What do I mean by that? What does it mean for Jesus to gives us life? 

Simply this: you and I were created by God for His glory (Isaiah 43:7), and for relationship with Him (Genesis 1:26,27; Revelation 3:20). Our problem, however, is that all of us have sinned, every one of us (Romans 3:23) and our sin has left us spiritually dead (Romans 6:23), separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), and we cannot fix the problem ourselves, no matter how many good works we do (Ephesians 2:8,9), and all of us are headed toward an eternity apart from God (Romans 6:23) because He is Holy and Just and must punish sin (Romans 1:18). We have a very real problem.

Because of our sin we cannot live for the glory of God, we fall short. Because of our sin, we can't have relationship with God. Because of our sin, we live our lives in a state of being spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). This is our reality. We walk. We talk. We live, eat, sleep, go to school, work, marry, raise families, but we are not truly alive, not as God intended. We are cut off from Him, and our lives are ultimately all about relationship with God. That is why we were created, to glorify Him and live in intimate relationship with Him.

So, we settle for substitutes. We pursue pleasure, comfort, status, achievement, the approval of men, power, money, sex, recreation, distractions and a million other things, trying to carve out a meaningful life on this side of eternity while hoping it all works out when we die. We do our best to preoccupy ourselves on this side of eternity, but in the quietest of moments, we know that something is terribly off and wrong. 

So, we do our best to try not to think of such things. 

But we must. That gnawing sense that there is 'something more' is that God shaped hole in each of our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We long for more because there is so much more, and Jesus came to give us that 'so much more,' namely: eternal life and forgiveness for our sins so that we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. He comes to set us free from our bondage to sin and death. He comes to give us life, real, spiritual life, true life, now, life with God, now! 

In our sermon series, we meet people whose lives were radically changed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Outcasts, the 'worst of sinners' the broken and forgotten, the left behind and the despised...we see Jesus, the Son of God, give life to the most unlikely of people, and in this, we find our great hope.

Jesus Christ came to save sinners. That is each of us. All who repent of sin and turn to Christ in faith find life, true life and eternal life, the life God intended for us. In the series we see unlikely people transformed. We also see people who miss Jesus, who don't find that life, because they are trusting in themselves and their righteousness and perceived 'goodness.' 

Jesus came to give us life, and that includes you as well, reader. No matter who you are, where you've been, what you've done or how badly you've blown it, Jesus came to give you life. My prayer is that you will worship with us this Easter season and discover the Jesus who loves you so much that He laid down His life so that you could have this life that God intended. 

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

With a new year comes a renewed focus for us as a church family. Each year we start the year off with a prayer emphasis. This year, we are praying specifically for our lost friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, classmates and for the thousands of lost people that surround our church campus. I want to encourage and challenge each of us to actively participate in this season of prayer as we start the new year. Prayer guides will be available on the Welcome Desk in the church foyer each week. 

We start the year off with a prayer emphasis because we recognize that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We start the year off humbling ourselves before God, asking Him to renew His works in our day (Habakkuk 3:1,2) because we know that the greatest need our nation and our city and our neighbors and friends have is the Lord Himself. We start the year off praying because our Lord and Savior has commissioned us to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) and we know that we cannot do that in our own strength (Acts 1:8). We need the Holy Spirit to empower us to be bold and faithful witnesses. We pray because we understand that the Spirit of God turns the hearts of men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ and saves. We pray because we need the Lord to do what only He can do.

The Lord has blessed us tremendously! We have seen the Lord do amazing things the past few years, and we are so thankful for all that He has done and is doing! Stonebridge is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church that loves the Lord and the people love one another and this is a testimony to the power of the gospel and the work the Lord is doing. Man can't 'engineer' this kind of thing. 

We also know there is much work ahead to do. Too many all around us (both around us as individuals and around our church campus) do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so we come to the Lord as a church family and ask Him to use us, to break our hearts once more for the lost and to thrust us into His Harvest (Luke 10:2). We pray for the salvation of many and for a clear, sharp and disciplined Great Commission focus.

