Fall Creek Christian Church

  "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the scriptures said."  I Corinthians 15:3-4 I've had the privilege of angling Canadian waters many times. The mesmerizing pristine beauty is interrupted regularly by the pole bending, determined pike. This year's trip is quickly approaching with the critical tour of the fishing tackle supplier already in the books. Ever since I was a kid, my dad has reminded me of fishing's most important axiom, "Son, you can't catch a fish if your line isn't in the water."   Paul had a tough job. He was writing a church that was being tossed around by false messaging. They were told that nobody raises from the dead - "Can't happen, no way!" Much to his chagrin, he had to go back to the very beginning, to the most i

"But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." I Corinthians 10:13 For a person with claustrophobia, I've spent way too much time crawling around in caves. Each time I've done it, I've come face to face with pure panic. One of the worst experiences was when we were lost for over an hour, hitting dead end after dead end. There are no words to describe my emotions when we finally saw the white "O" (for out) with an arrow painted on the cave ceiling.    A way out has been a big deal for a long time as Paul's words indicate here. The context is a cave of sorts - sin is its name. Dark? Very. Dangerous? Extremely. He was explaining to his readers that Jesus is ever present to illuminate an esca

"Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem! And praise him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the Lord my God was upon me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem."  Ezra 7:27-30 It shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it still stirs my soul every time it happens. On occasion, I pray for something so specific to a moment in time, to a person, to a unique situation and then God, in ways only he can, makes it happen. I've learned that both the nudge to pray for that very particular request is coming from him and so is the answer. Amazing! The goal, I believe, is to encourage my faith. Ezra found himself in one of those head-scratching jumping for joy moments. Here he was a subject to a pagan king, who could command his execution

"'My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.' Then these men got right to work: ..." II Chronicles 29:11-12a The boss of our asphalt crew knew what we could do. He'd leave the site to go make a plan for the next job knowing full well everything would get done right. We shoveled. We swept. We raked. We rolled. We tamped. We cleaned. Truthfully, we made him look good. To be fair, it took two years of coaching and yelling for us to fully get our duties squared away, but when we did, it was fun to see in action. King Hezekiah was a good king. He loved God. He knew that those responsible to lead the nation in worship had been delinquent in their responsibilities. It was time for that to come to an end. He called them out. He reminded them of their great role in the community of Israel. Stand. Minister. Lead. Present. They r