James tells us that, “…faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about talents given to three servants and how they used – or didn’t use, those talents. For the two servants that used their talents for work, the master responds with the words, “well done, good and faithful servant.” For the one who didn’t…

I am the good shepherd . . . My sheep hear My voice—John 10:11, 27 God has had direct, personal relationships with a lot of people . . . Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Gideon, David, Mary, Joseph, Paul, etc. What about you and me, though? Many of us might think that those people were special, different from us. And so, we might decide…

Last Wednesday night we had the pleasure of seeing the slides of two recent Mission trips: One that Naomi Soto took to South Dakota to give free dental care to the local American Indians and the other mission trip to various cities in Equador by Pastor Paul Cook, Pastor Edwin Soto and Dave Sigler. Naomi, a dental hygienist and her boss, who…

The Youth spent a wonderful weekend together reconnecting with the Lord and each other. Bible lessons, team building activities and fellowship allowed the youth to understand that the choices they make today will impact the choices they have in the future. Choices such as not overreacting and relying on the Holy Spirit for self control. Other choices such as relying on God…

Tomorrow I will fly to Ecuador with Dave and Edwin. We will be spending time in orphanages, prisons, churches, and homes. We are heading toward something good and worthy—but also into unknown obstacles, detours, deprivations, dangers—I guess this makes it an adventure. I believe the unknown is important. There is a mystery. What does God have planned and am I willing to…

I was reading this morning in John where Jesus begins a dialogue with a Samaritan woman. He surprises her by telling her some of her own life story. Then Jesus began to teach her about the true nature of worship. He then said “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit…

Paul Cook, Edwin Soto and Dave Sigler will fly to Equador on July 20th and returning on July 27th. While there, our team will visit various prisons, orphanages and nursing homes. Paul and Edwin will be preaching at churches in local cities and the 3 men will also probably help earthquake victims on their visit. Let’s keep the men in our prayers…

I’ve attended many revivals in my lifetime. Some made a lasting impression on me, and unfortunately, most did not. Is that the fault of the one leading the revival or me? I’d say some of both although looking back, I have to say that more of the blame could be laid at my feet. You might ask me why I would say…

We just finished our four-week study on the book of Jonah. A simple breakdown is 1-Flee; 2-Fish; 3-Preach; 4-Pout. Is there a week that had a bigger impact on you? How has God been challenging you through the study of Jonah? I would love to hear about it. This week we looked at Chapter Four. Jonah was angry that God forgave the…

In continuing our study of the book of Jonah, we see that in Chapter Three Jonah does what God sent him to do. When God gave Jonah this second chance (shenit), He told Jonah to go immediately (quwm, yalak) and speak to the Ninevites, letting them know that they would be destroyed or changed in forty days (hapak). The Ninevites were people…