What does the call to serve look like for a Christian church today? First, it is critical to note that the serving community is not an end in itself. An inward-looking community (self-serving) will eventually implode. Christ gathered his disciples together to serve a purpose larger than themselves, to pioneer God’s coming reign in which all things will be reconciled.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Reunion Biblical Giving
God is at workin and through us. Biblical giving – I don’t talk a lot about it, but I am going to today. As I sought the Lord for His direction in 2024, He graciously gave me vision and instructions for the Reunion Church. I shared it with our elders and received confirmation that weContinue reading “Reunion Biblical Giving”
Monday of Holy Week
Jesus hungered, but He fed thousands; indeed, He is the bread of heaven that gives life to all mankind. He was thirsty—but He cried, “If any man thirsts let him come to Me and drink.” He promises that fountains will flow from all those who believe.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday at the Reunion Church in Peoria AZ provides the opportunity to look closely at the message of Jesus as He enters Jerusalem. “Die to live. Follow to lead. Serve to rule. Be last to be first. Get to give. Sacrifice to receive. Be silent to be heard. Be the least to be the most. Humble yourself to lift yourself. Surrender all to be free of all. Lose yourself to save yourself. End the old to begin the new. Love openly, forgive quickly, give freely, pray faithfully, and speak truthfully.”
Faith – 4th Sunday of Advent
“As human beings, we discover that love can come to us in many ways, but the greatest love – God’s love, comes to us only in Christ. Using His example in response to the suffering and afflicted, there is no exploitation of hurting souls. In Christ, we do not dehumanize people regardless of their circumstances. We see no one person or persons as pitiful or victims, but as someone to love at the very moment of attention. There are many gifts that Christ came to earth to give to us – but this is the one gift that He asks us to give to one another. When we learn to love this way, we learn to see one another differently. How we perceive and view one another is critical to understanding the love that Christ came to give us.”
Peace – 3rd Sunday of Advent
“As human beings, we discover that love can come to us in many ways, but the greatest love – God’s love, comes to us only in Christ. Using His example in response to the suffering and afflicted, there is no exploitation of hurting souls. In Christ, we do not dehumanize people regardless of their circumstances. We see no one person or persons as pitiful or victims, but as someone to love at the very moment of attention. There are many gifts that Christ came to earth to give to us – but this is the one gift that He asks us to give to one another. When we learn to love this way, we learn to see one another differently. How we perceive and view one another is critical to understanding the love that Christ came to give us.”
Love – 2nd Sunday of Advent
“As human beings, we discover that love can come to us in many ways, but the greatest love – God’s love, comes to us only in Christ. Using His example in response to the suffering and afflicted, there is no exploitation of hurting souls. In Christ, we do not dehumanize people regardless of their circumstances. We see no one person or persons as pitiful or victims, but as someone to love at the very moment of attention. There are many gifts that Christ came to earth to give to us – but this is the one gift that He asks us to give to one another. When we learn to love this way, we learn to see one another differently. How we perceive and view one another is critical to understanding the love that Christ came to give us.”
Hope – 1st Sunday of Advent
“Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: this is our great hope, God will come.”
…Dietrich Bonhoeffer
How Far Would You Travel?
Historical facts around the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, include Matthew’s recounting of the wise men from the East who followed the Star of Bethlehem to worship the new King of the Jews. Would you travel almost 1,000 miles on a camel with no other directions? How far would you go to find the Messiah?
Biblical Facts of the Aqedah – The Binding of Isaac
The final test of Abraham’s faith was unimaginably difficult for a father who dearly loved his long-awaited son of promise. Although impossible to understand why God would command him to sacrifice the son of promise, Abraham did not hesitate – he had learned to fear and trust God more than he trusted himself and his own reasoning.