Fall Creek Christian Church

"Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of your sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you." Romans 8:10-11 I was very careful to let the landscaper know that my wife and I are not good with plants, bushes, trees ... basically anything green. Watering, weeding and feeding plants are simply not our strong suit. We needed something planted that was foolproof. He did a fantastic job finding those tough, hard to kill plants. I might trim them up every once in awhile, but basically they are on their own to fend for themselves. There are times, however, when rain is sparse that I will pause to check in on them. I look for any signs of life -- a green leaf, a flower, a bud, basically anything that says, "I'm still kickin'

"But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done." Romans 3:21-22 "What do I need to do to make this right?" I cannot begin to tell you how many times that I've wished for a customer service representative to ask me this question. Accounting errors, incorrect fees, unannounced pricing changes, wrong orders and the like have resulted in much frustration over the years. How refreshing it would be in those moments to work with someone who wanted me to feel like the wrong was addressed in a satisfactory way. An equally frustrating experience occurs when I am in the wrong and am unable for whatever reason to make things right with someone. Regardless of what side of the coin we may be on, in

"The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and receives favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22 Like many young boys growing up, I absolutely loved collecting sports cards. Baseball, football, basketball, it didn't matter. I would spend hours sorting them, counting them, and looking up their values in the sports card value books. I remember very vividly the anticipation of opening up the packs, hoping to get that big name player or the special limited edition cards. I put my favorites in plastic pages or cases in order to protect them and to show the other kids. My friends and I would negotiate trades that at times would take days to complete. I still have some of my cardboard treasures in a box in a closet. I don't think about them very often these days, much less get them out and sort through them. I might get around to re-engaging with my collection someday, but for now, it simply collects dust. In our verse for the day, the author directs our attention t

Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God." II Kings 19:19 What is it about those "World's Strongest Man" competitions that cause even the most determined channel surfer to pause and watch? These men are able to perform feats of strength that are normally reserved for comic books. So, we watch. There is something magnetic about strength. We marvel at it. We wish we had more of it and truth be told, we are vulnerable to the temptation to believe that strength lies within us. For the most part, we realize that Superman is only a comic strip character. Yet, at times and places, there are some, including us, who have come to see themselves as a pretty big deal. It's usually about that time in my life where I experience one of my epic fails. What about you? In our story today, we see a contrast of two kings. They are on polar opposites in their understanding of where strength an