December 21, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Fourth Sunday of Advent: Jesus, the Suffering Servant | Hebrews 12:1-4

How often do we interpret the life of Jesus from the vantage point of how we perceive our own life? Jesus was a man like us. He “endured such opposition from sinful men” (Heb. 12:3). We know from the Scriptures that He “suffered when He was tempted” (Heb. 2:18) and that “...we have One Who was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We can identify in a very worldly way with our Savior. However, though Jesus shared the humanity that we understand, it is wrong to believe that He experienced it as we do. Jesus’ visitation in the flesh was not at all common or even similar to us. Basically, He was like us in the flesh, but we are not like Him.

December 7, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Second Sunday Of Advent: What A Great Grace Is Mine! | Ephesians 2:1-10

The sentiment has been expressed throughout the ages that if we do not first understand how miserable our condition was and how far we actually were from God, we will not fully appreciate how great the benefits to us are of the cross. As has been the case throughout all of history, our present culture wants to think about the goodness of man, the greatness of man, the kindness of man. In fact it is believed by most that if treated well, fed well, and given equal freedom and comforts, mankind would never turn to evil naturally.

November 30, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | First Sunday of Advent: If Only There Were Someone! | Job 9:25-35

Often we minimize the importance of beginnings. All of us are affected by persons and events in our lives which shaped the pathway from where we came, who we are, what we believe, who we associate with, where we live, and what we do for work. As a human race we have a beginning which has deeply affected every person born since the creation of the earth.

November 23, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: Mansions and Missions | John 14:1-14

November 16, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: Betrayed and Denied | John 13:18-38

November 9, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: The Servanthood of Love | John 13:1-17

November 2, 2014 | Gary Johnson | Pastor Appreciation

October 26, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching To The Cross: Looking Again At The Son | John 12:44-50

October 19, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | Marching to the Cross: Overcoming the Great Blindness | John 12:34-43

Jonathan Edwards, the greatest American theologian of the eighteenth century, once said that there are truths in the scriptures that are sweet as honey. These truth are easy to embrace because they conform to our understanding of life. On the other hand he also stated that there are truths that are like vinegar. These ideas are fully as true, but hard to grasp and even harder to accept as divine. These truth run in opposition to our worldview and our nature.

October 5, 2014 | Pastor John Bayles | The Spirit-filled Life: Being Filled with Honor | Ephesians 5:21

Though this is a very familiar passage, we must see it as a part of Paul’s subject which he began in verse 15 and centers in the statement in v.18: “be filled with the Spirit.” He has instructed us to Be Filled with Wisdom (v.15-18) and to Be Filled with Thanks (v.18-20). He now turns to his third imperative: Be Filled with Honor, which begins in v.21 and continues all the way through chapter 6:9. This section is the longest and includes a listing of Christian relationship all centered in the key of Honoring One Another or submitting to one another as he has stated in v.21.