And, as we continue to pray for the mission that Jesus has given us, we also pray that He would continue to shape our hearts and that we'd guard our hearts, continuing to grow in faith, hope and love. One of the things that can happen to any Christian (or any church) if we are not careful is that we stop walking by faith on this mission and start thinking in terms of what we can do in our own strength or wisdom. We can actually be quite focused on the mission and at the same time, not love others as we should. We can get quite busy and lose sight of the Christ-like character that the Lord always wants to produce in us. As such, in our prayer focus this year, we are also praying for these virtues to continue to grow in each of us individually and in our church.

In addition to our prayer focus to start off the year, we will also be starting our sermon series in the Book of Acts, entitled: Unstoppable. I believe the Lord has much He wants to teach us from this amazing book! 

We are also continuing to build and prayerfully work on our Life Groups which will be our primary vehicle for evangelism and discipleship once they get their footing. I pray you'll connect with one and start investing in that Life Group!

Looking forward to all that the Lord has for us this year! The task is great, but our God is greater!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

My encouragement to us all is to do what is necessary to make sure that Christ is indeed the center of the Christmas Season. Below are some suggestions to help you keep Christ at the center of Christmas. These suggestions, in fact, might well help you focus more on Christ and your walk with Him throughout the year. I hope you'll prayerfully consider doing one, or several or even all of the following fifteen ideas:

1) Go to Bible.com and choose a daily Advent reading plan and start your day off by meditating on the Scripture reading for the day.

2) Thank God daily for the amazing gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to save you. Thank God daily for your salvation!

3) Take a walk around your neighborhood and pray for neighbors. Pray that your neighbors will come to know Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Ask God to open doors for you ro share Jesus and to invite your neighbors to church.

4) Ask everyone in your family to turn off their phones during mealtimes. Focus on being present with one another and being thankful for God's gracious goodness toward you.

5) Make time for family devotions in the evening. Talk about what you read in God's Word earlier that day. Pray together.

6) Detox from your smart phone for a few days, or longer. Take a break from social media and unnecessary texting. 

7) Ask the Lord who He wants you to bless and bless that person anonymously.

8) Make worshipping with the body of Christ a priority each weekend.

9) Take a break from television or whatever screen tends to distract you the most. 

10) Worship with us this Christmas Eve in one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight and Lord's Supper Services. 

11) Read Luke 2:1-20 with your family and pray together before opening gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

12) Say 'no' to overspending on gifts.

13) Do your best to 'leave work at work' so you can be present with family at home.

14) Consider blessing someone who will have a challenging Christmas Season. For example: there are families that drive into town each year so their child can be tested and or treated for their cancer or other serious medical condition. The Ronald McDonald House provides affordable housing for families who will spend their holidays in a less than ideal situation. You can call the house to ask if you and your family (or friends) could provide a meal and company for the families staying at the house. They will give you an opportunity and you'll be a great encouragement to someone! 

15) Give toward the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering this Christmas Season at church. The Lottie Moon Christmas offering supports sending and supporting foreign missions around the globe. 

I pray you have a holy, joyful and wonderful Christmas Season!

Joy to the World!

In Christ, 

Pastor Kevin

This question has been increasingly relevant the past two decades, and, after the events of the last month, and especially the last week, this question is all the more relevant. 

Evangelical Christians and socially conservative Americans are coming to terms with something that should have been obvious: there is a radicalized segment of the population that absolutely hates us,  justifies violence toward us and even celebrates the assasination of one of us while (online) jokingly plotting 'who are we going to do next?' 

That is dark. That is evil. 

Christians know and understand that evil is real. On the 24th anniversary of 9/11, we remembered the almost 3,000 people who died on that horrific day when evil targeted America. Over the past six weeks alone, Americans have seen many manifestations of evil: a 21 year old Ukranian woman, a war refugee, was stabbed to death on a light rail in North Carolina. No one did anything to stop the killer and no one did anything to help her before she bled out.

