This year I’ll be directing my sermons and classes to help us focus on spiritual growth. Last year we focused on getting back to the Bible. What’s next? We need to move on to spiritual maturity. Think about your role in the body of Christ, the Lord’s church. Ephesians 4:11-16 emphasizes that we are not an organization but a healthy organism that naturally develops. What do we need to grow in Christ? There are three key concepts that can help us grow in Christ: empower, equi

Hello.  My name is Ray Reynolds and I suffer from A.C.S.  This is commonly known as “After Christmas Syndrome.”  The gifts have been unwrapped.  My trash cans are full.  The leftovers are gone.  The tree is down.  The lights and ornaments have been put away.  Our friends and family have stopped calling, sending cards, and visiting for the holidays.  Another Christmas has come and gone.  I wonder how many of you are suffering from the post-holiday blues?!? What do we do now th

The Christmas story, often painted with cozy scenes of manger, shepherds, and a star, would be incomplete without the arrival of the Magi. These enigmatic figures, traditionally known as the Three Wise Men, bring an element of intrigue, prophecy, and profound significance to the nativity narrative. But who were they really? And what can we learn from their journey? The Gospel of Matthew is the sole biblical account of the Magi, yet it offers surprisingly few details. It speak

On Sunday, December 7, we discussed the word “peace” and focused on how to bring a revival of peace in our world today. I spoke to the church family at Summerdale about a few areas where Christians are called to live in peace, drawing from specific Bible verses. The overarching theme was the importance of unity, forgiveness, and love in all relationships. However, I feel like I may have rushed through the last point, so I feel sure we could all benefit from a deeper look into

The annals of early Christian history are filled with tales of profound faith and courageous witness. One such story is told of Telemachus, an obscure monk dwelling in a 4th-century monastery. Driven by a compelling spiritual calling to engage with the broader world, he left the solitude of his cloister. Gathering his few meager possessions into a sack, he undertook the journey to the heart of the Western world: Rome. Upon his arrival, the city was in a state of feverish exci

The air is still, and the dishes are clean, Not a slice of pumpkin pie can be seen. The turkey is carved, football games are done, The feasting is over, and it sure was fun! The guests have departed, the house is so quiet, No hushing or bustling, no culinary riot. The counter is empty, the lights are turned low, We savor the memories with hearts all aglow. Dressed in flannel PJs, and doing our best, We settled down for a well-deserved rest. When out in the yard there arose su

Marriage isn't a destination—it's an incredible journey that demands regular, intentional maintenance  to thrive! Inspired by our current Sunday AM Bible class series with “The Middles” on strengthening families, we're focusing on the vital skills that keep a relationship vibrant, like sharpening communication, consistently filling those "love tanks," and creatively showing affection. This got us thinking: How can we help couples build a rock-solid foundation from the start?

God hates prejudice and discrimination. It is a corrosive acid on the very foundation of society, transforming a potentially vibrant, unified whole into a fractured landscape defined by injustice and mistrust. It is an awful practice that systematically denies individuals their inherent dignity, stifling human potential by valuing characteristics like skin color or origin over talent and character. This leads to profound societal damage: economic progress stalls as innovation

Since I was a child I remember preachers saying we are called to be "in the world, but not of the world." This phrase, rooted in Jesus' prayer for his followers in John 17:15–18 , is the core of Christian distinctiveness. It's a challenging tightrope walk, requiring us to engage deeply with the culture around us while maintaining a clear, separate identity anchored in Christ. What must we do with this intriguing paradox? What Does the Bible Mean by "The World"? When the Bible

From carved pumpkins and trick-or-treating to costumes and ghost stories, Halloween is a holiday beloved by many. In my pre-teen and teen years, the cities around our area would coordinate truck or treating and publicize dates to coordinate with parents. The benefit to this effort was that some cities did trick or treating on the weekend, instead of Halloween night. This provided us with ample opportunities for a greater “haul” of treats. We’d often hit two or three cities in

Have you ever heard the classic fable about the ants and the grasshoppers ? It’s a great story that usually teaches us a basic life lesson about hard work, preparation, and the dangers of procrastination. Here’s the quick recap: The hardworking ants  spent all summer diligently storing food for the winter. The grasshoppers , however, simply played all day. When the ants warned them, the grasshoppers scoffed, “There is plenty of time to work!” But as it always does, winter qui

Is the “Diotrephes Spirit” Wreaking Havoc on the 21st Century Church? If the "Jezebel spirit" is associated with subtle manipulation and moral compromise, the “Diotrephes spirit” represents something far more blunt and hierarchical: the desire for absolute, unchecked control in church leadership. This term draws its origin from a man named “Diotrephes" ( III John 1:9-10 ). Diotrephes was a local leader obsessed with his own supremacy, rejecting outside authority (even the apo

The term “Jezebel spirit” has become a recognizable (and often controversial) phrase in certain Christian circles, particularly within charismatic and Pentecostal denominations. It’s used to describe a manipulative, narcissistic, dominating, and often sensual influence believed to be at work in the church today. Of course, the description draws its name from the biblical Queen Jezebel—a figure infamous for promoting pagan worship and persecuting God’s prophets in ancient Isra

We’ve all been there. You confess a mistake, repent of a sin, and feel the power of God’s forgiveness wash over you. The guilt lifts,...

Let's be honest, sometimes forgiveness feels like a superpower we just don't possess. Someone hurts us, disappoints us, or maybe even...

Mel Robbins' "Let Them" theory has been making waves, and at its core, it's about releasing the need to control other people's thoughts,...

Forgiveness. The word itself can feel heavy, loaded with emotion, especially when the offense is deep and the offender remains oblivious,...

After the fall of Adam and Eve, we continue to read in Genesis about the depravity of humanity. It was so bad that God cleansed the...

In 1976 John Stallings penned a hymn called “Learning To Lean.” I remember singing that song in my youth. The words still strike a chord...

It hurts. When someone treats us unfairly or wrongly.... it REALLY hurts. We weep. We mourn. We experience anger, frustration, and deep...