message series: Present & past

 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

Study on 1 John 3:1-10

 April 18, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant 

Though Easter is a season and not merely a Sunday, it can be hard to sustain the enthusiasm when attendance drops on “low Sunday.” That said, the source of our joy is not in the size of the crowd but the greatness of the gift that Christ has given us. We have the forgiveness of sins, and where there is forgiveness for our sins, there is also life and salvation. We are held captive to fear, to the guilt of our sin, and to the power of death until Christ enters our locked rooms, shows Himself to us, and we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, rejoice in our Lord and God.

April 11, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant  

  Though Christmas may be our favorite, Paul reminds us that Easter is of “first importance.” If Christ had not arisen, our hope would be still locked in the tomb. Because He is risen, just as He said, we have hope of our own resurrection from the dead and look forward to the life everlasting, which death cannot touch. We come here today not simply to remember an event but to rejoice in the future made possible for us because of what happened. Before the world we confess that Jesus’ resurrection is not a hope but a fact witnessed by more than five hundred and on that fact God has built a future for us—one we anticipate now even as we wait to see it fulfilled.

 April 4, 2021 - Easter Sunday

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant  

Sunday, “the eighth day of the week,” is celebrated by Christians as the first day of the eternal life into which they were baptized. Today, the beginning of the great and Holy Week of Lent, we begin with the note of great joy as the crowds receive Jesus entering Jerusalem. This will be the last time He comes to the holy city. For we then follow Him to the judgment hall, the cross of suffering, and the fearful tomb of death. The penitential season of Lent concludes with the three holy days, the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Let us follow our Lord and allow Him to take our sins upon Himself that we may receive His new life in the forgiveness of our sins and the joy of the resurrection.

March 28, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

The Israelites repeatedly had broken the covenants God made with them, and yet in today’s Old Testament Reading He promises a new covenant. This one, however, will not be based on the external Law of God; by pure grace, it will be written on the hearts of God’s people. To do that, God sent His Son, who paid for all sin by offering Himself as both priest and sacrifice. Although we are all imperfect, knowing that we have been forgiven only by the grace of God, we have the desire to love one another. As we recall our Lord’s Passion in the coming weeks, we will recognize that love means forgiving, giving oneself for others. Jesus puts it bluntly in the Gospel: The greatest in the kingdom of God is the one who serves all the others. And, of course, the greatest is our Lord Jesus, who loves us to death.

March 21, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

Look out! There were snakes biting the Israelites, sent by God as punishment for complaining about the manna, that miraculous food He gave on the way to the Promised Land. But look up! See the bronze serpent Moses put on a pole. Everyone who looked up at the serpent will live. The serpent was a type of Christ, a parallel symbol in the Bible. We, too, have snakes—our discontent with God’s daily blessings and lack of faith in His promises. But as we look up in faith to Jesus, the Christ on the cross, we shall be saved. That faith is a gift of God in His grace. Jesus is the center of the gracious Good News. We are God’s workmanship, and now He holds the door open as we walk through, looking up to Jesus. 

March 14, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

When the Israelites were encamped by Mount Sinai, just out of slavery in Egypt and far from the Promised Land, God wisely gave them the Ten Commandments. They are engraved in our historic churches and capitol buildings. Their perfect demands require a Savior for us. Jesus was so jealous for God’s Law that He cleansed the temple before cleansing us of our sin by giving the temple of His body. In His wisdom, God did what we could not: He kept His own Law for us and then chose us to be the Body of Christ today. None of us has kept the commandments; we and our spiritual ancestors reflect our weaknesses in faith and action. But in the process, God’s wisdom shows forth: When we are weak, He is strong. Today is a day to boast about God’s grace and His Son, Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God. 

March 7, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

The old Latin name for this, the Second Sunday in Lent, is Reminiscere, because the Introit pleads, “Remember Your mercy, O Lord.” Confidently, it continues by encouraging us to trust Him because “He has remembered us; He will bless us.” Indeed, God’s promises to Abram in today’s Old Testament Reading were kept as Jesus moved unswervingly toward the cross, as He does in today’s Gospel. As a result, we can be sure, Paul reminds us in the Epistle, that we have peace with God. Even in suffering, we know that hope will not disappoint us, for we remember that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

February 28, 2021

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:17–19). The writer to the Hebrews makes such a beautiful statement about something that must have been literally gut-wrenching for Abraham. Losing a loved one is hard. Losing a child is incredibly hard. But being asked to sacrifice your one and only son? It seems unfathomable. Yet, this presents a poignant truth for us—when everything looks so wrong, God provides by keeping His promises for us and by being with us.

February 21

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant

There is nothing quite like being an eyewitness, giving a special perspective to share on the event. Peter writes about being on the Mount of Transfiguration as he, James, and John were privileged to have a special vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. He states: “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16b–18). Today, through the words of Scripture, we, too, become eyewitnesses and are given a glimpse of glory in the vision of our transfigured Lord!

February 14

 Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant 

 To Whom Does Your Body Belong? 

 Today we are called to remember that our bodies are not our own. Paul reminds us in the Epistle that we were bought with a price: the blood of Christ. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies, even our whole lives, belong to the Lord, and we are called to consider how we are to best steward the bodies God has given us for the sake of His kingdom.  

 January 17

"Strange Body: Intimacy" 

(1 Cor. 6)

January 24

"Strange Body: Relationships"

 (1 Cor. 7)

January 31

"Strange Body: Food"

 (1 Cor. 8)

February 7

"Strange Body: Exercise"

(1 Cor. 9)

Vacancy Pastor Corey Grant