One Priority

Jesus’ appeal for us to accept His invitation to the Christian life is much different than the way we often think of it. We often consider emotional appeals to “accept Christ into our lives.” But Jesus taught that we should soberly “count the cost” ahead of time and be prepared to “carry our cross.” We consider six reasons why we should be rational, considered and enlightened when we decide to follow Jesus.

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What Really Ticks Jesus Off

When you are working for a wage, it’s helpful to know what to avoid with your boss. We name Jesus our Lord, which is another way of saying we submit to His authority and leadership. It sure would be helpful to know “what really ticks Jesus off!” We come to the section of Luke known as the “woes” passage in Luke 11:37-53. If a woe applies to us, then we’d better say “woah” to what we’re doing!

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Headlights For Your Life

When it’s dusk in Richland County, we drive with our headlamps on “bright” watching out for deer! In the same way we need to keep the headlamps of our souls on and bright according to Jesus in Luke 11:33-36. Let’s learn all we can about being a bright light to everyone we know and love.

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The Binary Choice

We each have a choice. We can choose to be on the side of Jesus. Or we can choose against him. There is no neutral, middle ground. This truth was given by Jesus himself in Luke 11:14-28. We learn the implications of this choice for our lives and the spiritual battle we face every day no matter which choice we make.

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Resurrection Reality

On Easter we celebrate the greatest day on our calendar - the day Jesus conquered death - for Himself and for all of His followers. Was the resurrection real? Is there any real evidence that would stand up to today’s skeptic? In this sermon we talk about 3 of the most often used challenges to Jesus’ resurrection. Then we pivot to the 4 ways that the reality of resurrection should change us.

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Faith, Forgiveness & Fear

What is it about forgiveness that so freaks us out sometimes? Fear of forgiveness is nothing new. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were more willing to accept a healer of the body than a man who forgave sin. We examine Luke 5:17-26 and discover 4 results of authentic faith in Jesus. Real Christianity has a lot to do with real forgiveness.

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Jesus Performance

What Would Jesus Do? WWJD presumes we would know the answer. But many of those in his hometown were both amazed and surprised at what Jesus had to say. Pastor Mark considers the story from Luke 4 and asks how we might respond if Jesus told us what we did not want to hear.

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Road Tips With Jesus

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to take a road trip with Jesus? Pastor Mark examines the story of 12-year-old Jesus traveling with his parents in Luke 2. We consider 4 tips for traveling with Jesus.

The Love Cycle

God is love. In our own ability we cannot love God. What we can do is love Him back! Pastor Todd Pierce, filling in for his brother Mark, explains the love cycle from 1 John 4:7-16. God is love and His love flows! We, who are the children of God, find lasting satisfaction when, and only when, God’s love sacrificially shows up through us to soothe the pain of a hurting world.

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The Greatest Advocate

Jesus is the greatest advocate we could ever have. In this audio version of Sunday's Church Requel sermon I highlight 6 ways Jesus is such a great advocate. We also consider why He is so successful. Jesus is not only our advocate, but also our propitiation.

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Light Walking

Light walking is the practice of every Christ-follower. What does it mean to walk in the light? What are the benefits? How do we keep ourselves walking in the light each day? In this audio version of Sunday's sermon, I talk about light walking as we study 1 John 1:5-10.

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Lifeless Lazarus

What do you do when you feel disappointed by Christ? Most Christ-followers experience a dark time of their soul when God does not respond the way they thought. In this podcast I consider the story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus from John 11 to discover how our faith survives grief and disappointment.

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Adulterous Act

Like the John 8 woman caught in adultery, we stand before Jesus alone and accused. Jesus does not condemn the woman and, if we stand with Jesus, he will not condemn us either.

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Born Blind

Jesus miraculously healed a man born blind. That was an incredible miracle. Today He does an even greater miracle all the time - He heals us of our spiritual blindness when we become Christ followers. Sunday morning I considered 6 responses from the man born blind to help us SEE how to respond to our own miracle today.

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Wedding Wine

Jesus turns the water into wine. A miracle! Do miracles still happen today? We watch the pattern of dependence of Mary upon Jesus, a pattern we can also follow. We discover that God still gives gifts bigger and better than we could have ever hoped for.

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Under New Management

God didn't just come and go. He came to stay. In this sermon, I talk about the very special relationship we enjoy with God the Holy Spirit. Listen to how God's Spirit wants to turn your life from doom and gloom to delight and excite!

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Beyond Here And Now

Living the Christian life is like those old Magic Eye books where you stared at the picture a long time so you could eventually discover the hidden 3D image inside. We live inside a 2D Here and Now created by God, Who Himself lives outside this Here and Now. How do we focus so we can see beyond this Here and Now, in which we find ourselves? By focusing on THE PRESENCE in our present - the Lord Jesus. In this talk we learn 5 things that happen when we focus on Jesus.

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Foundational Christ

We love salvation stories in our books and movies. Many point back to THE salvation story found in God's Word. In this week's talk from 1 Peter 1, we discover that God's salvation was not a plan "B." He created mankind even knowing the sacrifice required of God's Son. Join me as we celebrate the greatest story ever told.

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Real Worship

Jesus told us that we worship in spirit and in truth.  Aaron Rose shares some practical advice for how we can do this.

It Is Finished

Last night I had the privilege of speaking at the combined Good Friday service of Church Requel and Ontario Christian Fellowship.  I continued the Final Words sermon series with an examination of Jesus' last words, "It is finished."  Join me in this 18-minute audio as we talk about the finished, completed, accomplished, and perfect work of Jesus on the cross.