Pastor Percipia

 For full message, see link at bottom The final question in our series is, “ Will you join us ?” That question is an invitation on one hand, and it's a challenge on the other. When you ask someone, “will you join me?” It requires an answer—a yes or a no. There's a choice to be made. There is a step to be taken either forward or backwards. This morning I'm going to invite people who do not know Jesus—who have not found who he is, who have not begun their life with him—to join us, to join me in my faith. Will you? Will you join me in my faith? I have a funny kind of a job. My job is basically talking, primarily about something that we can't see. About something that, if we're honest, the vast majority of people in the world don't think is true. I spend a tremendous amount of time and energy focusing on stuff that most people categorize in their worldview alongside Pandora's box. And Winnie the Pooh. And the ‘birds aren’t real’ guy. That's what my faith lo...

   For full message, see link at bottom The Church has always had work to do—making disciples, building stronger disciples, worshipping, teaching, learning, feeding, sheltering, adopting, and embracing and forgiving. And always the work that we do is to the glory of God. In Ephesians Chapter 2 we read, “ For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. ”  In James Chapter 1, “ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the widows and orphans in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ”  In First Peter we read, “Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us .” The way we live, the things that we do, are given to us by God as opportunities for us to join in what he is doing, his redemptive work in the world and to glorify G...

 For full message, see link at bottom We keep coming back to this passage where Isaiah the prophet is speaking to the people of Israel, who are in exile in Babylon. Their city was invaded. They were defeated by an invading army. They were taken away from Jerusalem into slavery into captivity in Babylon. They did not want to be there. They knew they were going to be there for a while. They were wanting—looking forward to going home. Isaiah 52:11-16 is a promise of hope to the captives; they're being told, “ Yes, you are going to get to go home, and it's going to be fantastic, and it's going to be wonderful. You're going to love it. It's going to happen. So just hang on, hang on, hang on. Don't give up. ” But if we flip back to Isaiah chapter one we see the foundation of how this all came to be in the first place. What was it about Israel's life, how they were living, that made it necessary for God to take them somewhere else for a while so that they could rel...

 For full message, see link at bottom Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.   Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  A nd whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:15-17, BSB)      Paul really closely connects these ideas of Jesus and thankfulness.  H e reminds us in this passage that it's important for us to look towards Jesus as our example. This is something that comes back again and again in scripture : that Jesus is our example.   Jesus said , “C arry your cross as I carried my cross. ”   He says , “L ove each other as I have loved you .”   H e says , “ Speak my words in the world , teaching everything...