Pastor Dale E. Austin Luke 3:7 – 18
Humans are masters of self-deception. We can convince ourselves of all sorts of things that aren’t really true, especially if these things are about ourselves. Continue reading
Pastor Dale E. Austin Luke 3:7 – 18
Humans are masters of self-deception. We can convince ourselves of all sorts of things that aren’t really true, especially if these things are about ourselves. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged actions, Advent, community, God's love, intentions, Jesus, Luke, neighbors
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 18:33 – 37
As we wind up each year on the church calendar – and today is the final Sunday on that particular calendar – we generally turn to a consideration of Jesus as king. To some extent, this is quite ironic, because Jesus never referred to himself as a king. Continue reading
Tagged blessings, gratitude, intentions, Jesus, John, neighbors, spirituality, welcoming place
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 10:1-10
One of the catchphrases which we hear batted around in our churches in recent years is “Servant Leadership”. Supposedly, it’s leadership based upon the model of Jesus Christ’s life and example, who by his own admission came to serve and not to be served. Unfortunately, for as much as we hear this phrase voiced over and over, I don’t see it being modeled very much among our denominational hierarchy. It reminds me of a conversation which I had with our District Superintendent not long ago, in which he was reflecting upon some of our churches where there is a lot of activity. He noted that a lot may be going on, but he couldn’t help wondering aloud, “is it being done in the name of Jesus Christ, or is it just a country club pretending to be a church?” Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, Worship
Tagged actions, Christian, church, church family, community, intentions, John, mission. witness, missions, neighbors, service
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 3:1-17
Good morning! My name is Jedediah, but most of my friends just call me Jed. That’s what I prefer. I was asked to speak to you this morning about my next-door neighbor. . . Continue reading
Tagged community, discipleship, God's love, God's plan, mission. witness, neighbors, Pharisees
Pastor Dale E. Austin Matthew 5:38-48
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world blind and toothless.”
As human beings, we are experts at rationalizing and justifying our actions, even when we know they are not really what God might want from us. Continue reading
Tagged Christian, God, God's love, God's plan, Jesus, justice, love, neighbors