  In fact, behind John 3:16, that is likely one of the first verses you may have memorized from the Bible.  But lets try to look a little bit deeper into what is going on when God created everything.  How did God create?  God created everything by speaking it into existence.  Before God spoke…

Weekly Update – March 28th, 2024 This Sunday we approach our annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In reality, we should celebrate the resurrection every time we gather, as it is only by the resurrection that we have purpose given to our lives as believers.  Nevertheless, we gather this Sunday to sing, pray, read and listen as we consider our risen savior.  Despite our gathering though, does the resurrection have any more barring upon our lives?  What I…

Weekly Update – March 21st, 2024 Everything we do when we gather as a church goes back to the word of God.  We believe that “faith comes by hearing” (Rom. 10:17) this word and that the gospel message spoken by the word of God is the very power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16).  The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12) and it is profitable for our reproof, correction and training in righteousness (2 Tim.…

Weekly Update – March 14th, 2024 In just a few weeks, we as Christians celebrate the cornerstone of our faith.  As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain.”  What this means is that the resurrection does matter.  We can’t simply resort to saying that Christianity is about doing good for others or living a morally pure life.  If Christ has not been raised, then he is just…

Weekly Update – March 7th, 2024 Last night during our Biblical Counseling Class, we had a long discussion on forgiveness. In light of that discussion, I wanted to repost an article from one our updates a few years ago on this topic. It is below: One of the hardest aspects of living in the community of the church is practicing forgiveness.  Someone says a wrong word against us, goes behind our back or tells others something untrue and it hurts…

Weekly Update – February 29th, 2024 This past Sunday, Dan Holsten had the privilege of preaching during our Sunday morning service.  He preached from Ephesians 2:1-10 giving us the call to live like we were dead. Back in December, Jason Franklin preached on the priority of the Scriptures, in October Nathan Sharon preached from 2 Samuel 11, and last June, Clint Blankenship preached from Matthew 6.  Likely, over the course of this year, you will have an opportunity to hear…

Weekly Update – February 22nd, 2024 Over the last year, we have been slowly walking through our newly adopted statement on Biblical Sexuality.  There are nine points to this statement.  This week we will look at point seven.  Point one can before found HERE.  Point two, HERE.  Point three, HERE.  Point four, HERE.  Point five, HERE. Point six, HERE. Point seven is as follows: People who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through…

Weekly Update – February 15th, 2024 Yesterday, tragedy occurred right here in our own backyard. What was supposed to be a celebration of the Chiefs back-to-back Super bowl win, ended with a mass shooting leaving 1 dead and 22 injured.  The unimaginable became true once again as both children and adults were targets in a mass shooting.  Three suspects have been taken into custody, as half of the victims, ages 6-15, were taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital for treatment.  Many…

Weekly Update – February 8th, 2024 Every single person experiences adversity.  Some walk through the threat of cancer, the heartache of losing a loved one or the emotional pain of dealing with a rebellious child.  Others experience the frustration of dashed hopes and unfulfilled dreams.  Then there is injustice, loneliness and grief as well.  Added to this, world events also have the ability to bring anxiety and fear to our hearts.  Some pain is quick and traumatic, other pain is…

Weekly Update – February 1st, 2024 Trials are never an easy thing to handle.  No matter how callous you become towards a particular hardship, or how mature you deal with a certain difficulty, a trial of any sort can still disrupt your life, wreak havoc on your emotions and even change the course of the future.  The question we need to ask ourselves is, “How does the Bible view trials?”  That has been the subject of the last two weeks…

Weekly Update – January 25th, 2023 On Sunday morning, Clint Blankenship reminded us why it is we pray the way we do in our morning services.  We pray together as a church with intentionality, as we come before God unified as one, following the pattern given to us in the scriptures.  As we pray, we have four prayers during our service.  These prayers are meant to give us the full breadth of prayer before the Lord, but they are also…