Evil.

That same day that Charlie Kirk was assasinated, a 16 year old Colorado high school student killed two other students and then himself in a school shooting. He was radicalized online by anti-semitic hate groups. 

Evil.

On Labor Day Weekend, another 18 people were killed in senseless violence in Chicago. That didn't make the news because it happens so often in Chicago.

Evil.

And we cannot forget the terrible shooting of the school children in the Catholic church school in Minneapolis by an angry trans shooter who fantisized of killing chidren.

Evil.

And, as Christians, we know that evil is real because we live in a fallen, broken world. We know that Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8). We know that the war has been won by virtue of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, and we also know until everything culminates at the end of all things, when there is a new heaven and a new earth, we will have many troubles and we Christians will be hated (John 15:18-25; John 16:33). The war is over but there are still battles until all things are created new. We still have a real enemy who rages against us and will until he is once and for all bound and cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:1-3, 10). We know that we will still have to deal with evil and pain and suffering on this side of eternity.

That said, there was something about the events of last week that seems to have shocked (or awakened) many Christians. The outright celebration of death was a wake up call. Evil is real and is advancing in our culture. 

There are many reasons why this is the case, and I will try to address some of the reasons why evil is advancing as it is in our culture in subsequent Blog posts. 

However, at this juncture, there is a pressing question many Christians are asking: 'In light of the darkness in our culture, how are we to live?'

Be courageous and love well. 

Let me explain.

There are ways we cannot and must not respond as Christians when confronted by evil. We do not return evil for evil. On the other end of the spectrum, we also do not shrink back in fear. 

Let me share ten things we must remember:

One: Our God is Good and Sovereign. He is absolutely in control. Evil is not in control. People are not ultimately in control. Politicians are not the ones ultimately in control. God is (Isaiah 46:10, Ephesians 1:11).  Remember that.

Two: You and I have been commissioned (Matthew 28:18-20). We are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).  The mission remains. Jesus is with us and for us (Matthew 28:20) and He has all authority in heaven and on earth. We do not shrink back in fear, rather in faith we move forward to show people the love of Christ and share the good news of Jesus Christ, making disciples of all the people groups. 

Three: We speak the Truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We speak with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15,16). Our message is seen as offensive (Mark 8:31-33) and foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18) by a lost world, but we know that it is the power of salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16). We share a message that is offensive because the cross of Christ is offensive. Yes, our sin is that bad. Yes, it took that sacrifice to atone for our sins. No, we cannot save ourselves and no, there is no other way to be made right with God (John 14:6). 

The message is offensive, but we are not to be offensive ourselves. 

We speak the Truth and we do so firmly and unapologetically and lovingly. We do not shrink back nor compromise the Message. 

Four: We flesh out the gospel in our daily lives. We are to live our lives in such a way that others see Jesus in us, knowing that He will use that witness to draw others into a saving relationship with Him (Matthew 5:16)

Five: Jesus promised us that we would suffer persecution (John 15:20). Christians in America need to come to terms with this. We are not exempt from being hated and or opposed or persecuted. 

Six: We pray big prayers. Our God can once more choose to pour out mercy on this land, renew His works in our days (Habbakuk 3:1,2). We intercede for and pray for a fresh gospel movement in our culture.

Seven: We persevere. We run the race well that is set before us and we don't grow weary of doing good (Galatians 6:9, James 1:12). 

Eight: We live in light of eternity. This world is not our home (Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Peter 2:11,12; Hebrews 11:13). 

Nine: We live for God's glory, not for ourselves (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Ten: We only fear God. Fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 10:28).

Yes, our culture is wrestling with darkness, with evil. This is, however, the time God has given us here. We are here for 'such a time as this' (Esther 4:14).

May we run the race well that is set before us and encourage one another to do the same. 

