All posts by ScottJPHD

Understanding God can sometimes feel complicated. Many people express a desire to know what God wants from them. Today, we will explore a Bible lesson where Jesus communicates how God views us in clear and straightforward terms. The challenge lies in applying these insights to our lives. It’s not as difficult as we often make it out to be. Join us today to discover “The Plain Truth.”

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Renew us in Your love, O God.”
• The songs are “Christ for the World We Sing” and “How Can We Name a Love.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible readings are Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10, and Luke 6:17-26.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Many people turn to God for help, and God offers His loving support in countless ways. The real question is how we respond to this help after we receive it. Do we accept God’s gift and then walk away, or do we express our faithful love in return? Today, we will explore how Jesus transformed lives after individuals accepted Him and understood His true nature. The invitation to experience this transformation is available to us as well.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. Click here for video

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “God, help us leave everything and follow.”
• The songs are “He Has Made Me Glad” and “Take My Life and Let It Be.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 5:1-11.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Jesus pushes us. Most of us don’t like that because we only want God to make us feel good. However, the reality is that we cannot live according to God’s hopes for us unless we fully understand His truth. How can we learn to hear Jesus as He lovingly guides us to where He wants us to go? Join us today as we explore how to avoid the common mistakes that many people make.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. Click here for video

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We come to worship, expecting God to meet us here.”
• The songs are “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” and “Lord of the Dance.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 4:21-30.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Have you heard the saying, “there are no atheists in foxholes”? It suggests that during crises, even the least faithful call out to God. For those of us who follow Christ, we find comfort in knowing He loves us not just in pivotal moments, but always. Like a true friend who is present in both crises and everyday life, Jesus is with us every day, showing His constant care and love.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. Click here for video

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “In the familiar and unfamiliar, God is here with us.”
• The songs are “Be Thou My Vision” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is John 2:1-11.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Everyone has things they love to share. Everyone has things they like to keep private. Which of those describes how you feel about your faith? Many followers of Jesus can be surprisingly quiet about what they believe. Today, we learn a lesson from Jesus about living your faith out loud. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s essential. Today, we’ll talk about letting our love speak louder than our fears.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “I will be with you.”
• The songs are “Lord I LIft Yor Name on High” and “Wash O God Our Sons and Daughters.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 3:15-22.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

As we begin a new year, we often take stock of our lives and spend time in contemplation and discernment. This continuing story of the birth of Christ also involves inquiry. Three wise “seekers” visited the newborn Christ, guided by a new star they had noticed. On this last day of our series, we ask ourselves, what are we seeking? Where is our attention focused? What new stars may be calling to us? Will we go back into routines of life, or will we take this moment to understand more deeply how we can “return anew?”

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

 Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We have been changed on this journey.”
• The songs are “We Three Kings” and “The First Noel.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Matthew 2:1-12.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

After a pause for Christmas and New Years, the Pantry is opening again this coming Saturday, January 4, for normal hours from 10:00 to noon.

Worship is a necessary and powerful part of the life of a disciple. Too often, we assume that worship is reserved for a specific hour of the week at a particular place. For many, worship is also a box to be checked rather than about someone to be loved. Today, we may have arrived at Bethlehem, and the waiting feels over. However, many were still waiting even though Jesus had already been born. We encounter two such people in our scripture today. They show us the power of faithful worship as we wait and as God keeps His promises.

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We come to make our home with God who makes a home among us.”
• The songs are “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Joy to the World.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 2:22-38.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

Micah 5:2 reads, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah may have called Bethlehem “little,” but he understood that something of great worth would come from a humble place. As a champion of the “least of these,” Jesus’ ministry would shine light on the worth of humble people and places. How will we show this kind of humble love to others?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more love.”
• The songs are “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear“ and “Emmanuel, Emmanuel.“ You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is John 1:1-14.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!

In those days of Mary and Joseph, Nazareth was a place where “everyone knows your name. It supported a limited amount of people from one small well of water. Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel with news that she would bear a son! Unlike most of the world, including us, Mary’s joy was not limited by the thought that God wouldn’t do such a thing in a place like Nazareth. In this simple, tight-knit community – a place where survival required depending on one another – Jesus would be raised and grow into the teacher he became. This week, we wonder: what joy might we miss because we are looking in the places that are obvious to us, but God is moving in the simplest of places, the simplest of moments, and the simplest of things?

We’ll be live on Facebook on Sunday at 11:00, or you can watch any time on Facebook or YouTube. 

Here is some information to help you participate if you join us online:

• Our opening prayer is interactive. This prayer is a moment for us to affirm our faith collectively. Respond, “We are on our way to more joy.”
• The songs are “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” You can look up the words online and sing along.
• The Bible reading is Luke 1:26-45.
• We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments. Whether it’s a moment of praise for God’s goodness in your life or a challenge where you hope to see God’s intervention, we want to hear from you. Your sharing is a testament to how God moves in our lives. Share an offering in our app in Givelify or send a check to the church.

We’re anticipating this time of worship with you. Get ready for a blessed Lord’s Day Everyone!