We often misquote Philippians 4:13, thinking it's about achieving greatness through Christ's strength. But when we take a closer look at what Paul writes, we discover this verse isn't about becoming superhuman; it's about finding strength in God during tough times. So Philippians 4:13 isn't a motivational quote, it's a promise that God is always wi…

Even though the Olympics showcase incredible athletic achievements, there are also stories of disappointment and failure. Similarly, in life, we all face difficult days and moments of doubt. As we run the race of life, we must remember that God is there to support and guide us through our struggles.

Even though the athletes competing at this year's Olympics are some of the greatest athletes in the world, that doesn't mean they don't have their struggles. And there are times when we all struggle too. But when we have moments in life when we feel like giving up, we need to remember that we are stronger than we think.…

In the Olympics, athletes compete in events where the difference between winning and losing can come down to fractions of a second. Similarly, in the race of life, we want to make sure we're spending our limited time on things that really matter. In this sermon, we'll be reminded of what really matters...and that's chasing after God.…

When Nineveh repents, you'd think Jonah would be thrilled. Instead, he's angry that God showed mercy to his enemies. How often do we feel the same way? This sermon explores the tension between our desire for justice and God's heart of compassion. It challenges us to see people as God sees them - not as enemies to be punished, but as children to be …

When Jonah finally arrives in Nineveh he preaches a half-hearted sermon that is exactly nine words long. As representatives of God, are we sometimes just as half-hearted in our obedience? This sermon challenges us to examine how we're representing Jesus in our daily lives and interactions. Are we truly reflecting God's heart for the world, or are w…

After spending some time in the belly of a fish, Jonah finally decides to do what God told him to do. But he isn't exactly enthusiastic about it. But Jonah's half-hearted obedience highlights the gap between our words and our hearts. And in this sermon, we'll learn the importance of aligning our inner attitudes with our outward actions as we serve …

As a new week begins, many of us continue to wrestle with the events that unfolded at a campaign rally in Butler, PA. In this sermon, we'll hear our pastor's perspective on these heinous events and think about how we as individuals, as followers of Jesus, and as a nation move forward.

In the book of Jonah, God calls Jonah to preach to Nineveh - Israel's sworn enemy - but Jonah runs the opposite way. There are times we want to do the same thing. But Jonah's story reminds us that God's love extends to all, even those we struggle to love. So how will we respond when God calls us to love those we'd rather avoid?…

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday with crowds cheering "Hosanna!" and welcoming Jesus like a king. But by Good Friday the cheers of "Hosanna!" were replaced by calls to "Crucify him!" So what happened during those 5 days? The crowds realized that instead of being who they wanted him to be, Jesus was different. And Jesus wanted them and us to become m…

In the book of John, a woman named Mary annoints Jesus' feet with a bottle of perfume that costs about as much money as the average person makes in a year. And Mary was willing to do that because of everything Jesus had done for her (including raising her brother from the dead). Jesus laid down his life for us. So what are we willing to give for hi…

Every kid may dream of winning an Olympic medal or a Super Bowl ring...but no one dreams of coming in last. But Jesus tells us, "The first will be last and the last will be first." And this isn't just something Jesus said, it's something he did when he laid down his life for us on the cross. So, if we want to be more like Jesus, we have to learn ho…

We all know that our world can be a messed up place filled with violence and hatred. But none of us want the world to be that way. So is there some way that we can overcome violence with mercy? Is there some way that we can learn to love instead of hate? Jesus tells us there is. But just because there's a way to do it, that doesn't mean it's easy..…

We’ve all experienced things that have caused us to lose our temper or hold a grudge. We've all experienced things that have made us bitter. But, if we want to be more like Jesus, we have to let go of our bitterness. Instead, we need to learn to be more kind, more compassionate, and more forgiving.

In Acts 8:29, we're reminded that God wants us to "be like his Son" Jesus. But we all have times when we don't really act like Jesus. Things happen in life that make us angry, or jealous, or greedy. Or, to put it another way, we get dirty. So we need to clean up. And that's what Lent is all about. Lent reminds us that we need to clean up to become …

Sometimes it feels like there are a million things to get done on our to-do lists. And all of the things we want to get done are important...they wouldn't make it onto our to-do list if they weren't. But, in our busyness, we need to make sure we don't let things that are important get in the way of things that are imperative.…

No matter how hard we try to keep up with all of our commitments, things always end up on the back burner. Sadly, our relationship with God tends to be one of the first things we put on the back burner when life gets busy. So what can we do to make sure God remains a priority in our lives when life gets busy? We can slow down and remember who God i…

Many of us struggle to tell other people "no." Because of this, we fill up our time and schedules with things that aren't that important to us. So if we want to overcome our busyness, we need to learn to set boundaries. And we need to learn to make sure that all of our yeses count.