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

I cannot answer that question.  During such times, the great danger is to engage in what is known as 'keyhole theology.'  When you look through a keyhole, you are limited in what you see. You may see enough to understand certain things, but not the totality because you only see in part. We are finite beings. We do not see everything. The apostle Paul himself said that on this side of eternity, we only know and see 'in part,' (1 Cor 13:12). One day, when we are Home, we will see and know in full. Knowing this should produce humility in us. We cannot and do not understand everything.

God has given us many reasons in His Word why natural disasters occur, and the reasons are too many to list in this post. It is important to note, that there are several natural disasters mentioned in the Bible where there is no explanation given whatsoever for why the disaster happened. God doesn't always tell us 'why.'

So what are we to make of such times? There are some important truths from Scripture we must remember:

First, we live in a fallen, broken world. Romans 8:19-23 reminds us that creation itself groans to be redeemed and renewed along with humanity. Creation itself is experiencing the effects of the Fall, the effects of sin.  And, in this fallen world, terrible things happen: floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts and so on. Christians look forward to that day when there is a new heaven and a new earth, when all things are new (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation21:4). 

Second, when we study Scripture, we see the following themes: Creation. Fall. Redemption. Renewal. New Creation. This narrative should shape how we as Christians think about life on this side of eternity, and that includes times of suffering and pain. 

As we learn how to think Biblically, we undertsand that ultimately, sin and evil, death and suffering and pain do not win. God the Father sent God the Son to address our greatest problem and meet our greatest need. Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners like you and me, taking the punishment for sin that we deserve, so that you and I could be forgiven and reconciled to the Father. Through Christ, God is reconciling all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20). 

Because of Christ, we have great Hope (assurance), and we know that God is working all things ultimately together for His glory and our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). God is Good and He is Sovereign. His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8). There is much we will not understand on this side of eternity. That said, there is much we can and do understand that we must act on as Christians when there is suffering and pain.

Third, when people are hurting and agonzing under the weight of pain and suffering, as Christians, we are to do what we can to alleviate the pain and suffering. Scripture is very clear on this matter. We are to be The Good Samaritan. We are to pray for those who are hurting. We are to take the gospel to those who need to hear that there is indeed Good News. We are to help meet practical needs and carry the burdens of others in Jesus' Name. 

We may not know the 'why' to things like natural disasters, but we do know what God has clearly told us to do as Christians when people are hurting, so let us be about that.  

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

The Truth I want to challenge each of us to embrace today is this: 'There are no 'respectable' sins. ' 

What do I mean by 'respectable sins?'

Simply this: There is a tendency among many Christians to put sins in two categories: 'serious sins' and 'not so serious sins.' It is in the latter category that we find 'respectable sins,' meaning, sins we really don't take that seriously, sins that are 'normalized,' or sins that are dismissed by saying things like 'we're only human,' or 'everyone does it,' or some such things.

What might 'serious' sins look like for many professing Christians? Here are some examples: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, drunkeness, drug abuse, stealing, pornography use, same sex sexual relationships, dabbling in the occult and so on. 

Don't get me wrong: these are all sins. These are all offensive to God, who is holy, holy, holy, as well as righteous and just and pure. Christians are to 'put to death the deeds of the flesh,' ( Romans 8:13) and that means we are to fight sin and we are to most certainly fight any of these sinful inclinations in the power of the Holy Spirit with great intentionality. 

The problem arises when we look at other sins and put them in a 'less sinful' category. The reality is, all sin is an offense against God. All sin. What does this kind of thinking look like? First an illustration to explain what I am writing about.

Over the past thirty-eight years in ministry I have heard variations of the following in every church, every ministry context I have served, not once or twice, but many times.

'I have never drank or smoked or cursed. I grew up in church and I've served as a (in whatever the capacity) for a long time,' says the person who slanders, stirs up division, struggles with a wrathful temperment, has an anger problem or gossips. 

