9/6/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

John, That Which Was

The last book of the Bible—The Revelation has been a controversial book from its writing almost.  How is it to be understood, what does it mean, is it literal or symbolic; who wrote it are just some of the many questions asked.  As we look at this book, a reminder that the Bible is given to us to be understood.  God can easily confuse us, but He wants us to know Him and His plan for us.

8/30/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

John the Baptist

The New Testament begins with John, a carryover figure from the Old Testament. He is really the last of the OT prophets and he has a very important job of preparing Israel for Jesus’ ministry. His story is familiar to most, but he comes across as strange and unapproachable…

8/23/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Malachi 1-4

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Malachi: Reap what you sow

The last book in the English Old Testament is the book of Malachi. From the conclusion of this book until the appearance of John the Baptist, there is a 400 year silent gap. Malachi is in essence the last spoken message humanity hears from God until the voice of one crying in the desert. The message is strong, God has spoken enough and it is now time to choose obedience…

8/16/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Zechariah 1-14

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Zechariah: God’s Coming Servant

Zechariah can be a difficult book to read through. The highly figurative language does not always make sense to us in our western way of thinking; and because most of this is still yet in the future, we have no historical foundation either. Zechariah is a book of encouragement to remain faithful to a faithful God!

8/9/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Haggai 1-2

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Haggai: Get to Work

Haggai is the 2nd shortest book of the Old Testament and it is really a work in tandem with Zechariah. The setting of this story is post-exilic (after the exile of 586 BC) and is focused on the temple. It took Israel a long time to recover from her forced exile, the temple served as an illustration of how difficult it was. We too are left with a difficult task and we too need God to encourage and motivate us.

8/2/2015

Russ Glessner

Acts 4

Guest Speaker

The Powerful Example of Barnabas

Barnabas, whose name means "son of encouragement" is a great example for believers today. He was courageous, dependable, honest, and full of joy. Are you a Barnabas?

7/26/2015

Russ Glessner

Acts 14

Guest Speaker

Be Prepared

As followers of Christ we should be ready for troubles and challenges in this life. Russ encourages us from Acts 14 to be stregthened for the difficult times ahead.

7/19/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Zephaniah 1-3

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Zephaniah: the Day of the LORD

The little book of Zephaniah has a number of repeated phrases and themes. The Day of the LORD is a phrase used some 19 times in 3 chapters. God clearly states what He will do dozens of times and very clearly God will deal with sin. But there is a lot of hope and future blessing…

7/12/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Habakkuk 1-3

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Habakkuk: What is Fair?

Habakkuk was truly grieved as he looked at his culture; which much like ours was rapidly changing around him. He was so overwhelmed that he cried out to God for Him to act and make everything right. God once again reminded us that He operates in ways we don’t always understand. He promised things were going to be made right but not in the expected way…

7/5/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Communion

Communion

We remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in song, word and by partaking of the communion elements together.

6/28/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Nahum 1-3

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Nahum: God’s Judgment Against Nineveh

Nahum is the bookend to the book of Jonah, in fact Nahum is the book that Jonah probably would have liked to write. It is a book prophetically detailing the collapse and ruin of Nineveh. God was patient, over 100 years patient with Nineveh, but its wickedness had reached the end of God’s patience. He used it as well as an object lesson to Israel—fix yourself before you too are wrecked.

6/14/2015

Missionary George Weber

Missionaries

Bangladesh

Retired missionary to Bangladesh, George Weber shares his and his families ministry of over 36 years in Asia.

6/7/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Micah 1-3

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Micah: What God Requires of Man

Micah is a book written to a proud people heading down a destructive path. They were content in their own ability to get themselves out of trouble, religious enough to satisfy their “god” need, and wealthy enough to meet their physical needs. YHVH was not part of that equation though, He had been pushed to the corner and become old fashioned and quaint. God once again patiently warns them…

5/31/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Jonah 1-4

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Jonah: The Compassion & Sovereignty of God

One of the most well-known stories as well as one of the most disputed is the story of Jonah. What kind of animal swallowed him, can you live undersea in an animal that long, did Nineveh really repent…? Are some of the many questions asked of this small book. Many find it so implausible that they reject all of scripture because of it. Can we trust the Bible if it’s unreliable? Is it not trustworthy? What is mean for us to understand?

5/24/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Obadiah 1

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Obadiah: God’s Justice

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It is not directed at Israel, but at one of her nemesis’ Edom. It is a microcosm of all the writing prophets where Israel’s enemies are warned and God’s blessing to Israel are reaffirmed. We all long for justice, and this book reminds us that God is interested in it as well…

5/17/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Amos 1-9

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Amos: The Shepherd Prophet

Amos was an average every day guy who was asked by God to deliver a sharp and painful message. He was not a professional religious type, but a farmer and businessman. He lived during days that are almost exactly like the days we live in; prosperity and invincibility. God was about to send them into captivity for their sins, what will He do with us?

5/10/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Joel 1-3

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Joel: The Day of the LORD

Joel is a book that has been under much discussion lately for a reference to the moon and the sun and the coming of the LORD. Too often well intended preachers take a thought and run with it and in the process miss vital context clues to the meaning. Joel’s writes about an event almost 2700 years ago that was a shadow of a yet future event described as the Day of the LORD.

5/3/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Hosea 1-14

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Sin, Judgment, and Salvation

Hosea is the first of a group called the Minor Prophets, but there is nothing minor about them. They are filled with God’s judgment but also of hope and love.  Hosea is one the most familiar of this group of 12.  Hosea leads a difficult life and God uses his personal tragedies as object lessons to draw Israel back into a right relationship with Him.  They rebuff God’s advances but He promises that one day they will return and love Him…

4/26/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Daniel 8-12

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Daniel, God’s plan for Israel

As we finish up Daniel, God has a specific message for Israel. Daniel’s book is attacked as inauthentic primarily because of these last 5 chapters; as though God would not reveal such specific details (or maybe could not). We know that God knows all things, past, present and future. If He knows our beginning from our end; knowing the same for nations is nothing to Him. He reveals these things as a warning to turn back to Him…

4/19/2015

Pastor Phil Perry

Daniel 2-7

The Prophets - God’s Spokesmen

Daniel, God’s plan for the nations

The book of Daniel includes a number of visions and their interpretations. The first of them include details about empires that to Daniel were futuristic, but for us we look back and see the incredible and precise detail. God is fully in control of history, we can be sure of that! His plan is unfolding right before our eyes and He has informed us so that we can trust our future to Him as surely as we can our past.