2024 January

Praying in Ephesus

Praying in Ephesus

This sermon is based on Ephesians 1:15-23. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: ____: If ___ ___ hear ____ ___ the ________, you're going to be ___ ___ ___ ____ . You ___ also ___ ___ feel ___ out. You ____ also ____ ____ aids. I said: “Listen: If you only hear half of the conversation, you’re going to be at a real disadvantage. You are also going to feel left out. You might also need hearing aids.” But that is what happens whenever we read the letters in the New Testament. We are only hearing half the conversation! And that is not good because you can then misread (mishear?) what the author is trying to communicate. Bottom line: Without knowing the background, you are going to be at a real disadvantage. You may even need reading aids! For instance, take the book of

Seven Sins to Poison Community, Part 2

Seven Sins to Poison Community, Part 2

Last week, I argued that one of the great visionaries of the past was the guy who invented pizza (who would disagree with that?). But who was this creative genius? The answer depends a lot on how we define “pizza.” If pizza is simply flatbread cooked in an oven, then the answer is an ancient someone in the Middle East. Everyone (the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Israelites and others) all cooked flatbread in mud ovens. Now, if you think you need something ON that flatbread for it to be called a pizza, then we have a different answer. The ancient Greeks and Romans both topped their flatbread with herbs, spices and olive oil. Now, I would argue that is better defined as focaccia bread, not pizza, but it is a topping on baked bread, so props to them. Plus, a pizza, to be a pizza, doesn’t need a tomato-sauce topping

No Longer in Ephesus

No Longer in Ephesus

This sermon is based on Ephesians 1:1-14. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: ____: If ___ ___ hear ____ ___ the ________, you're going to be ___ ___ ___ ____ . You ___ also ___ ___ feel ___ out. You ____ also ____ ____ aids. I said: “Listen: If you only hear half of the conversation, you’re going to be at a real disadvantage. You are also going to feel left out. You might also need hearing aids.” But that is what happens whenever we read the letters in the New Testament. We are only hearing half the conversation! And that is not good because you can then misread (mishear?) what the author is trying to communicate. Bottom line: Without knowing the background, you are going to be at a real disadvantage. You may even need reading aids! For instance, take the book of

Seven Sins to Poison Community, Part 1

Seven Sins to Poison Community, Part 1

Who were the great visionaries of the past? I would suggest the following people need to be on that list. The incredible saint who said “Let’s mash up these beans, run hot water through them and drink it. We will call it ‘coffee.’” Whoever that guy was, he was brilliant! The genius who looked at some plain, baked flatbread and “saw” pizza and said, “I’m going to make happiness pie.” Words cannot express my gratitude. The deeply holy man who looked at a cacao pod and said, “Let’s make some chocolate!” I love that guy! The person who said, “Dag, I left the cream outside overnight, and it froze. My boxes of cake icing also froze. But what if I added them together? Think about it! Chocolate and frozen cream! Butter Pecan frozen cream! Cookie dough ice cream! You scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Whoever that person was,

Great Art in the Ephesian Church

Great Art in the Ephesian Church

This sermon introduces our new series and is based on Acts 19:23-29, 32-37. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: ____: If ___ ___ hear ____ ___ the ________, you're going to be ___ ___ ___ ____ . You ___ also ___ ___ feel ___ out. You ____ also ____ ____ aids. I said: “Listen: If you only hear half of the conversation, you’re going to be at a real disadvantage. You are also going to feel left out. You might also need hearing aids.” But that is what happens whenever we read the letters in the New Testament. We are only hearing half the conversation! And that is not good because you can then misread (mishear?) what the author is trying to communicate. Bottom line: Without knowing the background, you are going to be at a real disadvantage. You may even need reading aids!

Five Movies and Five Foundations

Five Movies and Five Foundations

Quick, name your top five favorite scary movies. Okay, let’s have some honesty. First, horror is not a favorite genre of mine; so if you are a true fan, my list will seem wimpy. More importantly, though, scary movies depend so much on “the when” that it is hard to compose a list. When I was a kid, I would certainly include the classics: The Wolf Man (1941; Rolling Stone rates it at #85 on their all-time list), The Mummy (1932; #60), The Blob (Steve McQueen, 1958; #96), Frankenstein (1931; #28) and Dracula (1931; #20). All of those scared me to death. But I also remember being terrified by the monster bird in the movie, The Giant Claw, which has to qualify for the silliest special effects ever. Today, if I were to make a list, I could include a dozen different movies, but as long as number one was

Believing in Following

Believing in Following

This sermon is based on Mark 1:14-20. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A

A New Year’s Resolution

A New Year’s Resolution

It is a new year, and one of my new year’s resolutions is not to look down on new year’s resolutions. Why? Because a new resolution can make a profound impact. Need proof? Here are ten spectacular things that all took place on New Year’s Day; and all, I would argue, came as a result of someone resolving to make them happen. Consider these impressive January 1 events: New Year’s Day, 1502 – The Portuguese establish a new settlement by naming it Rio de Janeiro (which, when translated, means, “January River”). New Year’s Day, 1773 – John Newton introduced a new hymn based on 1 Chronicles 17 to his church in Olney, England. As it was passed on to other churches, its name was changed to the one we know: namely, “Amazing Grace.” New Year’s Day, 1818 – Mary Shelley first published her terrifying novel, Frankenstein. Who would have guessed that