Pride (I've never done this or that) along with making assumptions (this sin or sins are the worst sins and I've never committed those sins) while also being spiritually blind (not seeing the seriousness of slander, wrath, gossip and so on) leads the person to assume that the sins he or she wrestles with are lesser, or, are more 'respectable sins,' because, after all, 'we are all human,' or 'everyone does it.' 

Until we come to terms with the fact that God hates gossip and wrath and divisiveness and slander  (see: Psalm 101:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Titus 3:10; James 1:20), we will not repent and we will continue to harm others and ourselves and our relationship with God because we have justified our sinful disposition, attitude, actions or words. These other sins are not 'respectable' or less offensive to God. 

Read Galatians 5:19-25. Notice that as Paul lists some of the sinful deeds of the flesh, not only does he include things we might immediately identify as sin, he also includes some things that some of us might well be comfortable with in our lives. 

If we are to walk in the light, to embrace the Truth, we must not buy the lie that some sins are basically 'no big deal.' We don't run around trying to remove the speck from other's eyes first, instead, we as the Spirit to search our hearts and we address the log in our own eye, and yes, these 'respectable sins' are logs that blind us. 

The good news of course is that God's grace is greater than all our sin, so no matter what you are struggling with, His grace is greater. However, for you and I to experience freedom and forgiveness, we must call sin, 'sin' and confess that sin and repent of that sin and ask for forgiveness. That is actually where our freedom is found! 

May we all continue to grow in love, holiness and obedience to the Lord our God!

Grace to You,

Pastor

What might some of these lies be? For the next few Blog posts, I will try to address some common lies and then give a Biblical response to those lies. These are lies that many professing Christians fall for. When these lies are believed, there is always a negative, painful and harmful outcome.

We must embrace the Truth on these matters as God has revealed in His Word. In embracing the Truth, we will not only not be deceived, we will see clearly, Biblically, and in that, we will discover not only freedom, but also joy. Embracing the Truth is essential to our growth in Christlikeness as well. 

Let's get started:

Lie #1: God wants you to prosper (financially, health, success) and if you just have enough faith, you will. This lie has led many to abandon what they thought was Christianity (but actually wasn't). Often Jeremiah 29:11 is cited as a promise from God to do just that. However, the context of Jeremiah 29:11 has nothing to do with God promising all people in all times that if they have faith, He will make them healthy, wealthy and successful. This promise was to God's children as they were in exile in Babylon. God is promising His people, who were living in a very difficult and stressful situation, that He is not going to abandon them or harm them, that ultimately He will restore and renew them. God still had plans for His rebellious people. 

God never promises any of us that we would be rich, always healthy and successful in every endeavor. In fact, it is just the opposite.

Jesus said that in this world we would have many troubles, but we are to take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). He also said, 'if they persecuted me, they will persecute you.' (John 15:20). The apostle Paul said this: 'All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution.' (2 Timothy 3:12). God's Word certainly doesn't offer us our 'best life now,' on this side of eternity. Instead, we are called to live in light of eternity and to lay up treasures there, in heaven, as opposed to making earthly wealth our ultimate pursuit. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this:  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."-Matthew 6:19-21. 

Jesus is not telling us to pursue poverty and adopt some ascetic lifestyle. He is telling us that whatever and wherever our treasure is, that is where I heart will be. If God is our great treasure, then we will delight in Him, love Him supremely, we will glory in Him. However, if our hearts are devoted to worldly treasures (or any other thing we might elevate above God), then that thing or person or things....is our 'god.'

This is not to say that God will not choose to give you health or financial riches or earthly 'success.' He might. It is to say we should not expect that God 'owes' us anything as long as our faith is big enough.

God may choose to give you great health throughout your life. If so, praise Him and thank Him for that and give Him all the glory. Use that strength to serve Him and others, starting with your family and church. 

