Live Strong “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? This question is one that lands with a punch. It’s a hard-hitting question that leaves an impact. Jesus is implying here that people knew him, who he was, but did not reflect him in their actions—acknowledging him as Lord was not sufficient. This was a question for those who claimed to follow Christ, yet their actions showed differently. In short, Jesus is saying, “believe in me and do what I tell you too.” Today, I want to talk about the notion that belief without commitment and hard-work renders our faith powerless, vulnerable, and dissatisfied. Calling on Jesus without following through with what he … Read More
Relaunch into the Future
Relaunch into the Future Last week, I talked about a reset for our lives as the ability to embrace and move into the new things that God has for us by not allowing the hurts of the past to hold us back. We can’t change the facts of the past, but we can change how we feel about them and how we allow them to affect us today. It’s possible to reframe our past experiences into a story of redemption by looking at them and talking about them through the lens of Jesus’ love and grace. The outcome is that, as we experience redemption, we are able to move into the new life God has for us; we stop keeping our … Read More
Addressing Capitol Hill Unrest
Dear New World Church family, I write to you considering the tragic events and assault that unfolded on Capitol Hill this week. We have seen another example of political violence and civil unrest again. Over the last few years, such behavior has become frighteningly commonplace. We are living in unprecedented times, and we face many challenges ahead. But we have the strength to overcome and make things better for all people. As your pastor, I won’t ever push any particular ideology or political agenda on you. New World is for all people, whether they lean left or right or anything in between. However, I will challenge you with the tenets of the teaching of Jesus so you may make choices … Read More
Reset
Reset What do you do when a phone freezes, stops working, or gets unresponsive? You toss it to the ground, step on it hard, and make sure it is completely crashed. Right? Well, probably not. What you do most likely is what most of us have done: we reset our phones to reactivate their functions; we don’t discard them. Depending on how bad it is, we may remove the battery, or do a hard reset that restores the factory functions deleting everything in the hard drive. Not a good situation, but you get your phone back and start all over again. Have you thought about your life along those lines? That sometimes we need some a reset too? When life … Read More
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve, 2020 Luke 2:10-14, But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors! This is a part of the story of Christmas. It is the moment when the angels appeared to the shepherds on the hillside … Read More
