Posts with the category “matt-s-blogs”

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? - 1 Peter 3:13The way this is written, I would have guessed Yoda had a hand in the sentence structure. When you dissect the sentence a...  Read More

To conclude: you must all have the same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble with one another. Do not pay back evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay ...  Read More

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this...  Read More

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. On...  Read More

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to o...  Read More

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now...  Read More

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 1:21 NIVBelief is a powerful thing. God raised Jesus from the dead. He ...  Read More

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. - 1 Peter 1:20If that doesn’t stop you dead in your tracks, I’m not sure we are reading the same ver...  Read More

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Chri...  Read More

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obed...  Read More

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, - 1 Peter 1:8 NIVTake a minute and read th...  Read More

1 Peter 1:4 ESV - to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,Imperishable, undefiled, and unfading are such powerful descriptive words. Imperishable meanin...  Read More

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, - 1 Pet...  Read More

Our boxer, Gumbo, cracks me up. What he wants more than anything in the world is companionship. He is the only dog I have ever had that makes each family member feel like they are his favorite person....  Read More

As a kid I can remember anxiously awaiting Christmas. In the mail each year, we'd receive the Sears Wish Book. For hour upon hour, I'd flip the pages of the catalog dreaming of the presents Santa woul...  Read More

Lately, I have been drawn to the value of simplicity. Oftentimes I complicate things when a simple approach could accomplish the same thing. Some call it overthinking. I, also think there is a beauty ...  Read More

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.John 1:3 NIVNothing… Pronoun- not a single thing, not anythingAdjective - having no prospect of progressAdverb - not a...  Read More

One of the reasons my family and I were attracted to Westside was the fact that it is an elder led church. Many churches are pastor led and directed by the vision of just one person’s understanding of...  Read More

This weekend my niece is getting married. We will be with her and her fiance as they publicly declare their union. We'll miss you all but are excited and grateful to be a part of their important day. ...  Read More

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. - Colossians 3:16...  Read More

God uses many different people to do His work. It is amazing the men he called to be His closest followers. He called fishermen, tax collectors, a political activist, and a thief. Jesus never let thei...  Read More

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1We use the word “faith” quite often in the church community. I’m not sure we always have a well rounded...  Read More

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1This past week in our Wednesday night Adult class we discussed the creation story of Genesis 1. It didn’t take...  Read More

Years ago, I started writing. It started as a way for me to engage with God’s word. Each day I would read the Bible app verse of the day and spend time journaling on that verse. Anything that came to ...  Read More

Oh the sweet sounds of chainsaws. One of the sounds that tells us the storm has passed and clean up has started. I was sharing a cup of coffee with a friend this past Tuesday morning, when I heard my ...  Read More

This past week we were blessed to serve alongside a diverse group of people during Mission Hometown. My favorite, by far, were the students and kids. When the adults were tired and ready to pack it in...  Read More

'I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ' - Ephesians 3:7Our Tuesday Brown Bag Bible Study is journeying through the book of Ephesians....  Read More

Some days are harder than others. Some days everything goes to plan. Some days there may as well have not been a plan. It can be difficult to live in our world, let alone to love in our world. I don’t...  Read More

[6] So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, [7] rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfuln...  Read More

I can remember a time when I would get frustrated with VBS Sunday. I came to church to worship and instead was met with a bunch of kids. I was there to sing songs to God and hear a message to refill m...  Read More

Let's face it, life can be hard. Troubles come and troubles go. Sometimes it feels like nothing but trouble and distress come our way. It feels like we can't get our footing under us. Have you ever tr...  Read More

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. - ‭Titus 2:11 NIV‬If you never do anything wrong, one could think you never have a need for grace. That seems to make sense. That...  Read More

Recently, I was searching for songs to add to my playlist. There is one we sing in both the first and second service.  The song is a version of a hymn from the 1800's titled "Jesus Paid it All."  The ...  Read More

This past Tuesday was a long day. I was tired. At 7:30 pm, I was finally getting a chance to eat my lunch. Yep, you read that correctly, LUNCH. I was done for the day and worship practice was about to...  Read More

I don’t think I've ever met a person who doesn’t want peace. I think most, if not all of us, dream of a world with no violence or wars. We all want world peace. I think we all want internal peace too....  Read More

One of the lessons of the cross that I think is often overlooked is restraint. What I mean by restraint is the ability to control your actions. Often I think of restraint when it comes to speaking. Th...  Read More

Last Sunday, Pastor Cameron preached an outstanding message about Barabbas and Jesus. I loved how he shared the meaning of Barabbas’ name and the fact that both Barabbas and Jesus were “sons of the fa...  Read More