God may choose to give you wealth. If so, praise Him and thank Him for all that He has given you and give Him all the glory. Use that wealth to impact eternity. Be a blessing to your family and the church and the kingdom of God. Be a wise steward. 

God may choose to give you success. If so, give Him all the praise and glory and honor and leverage that success for the purpose of the King and His Kingdom. Walk humbly before God and others. It is God Himself who gave you the capacity to achieve that success, whatever it may be. 

God may choose to allow you to experience financial hardship, health battles and you may never be seen as anyone (by the world's standards) who is 'successful.' If so, praise God and thank Him and ask Him for wisdom in trials. He promises to give that (James 1:5). And, remember this: God uses tests and trials, not because He is sadistic, rather He is using them to make us more like Jesus, to grow us in our maturity and spiritual perseverance (see James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5).

Testing and trials are opportunities not only for spiritual growth, they are opportunities for us to grow in our intimacy with Christ. They are opportunities for us to become more like Christ.

When we come to terms with the fact that our Perfect Heavenly Father will use troubles and tests and hardships to make us more like Jesus, we are able to rest more in Him when difficult times come. The difficult times are not by chance and they are not meaningless. God is with us in those times and wants to use them to do a special work in our lives for our growth, our ultimate good, and His glory. 

When we believe the lie that it is God's will to 'prosper' us (health, wealth, success), we find ourselves chasing after these things more than God Himself. We want the Father's stuff more than we want Him and we ultimately worship the Father's stuff more than Him. And, if troubles come, we come to a natural conclusion because we have believed a lie. We will believe that either God is a liar, or, we will believe that we simply don't have the necessary faith to experience the life that God has for us, and so we walk away from God, or at least the 'god' we were worshipping. 

Lastly, remember this: Our Father is Good. He is our Perfect Father. He is All-Wise and He perfectly knows what is ultimately best for us. He hears our prayers and knows how to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:7-11). Pursue Him. Seek Him and His righteousness first, above all, and He will take care of your needs (Matthew 6:33). 

You can trust Him. He is with you and for you. Remember that. 

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

For several months I've been praying and seeking the Lord's direction regarding His plans and purposes for me, personally, in 2025, and for my family and for the church. The more I prayed and searched the Scriptrues, the more I saw these three words as important, not only for the church, but for me, personally.

I will be preaching a year end/start the new year message by preaching on these three words and what they mean, but I wanted to also write about these three words as I believe we are to keep them before us for the entirety of 2025:

Ask. Align. Advance.

'Ask,' refers to prayer. The Word of God is filled with admonitions and commands and encouragements to pray. I must stay in prayer, persevere in prayer, and so must you, so must we all as a church body. We can do nothing in our own strength. We need the Lord and His grace and His strength for everything. 

As we look at revamping and re-launching our Saturday service and adding a second Sunday service so we can best maximize our facility usage before we build, we must first be on our knees seeking the Father. 

As each of us personally prepares for the year ahead, we must be on our knees, seeking the Father.  Persevering prayer is central to the Christian life. Persevering prayer is central to a church that would be used by God for His glory.

'Align,' refers to aligning our lives to the Word of God. Obedience. Growing in Christ-likeness. If we are to walk with God and be used by Him for His glory we must continually be growing in conformity to His Word and will. 

'Advance,' refers to the mission the Lord has given us. Our mission is very clear. It is the Great Commission. We are to be about the business of making disciples as we go about our daily lives. We are to be about the business of the King and His Kingdom, both individually and as a church.

As we prepare for 2025, it is my prayer that we 'ask,' and 'align,' and 'advance!' 

I look forward to the journey!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

Christmas reminds us all that Jesus is Immanuel, 'God With Us,' which is nothing short of stunning. God with us! Christmas reminds us that even though we live in a fallen, broken and sinful world that is filled with darkness, there is a Light, Jesus Christ, that shines in the darkness, and that Light is the Light of the World, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and He is the only way to be made right with the Father. 

