Fall Creek Christian Church

"'But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.'" Mark 6:1-13 Recently, my friend's son just completed Navy SEAL training and received his Trident. As a rightfully proud papa, he was telling me about the graduation and had pictures of the events of the weekend. It was awesome. Of the many themes of the training, one that stood out as it does with all our military branches -- Do what your told. Pretty simple really. Obey the commands. In doing so, those in charge have confidence of mission success which includes everyone making it through alive.  In Mark 6, we see both Jesus and the disciples doing what they were told. Preach, heal, and cast out demons. Jesus' hometown crew was deeply offended. Who does he think he is? He was just here making stuff in the wood shop. Even relatives and members of his own family were unbelieving. The disciples were l...

  "He is a voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!'" Mark 1:1-15 "Make sure your chin strap in is on tight. You don't want your helmet spinning over your face when we hit the rapids. Keep your hand on the very end of your paddle. If you don't, a bounce will send that paddle handle right into your teeth." I appreciated those coaching tips and the others our whitewater river raft guide gave us. I kind of like seeing where I'm going, not to mention keeping my teeth! Adventure preparation at its best. John the Baptist had a big job. He was the one charged to clear off the debris of religious hypocrisy, sin accommodation and spiritual apathy. The hearts of the people simply weren't prepared for Jesus' arrival. His message was straight forward. "Turn from sin! Turn to God for forgiveness!" It was a message of truth and grace. The truth - You're a sinner and far f...

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" Matthew 25:31-46   "Okay, who started that one?", I ask. With a sly grin, one of my fellow staff members raises his hand. They're known as "rabbit trails". An erratic, off topic verbal meandering that chews up time, but doesn't accomplish anything. Secretly, I don't mind very much. We typically end up giggling like kids who are trying to be quiet in church, but they just can't. It's a sign of a healthy team revealing no one is taking themselves too seriously. However, what is relatively harmless in a meeting (rabbit trails) can be absolutely devastating in our relationship with Jesus. Here in this parable, Jesus reveals a judgement day reality. Love for others expressed in tangible service reveals a heart that has been transformed by an authentic relationship with Jesus. "Welcome home!...

"So, God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus, the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle." Exodus 13:17-22; 14 "Where in the world is this GPS taking us?", I asked myself. As directionally challenged as I am, even I could sense we were wandering far from the most direct route. We went through neighborhoods, entered and exited smaller highways just to arrive right back at the same highway we were on thirty minutes ago. However, as we went over the overpass to get back onto the highway, we could see behind us flashing lights and traffic backed up for miles.  The people of Israel 's GPS was three-fold, Moses, God's pillar of cloud/fire and his angel (Ex. 14:19). Wow! Avoiding the Philistines? Okay. However, when the Lord had them circle back and pin themselves in between the water and Pharoah's chariots, something felt more than a little off. Those who had just left Egypt "with fists raised in defia...