We live in a culture that often tells us that our worth comes from our work. So, we think that we have to be constantly busy just to show how valuable we are. So if we want to be able to slow down and make time for what really matters, we have to understand where our value truly comes from.

Even though the New Year has only just begun, many of our calendars are already filling up. But no matter how busy we get, we still try to cram more events and activities into our lives. But our chronic busyness is taking a toll on our lives. So we need to find ways to slow down and make time for what matters the most in our lives.…

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving each year, it feels like everyone has tips and tricks to make us more thankful. But the truth is that in spite of all of these tips and tricks, we still aren't great at being grateful. And we're never going to be great at being grateful until we realize just how blessed we are.…

Though diversity divides, the Holy Spirit unites. At Pentecost, people from countless cultures heard one message in their own tongues through the Spirit's power. Despite our differences, we gather as one body, filled with the same Spirit that descended at Pentecost. No matter where we're from, who we are, or what we've done, there's always room for…

When the ghost of Jacob Marley came to visit Ebenezer Scrooge, it seemed unlikely that Scrooge would ever change his ways. But as three other ghosts visited that Christmas Eve, Scrooge saw the error of his ways and changed forever. There are times when it feels like we'll never be the people God created us to be. But the Holy Spirit is constantly a…

There's no such thing as a perfect person. We all mess up. We all make mistakes. We're all still works in progress. But even though we aren't perfect, that doesn't mean that God gives up on us. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in everyone who follows Jesus, helping us become more like Christ.

Halloween is a time for trick-or-treating, scary movies, and ghost stories. But not all ghost stories are about spooky specters of things that go bump in the night. Our faith is filled with stories about the Holy Ghost (or the Holy Spirit). And these aren't stories we tell around campfires to creep each other out. These are stories we tell in churc…

In the Bible, names reveal something about a person's nature or character. That's also true for the names of God we find in the Bible. The names of God we find in the Bible tell us that our God is great and powerful and that there is no one like our God. But there is one name for God we find in the Bible that reveals as much about how God sees us a…

We all know how rare it can be for someone to keep their promises. Politicians break their promises. Parents break their promises. People break their promises. And, in Genesis 17, it looks like God might just break a promise too. But instead of breaking a promise that God made to Abraham and Sara, God proves that he is a God that can make a way whe…

There is an old adage that tells us, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." This piece of advice is true whether you're interviewing for a job, going on a date, or just introducing yourself to someone for the first time. And it's even true for when we're first introduced to God in the Bible. When we're first introduced to God i…

In Exodus 3, God tells Moses that God's name is "I am." And this isn't a one time thing, this is the same name for God that is used more than 6,500 times in the Bible. But it still seems like a strange way to introduce yourself. So why does God introduce himself as "I am"? Well, that name has a lot to teach us about who God is.…

When we think about the future, there are a lot of things that we could worry about. We can worry about problems we'll face, people we'll have to deal with, or our performance at school or work. And all of these worries can feel "heavy," as Marty McFly might put it. But, in this sermon, we'll be reminded that Jesus tells us not to worry because God…

What does it mean to be rich? Is it about having so much money in your bank account? Or earning so much money every year? For the Goonies, being rich means having enough money to keep developers from destroying a neighborhood. But, as the movie plays out, the Goonies realize something we all need to learn. Money doesn't make you rich...love does.…

When Rocky Balboa stepped in the ring with Apollo Creed nobody thought he would last longer than three rounds. But in spite of the odds, Rocky believed in himself. He put his faith in himself into action, and did what no one had ever done before. As followers of Jesus, we are called to put our faith into action as well, trusting that God can help u…

The new Super Mario Bros. movie reminds us that there are times when we mess up and make mistakes, and don't feel super about ourselves. So we end up wondering if God could love someone like us. But despite our imperfections, God's love for us never wavers. No matter how many times we mess up or how unworthy we feel, we are precious in God’s eyes.…

When you're a kid, life seems to be filled with things to celebrate. You celebrate losing a tooth or finding a toy. You celebrate every holiday that pops up on the calendar. But when you get a little older, you only seem to celebrate life's biggest moments. But God never wants us to hesitate to celebrate everything that he does for us from the big …