'Joy to the World, the Lord has Come....Let Earth Receive Her King!' My heart shouts 'Amen! Yes, Lord! Thank you!' when I consider the Son of God came to us personally. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and is worthy of a reception fitting for the King. Our hearts must respond to Christ, receiving Him as Lord and Savior-as King.

Each worship service (both Saturday and Sunday) we will walk through this sermon series, and, every Wednesday, during Refuel and Recharge we will have a short 'sermonnette'-a time of teaching that is a part of this Christmas Sermon Series. 

The King has come to us! Do you still marvel at that? He is coming again as well! Does that amaze you? As we enter into this Christmas Season, with all of the cultural trappings of cultural Christmas bombarding us at every turn, let us quiet our hearts and consider the beauty and grandeur of God personally coming to us, the King, coming to us, to bring us from darkness and into the light.

Let Earth Receive Her King!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

God has given American Christians the most remarkable privileges, privileges that the early church could not have imagined. Here are a few examples: we have the ability to freely worship. We should not take that for granted. We have the freedom to tell others about the Lord Jesus Chirst. We should not take that for granted. We have freedom of speech, which is something many contemporary Christians in many parts of the world, can not imagine. We also have the ability to vote and in doing so, to choose our elected officials and the policies we believe are best for the nation. 

Can you imagine trying to explain this to the early church? I imagine the response would be something like: 'Wait...you get to choose your Caesar? You can worship freely without fear of persecution? You can choose policies that will shape the direction of your nation? What are you doing with these great blessings?'

What are we doing with these great blessings, indeed. The Parable of the talents has a lot to say about stewardship and what the Lord requires of us, His children. We want to be good stewards of our time, talents, treasures, and I would also include...our opportunities and privileges, and one of those great opportunities and privileges is our ability to choose our leaders and their policies. So, what are we going to do with this great blessing, this privilege, this opportunity?

I understand that some Christians do not feel they can vote for either candidate or party. I can see how some Christians might get to this position, and while I disagree with it, I am also to respect the convictions of my brothers and sisters in matters that might be disputable (Romans 14,15). That said, we have never had such a contrast in both candidates and policies. 

First, let's say it up front: neither candidate is a paragon of virtue. Both are highly flawed humans. Both need to repent and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. I pray that both come to saving faith. Instead of focusing on the personalities or person, I am focusing on policies. There are two very different visions for America. 

Second, let's also be honest: there is only one party that has celebrated and is doing all it can to undo God's created order. There is only one party that strongly argues that 'gender is 'fluid,' and there is only one party that wants to normalize giving life-altering 'gender surgery' to children and teenagers and emotionally vulnerable people. God created us male and female.

Only one party has deliberately sought to subvert God's design for marriage as well. Marriage has not only been redefined, it continues to be redefined by this party.God gave us marriage between a man and a woman and said it was good.

Only one party celebrates abortion as a sort of secular sacrament. God says that He forms us in our mother's womb. We are not 'fetuses,' we are human beings, image bearers and therefore we have inherent, God-given dignity. Each and every person. Each and every baby in the womb. 

Only one party wants to 'monitor' religious speech.

I could go on. I hope that you understand the crossroads we are at as a nation and culture. 

There may come a day when both parties are so far from the Word of God, that Christians cannot vote. 

It is not yet that time. 

So, I will vote. I will pray for this nation. And, no matter who wins, I will continue to pray for this nation because I absolutely believe that unless the Lord renews His works in our day, we have no hope. I will keep my eyes on King Jesus and trust in Him alone as my Sovereign, and I will, in the grace He provides, seek to run the race well that is set before me. 

All that to say: my ultimate hope is not in any candidate or party (see the first blog post). My ultimate hope is in Jesus. 

It is my conviction, that I am to be a good steward of the privileges and opportunities He has given me as an American Christian. I believe this is true for all Christians. I pray we steward this opportunity and privilege well. 

For the King and His Kingdom,

Pastor Kevin