Click HERE to see more of Pastor Michael’s weekly updates.
The church newsletter has moved to the “Church News” section of the homepage.
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Disciplined for Godliness
Weekly Update – February 11th, 2021 There are two items that I want to highlight for you this week. First, this past Sunday I preached a sermon from 1 Timothy 4:1-10 titled, “Disciplined for Godliness.” This was the final message in our series titled, “Growing in Your Faith.” The basic idea here is that though the Spirit of God is alive within every believer, we are still called to pursue the Lord through the spiritual disciplines. If you would like…
Taking the Lord’s Supper Together
Weekly Update – February 4th, 2021 One of the things we have not done since this “season” of Covid started was take the Lord’s Supper together. With the various health concerns and the inability to gather like we would like to have brought some hesitation, at least on my part, to us taking as a church. Even so, by God’s grace, those of us who are physically able to attend will take the Lord’s Supper this Sunday, February 7th, during…
Spirit-Empowered Effort
Weekly Update – January 28th, 2021 The last few weeks we have been looking at what it means to grow as a Christian. The process that Scripture lays out for us is what I like to call, Spirit-Empowered Effort. What this means is that God has given us his Spirit to effect change in our hearts and move us towards him, but at the same time, we must push and fight and struggle to put off sin and pursue Christ.…
Dual Citizenship
Weekly Update – January 21st, 2021 With the inauguration of a new president, there have been many different feelings and emotions across our country. I think there are two helpful things we need to remember as we process this transition of power. First, we have a dual citizenship that should affect the way that we think. Then second, we ought to pray for all of those in power, regardless of who they are. First, our dual citizenship. We are citizens…
Put Sin to Death
Weekly Update – January 14th, 2021 It is clear in Scripture that without a transformed life, we will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Now a transformed life will look different depending on who we are. Furthermore, the process by which this occurs in our life will vary depending on where we are in our relationship with the Lord. Regardless, the concept…
Consistency and Faithfulness
Weekly Update – January 7th, 2021 This past Sunday I wanted to encourage you in the midst of a new year, not to something new or to something big, but to something ordinary. We as a people typically like big, grand and new things, but it is the way that we handle the ordinary things in life that shape us into who we are. Therefore, as we begin a new year with the circumstances that are still surrounding us, I…
Love: The Gift from God
Weekly Update – December 17th, 2020 This month we had the opportunity to help support Hannah and Simon Snodgrass in their ministry with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). We support them every month through giving a small portion of our budget, but this month we were able to specifically partner with them on an initiative that they took with a group of students to whom they have been ministering. Throughout Covid-19, Hannah and Simon have been meeting with Junior Youth Challenge…
Overseas Missions
Weekly Update – December 10th, 2020 Last Sunday we had J.S. and his wife with us to share about their service in overseas missions. Only his initials will be used in print for security reasons. J.S. and his family are serving in south Asia and have been overseas now for over 15 years. They are currently home on furlough and are looking to go back sometime in January. If you want a picture of J.S. and his family, there are…
A Sending Church
Weekly Update – December 3rd, 2020 This week we will shift our focus a bit as we hear from a man who, for security purposes, we will refer to as JS. We will still light the advent wreath for the second week of advent and we will still sing Christmas songs as we anticipate the celebration of our Savior’s birth, but our focus during the time of preaching/teaching will be on international missions. JS and his family currently serve with…
Thankful for Church
Weekly Update – November 27th, 2020 As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, I wanted to take the opening part of this update to tell you why I am thankful for our church. It has been a long year where many of us have been separated from each other. At the same time, it seems as though there has not been near as much going on at church, due to the threat of Covid-19. Even so, there is a lot to…
Gathering for Spiritual Well-Being
Weekly Update – November 19th, 2020 As many of you have heard, there have been updated orders released by Jackson County regarding the spread of Covid 19. By God’s grace, the county exempted churches from this updated order, so we will continue to meet and function as we have been for the past several weeks. This has been a sticky issue since the beginning. There is no real black and white of it, which is why decisions regarding how we…
Connect Consistently
Weekly Update – November 13th, 2020 As we have talked about numerous times over the last several months, community is extremely important when we are told to live in a sort of isolation. That may sound ironic, but the truth is, being isolated and socially distanced doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be lonely. Sure nothing can replace physical interaction with others. But there are still numerous ways that we can feel connected with each other though many of us…