When we're little, we learn to make quick assessments about a lot of different things. We learn to quickly pick out which box of cereal we want to eat, which cartoon we want to watch, or which book we want to read. The problem is, we also learn to make quick assessments about people. But when we learn to look past a person's cover, we can recognize…

Whether we see a classmate fall on the playground or see a friend cry when their toy gets broken, we learn from a young age that we need to comfort people who are sad. But, as we get a little older, we learn that not all of life’s problems can be solved with a hug or a band-aid. In this sermon, we'll talk about how we can move beyond band-aids to o…

From the time we're young, we learn that people won't always get along. But in our world today it seems like we're more divided than ever. So, as followers of Jesus, we need to shine His light when people disagree. But how do we do that? In this sermon, we'll discover the best way to shine Jesus' light when people disagree is to learn to be empathe…

No matter how much we may want to shield and protect our children, we can't keep them from learning that our world can be a dark place. But another important lesson our children learn early on is how big of a difference a little light can be. As followers of Jesus, we are called to let the light of Jesus shine through us into the darkness of this w…

It's easy to tell when a plant is growing. The stem will lengthen, branches will form, and eventually fruit will sprout. But how do you know if your faith is growing? In church, we typically try to measure our faith by talking about how often we read the Bible, or how long we pray, or how frequently we attend church. But none of these things truly …

Do you remember the first time you swung a baseball bat...did you hit a home run or strike out? What about the first time you rode a bike...did you go sailing down the street or fall into some bushes? Whenever we try new things we usually fail more than we succeed. The same is true for our faith. Nobody has a perfect faith...so we all have to start…

We live in a world that often tells us that we're not good enough. We hear it from car commercials. We hear it from our co-workers, we hear it from our own kids. So, it is easy to believe that God feels the same way about us...that we're not good enough. But in this sermon, we'll see that not only does God believe we are good enough, God also calls…

In a world filled with overwhelming problems, personal disappointments, and waiting that seems endless, it's easy to lose hope and want to give up. So how can we keep hope alive when we reach a point where we want to quit? By maintaining a sense of gratitude and recognizing God's faithfulness, we can keep hope alive in the face of adversity and we …

Whether you're sitting in a drive-thru line at McDonald's or standing in line to check out at Target...nobody likes to wait. And the longer you have to wait to achieve a goal or accomplish a task, the more likely it is that you'll give up on it altogether. So, if we want to keep going when we're ready to quit, we need to learn how to wait.…

When you reach a point where you're ready to throw your hands up and quit, you're also in danger of compromising your character and doing something you'd never dream of doing - like lying, or cheating, or hurting someone else. So how can you keep from compromising your character when you're ready to quit? You have to cling to God and remember who G…

There are times when it feels like everyone has given up on you...and, when that happens, it's hard to have faith in yourself. And when you lose faith in yourself, it's easy to want to give up. But before you give up, you need to remember that God never gives up on us. And that, no matter what we're facing, God is with us.…

Whether you've received a troubling diagnosis from your doctor, or hit a rough patch in your marriage, or reached your breaking point at work; we've all had times when we've been ready to give up. But before you give up, you need to remember that you are still a child of God, and God will help you make it through because God still has good planned …

There are times when we all feel resigned to the violence and hatred, pain and suffering, sorrow and despair that we see in our world. It can feel like these problems are too big to solve and there's nothing we can do about them. But before we give up, we need to remember that we should never grow weary of doing good. So no matter how big the world…

On Friday, Jesus had been betrayed and abandoned. On Friday, Jesus was convicted and sentenced to death. On Friday, Jesus was tortured and died on the cross...but that was Friday. On Sunday, Jesus rose from the grave. And when Jesus was resurrected, the world changed. We know longer have to live in a Friday kind of world, we can live in a Sunday wo…

Following Jesus demands a lot from you. Following Jesus means that you make Jesus your first priority, that you love others and yourself, that you produce godly fruit in your life, and that you serve other people. But even though following Jesus demands a lot from you, it's worth it. Because following Jesus is the only way you can be who you were c…

When we first decide to follow Jesus, it's natural to want to look the part. But following Jesus is about so much more than just carrying a fancy Bible or wearing Christian clothes. When you follow Jesus, he will change you from the inside out. And that means that you'll start producing godly fruit in your life.…