Author: Pastor John
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It Looks Like Love

In Romans 12 Paul challenges the church in Rome to love. He calls us to love without hypocrisy. He calls us to commit to loving in a profound way. Love is different from being nice. Love is real. Love is committed. Love rejoices with those who rejoice. Love weeps with those who weep. Love always…
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Christmas All Year

How do we know people love us? Sometimes we know because they tell us. However, most often we know that people love us because of what they do. These actions are pictures of love. One of the great surprises we experience in life is the love of others. We are surprised that others value us. …
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We Need Mercy

I am thinking about mercy this week. Mercy is unique. Mercy given must be received by the one who needs it. If we don’t receive it, we stay under condemnation. We stay in our guilt. And yet, many who need mercy refuse to admit that they do. Why do we need mercy? We need mercy…
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A Good Hurt

We say often in my house, “If wishes were fishes we would all be in the sea.” We wish a lot of things. As a Christian, I wish often that the people around me all knew Jesus. Sometimes, I even think so highly of them that I avoid thinking about their lostness. I avoid seeing…
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Deep Christmas Shadows

I was thinking last week about the dark things that we sometimes miss seeing when we talk about the first Christmas. We overlook that Joseph considered letting Mary loose. We tend to not talk about the babies that were killed by Herod. We gloss over Simeon’s blessing in the temple that includes declaring that Jesus…
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Victorious Living

It breaks my heart when I see people who live defeated lives. It is as if they have lost hope. Why would a Christian live that way? We have the greatest reason for hope of anyone. Think about it…when we have such promises from God, how could we be defeated? “For I am convinced that…
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All About Us?

Isn’t church all about me? Isn’t it about my wants, my wishes, my hopes, and my dreams? Are you saying right now, “No, of course not! It’s about Jesus!”? It is about Jesus, but do we make it sometimes about us? Paul spoke to the Corinthian church about something like this. He said, “For I…
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Call on Your Father

Think for a moment who you call when you need help… It probably is a short list. Yet, the people on it are people that you can call on with confidence. How do you know that? You know it because those people have shown that they are committed to you. They have been there when…
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Are We Worthy of the Heart of Another?

Have you thought much about what makes a person worthy of trust? When I think about that question my answer is generally that the person is honest with me, keeps their word, and doesn’t reveal my heart’s secrets. Are those the things which come to your mind? However, when it comes to heart secrets there…
