Fall Creek Christian Church

“A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. 'If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,' he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be healed!' Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed."  Mark 1:40-42 I have very few vivid memories from preschool age to early grade school. I do, however, have one very strong memory while on a field trip as a kindergartner. The road the bus traveled was hilly and curvy. My motion sickness began to kick in big time. I felt awful and all I wanted was my mom. One of the teachers could see I wasn't doing well at all. She joined me on my seat, pulled me close and kept me company while the other kids poured out of the bus. I felt safe, cared for, and loved. The leper who came to Jesus believed he could heal him. The only question was, "Would he be willing to do it?" It's at this moment where an internal ...

" Then Jesus said to the crowds and to the disciples, 'The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. Everything they do is for show..."  Matthew 23:1-5a    It's been my observation of late that people have grown weary of the fake. My personal level of cynicism is at an all time high. Substance has been replaced by appearance. Character by expediency. Reality by perception.  It leaves one pondering the question, "Is there anything real and genuine?" This question is not exclusive to our experience. Jesus dealt with it too ... head on. He confronted the religious leaders of his day for their "do as I say, not as I do" lifestyles. These guys were real showmen. They had the rou...

"Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 'Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.  Nothing outside a person can make them unclean by going into them.  Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes them unclean."  Mark 7:14 - 16 While attending a martial arts class many years ago, we had some random man show up in a full ninja outfit, complete with mask and sword.  The instructor had seen him before so he wasn't too concerned.  At some point, he came back and took the instructor up on an offer to work out with him.  It turns out the man had absolutely no clue about martial arts.  He looked the part on the outside, but inside ... nothing. Jesus had a challenging time, as this passage in Mark reveals, convincing people that outward appearances of righteousness did not make a person right with God.  He continually drove people to evaluate the internal.  What's in the heart?  Is there a genuine love for God and others or ...

"Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.  And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.  He felt great compassion for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help.  They were like sheep without a shepherd."      Matthew 9:35-38 As a kid, it somehow makes sense to get into a rock throwing fight with other kids.  The story of Goliath should have alerted me to the potentially harmful outcomes of such an endeavor.  Yet, the rock battle was engaged.  It lasted until I, like the unusually large aforementioned Bible character, caught one of those stones with my forehead.  This predictable outcome was followed by a steady stream of blood and terrified panic.  Fortunately, there was a sweet lady who lived near the war zone who opened her door to me and ten...