Sermon Series (Page 3)

I am likely much like many of you in that I enjoy a few of the traditional American Christmas movies. I am NOT a Hallmark Christmas movie fan (they are all the same to me) but I love some of the comedy that comes with a few of the movies. Most of them end up with something about Christmas cheer – good tidings – positive thinking – and making good family memories. There is nothing wrong per se with any…

Behold the Lamb of God! For 20 years our church presented the outdoor walk through event called “The Living Nativity Tour.” It was a reenactment of the birth of Jesus story complete with angels, wise men, shepherds, sheep, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. We saw thousands of people come through those tours over those years (20 years of doing it, and about 450 performances! That’s lots of walk around our property in the cold of December!). At the end…

We’re throwing a party for our neighborhood!This coming Sunday afternoon we are hosting our Christmas Fest party that is geared heavily to children and their families. Let me make sure that we all understand why this event is so important to us. For many of us if you don’t have kids you may think that this is not for you. This is far from the truth.As we have discovered in recent years it is more and more difficult to open…

Recently I got into a conversation with a teenage relative of mine about their name. We all call him Jack – and that’s the name he goes by – but his first name is really John. That led to a discussion about how that at his birth his parents named him John, but immediately they began to call him Jack. Why? That led to a little historical review and another famous person in history, President John F. Kenedy, wasactually called…

Peace with God As I write this article to you I am sitting on the deck of a very peaceful place… floating along the Mississippi River in one of those river cruise boats. Why am I here?  I didn’t come here in order to write this article. Quite sometime ago my mother-in-law wanted to go on a trip with her children and their spouses, of which I am one of those who got to be included! So we are enjoying…

A Worship Service of Giving Thanks!  This coming Sunday morning, November 19, we are dedicating our worship service to celebrate Thanksgiving. We will NOT have Turkey and dressing (you can do that this week with your family and friends) but we will take the time to learn what it means to when the Bible says… “Give Thanks…” and then we will practice it. So here is your assignment as you prepare for worship this Sunday morning… Before you come Sunday…

There may not be a more significant word other than the word, “Faith” in Christianity. Our parents taught us about faith in our homes. We heard the children’s Sunday school teacher repeat it Sunday after Sunday. Then, as adults, we heard even more about God’s righteousness that comes through faith. It is not our works that brings righteousness. It is our faith. And this is why it is surprising to me what happened to the Jewish Christians in the days…

Most of us when we hear this question immediately identify the commercial on TV, the main actor who is featured, and the product being pitched. Being able to identify the product being advertised makes a really quality commercial. The actor: Samuel L Jackson. The product: Capital One credit! See… they are even getting some free air time from us in this newsletter! But let’s think about that phrase… “what’s in your wallet?”  It implies so many things that tug at…

Crossing the Continental Divide In North and South America our combined continents are divided east and west — and this line is of greater significance than any divide that might show us north and south. All water that east of the continental divide flows essentially into the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico and its direct connection to the Atlantic). All water that hits west of this divide flows into the Pacific Ocean. When I was a kid our grandparents took…

Seems like a regularly get either an email or a brochure in the mail about a cruise to some wonderful destination. Many of you have been on cruises before – but oddly, with all my travels, I never have been at least to this point in my life. But either way, I enjoy looking and dreaming when looking through those brochures. There are a couple of cruises that especially intrigue me. One of them is one that leaves western Europe…

I do enjoy a good movie, and one came out in 2020 staring Tom Hanks (a great actor) that was called “News of the World.” Set in that late 1800’s post Civil War Texas, the main character would travel around to small villages in the frontier of Texas and read newspapers to people. Even though these farmers and ranchers in the tough frontier land of Texas were not able to go anywhere outside their own county, they could feel attached…

In and around the years 2008 to 2010 here at LifeWay Church, they were tough years here, and we began wrestling with how to follow God’s lead to make a difference in the world. The leadership of this congregation were deeply moved and began to take distinctive steps to leading our church in very specific ways into how to take on the responsibility of making footprints for the gospel in specific places in the world that He has guided us…

Welcome to GIC season! LifeWay’s annual Global Impact Celebration will take place Wednesday, October 18- Sunday, October 22. We hope that you will prepare your calendar (ie, clear it!!) so that you can get the most out of this awesome time. But we also want you to prepare your heart and mind so that God can speak to you during that time. On Sunday, you will receive booklets with lots of information about the GIC, but also information about how…

Have you ever had an autopsy performed on yourself? Silly question… of course not! If  you are reading this article then you are still around, still alive, and haven’t needed an autopsy.  We have to first die before an autopsy, right? An autopsy is something we perform on the dead to try to figure out what happened to them. Why did they die? We often learn from autopsy’s how to help others who suffer from the same disease. This is…

We all have a mirror but we may not all have a telescope. But we certainly know the difference between them. We use a mirror when we want to get dressed and make sure that everything is in its proper place. We use a mirror when we really want to take a closer look at ourselves – our face, our hair, or any blemishes we might want to find on ourselves. A telescope of course is useless to us if…

It’s the Gospel Truth!! This might be an expression that you are familiar with. Have you ever heard it used? Have you ever used it yourself? If we follow its original intent, it implies that I am telling you something that is so true and so correct, that it is backed up by the absolute truthfulness of the gospel itself. It implies that the gospel is absolutely true, so now my story is just as true as the gospel. There…

What Bible verses can you recite from memory? Most Christians can usually recite a few verses from the Bible. The reason why they can remember a certain Bible verse varies from individual to individual. Maybe it was the first Bible verse they ever remembered from Sunday school. Maybe they bought a coffee mug or throw pillow, with the verse printed on it. Maybe the Bible verse become a favorite because it encouraged and inspired them during a difficult time in…

This past Tuesday our staff office team had a review and evaluation time of the summer events, programs, teaching, and ministries we had as part of the life and LifeWay for the summer of 2023. It was productive for review, but far more importantly we had to ask ourselves ‘was it productive when we measure our goals. So… what was our goal? The goal was our theme for all things post Easter (May – August). The theme was Engage! Engage…

Over the whole summer, beginning in June, we have spent time with 6 Spiritual Habits for a growing and thriving Disciple of Jesus… This Sunday August 27 we will look at the 7th on our list… When you use and hear the word “Worship,” most of us think of music, singing, or even we might call it “going to church.” But it is far beyond this.  As you come this Sunday morning, spend some time looking over and contemplating Romans…

You should know by now that we will once again (2nd weekend in a row) NOT be worshipping in our building, but instead this week we will be at the sports field at Saghalie Middle School Federal Way (close to Fred Meyer) for an outdoor service joining with a few other churches. We did this last year, and it was wonderful, so we are doing it again.  But what is “Desna Cup?” Why is it called that? What is the…

How often do you think about fear? Maybe when you talk with young children about a bad dream that they had. Or maybe when you talk with a parent of a teen that’s about to move to a new city and start college. Or maybe when you talk with someone who is in an unstable work environment and their future seems unsure. In all those cases, the root idea of fear is that something, whether known or unknown, is coming…

We have identified 7 Spiritual Habits for a Christian that we are teaching all summer long. Most of us would all agree pretty easily that (1) Prayer and (2) Reading the Bible are an easy fit. We may or may not actually do it regularly, but it is easy to agree that we should and would like to learn to do it better. We would even easily agree that “Gathering” (or simply put — be at church gatherings regularly) fit…

A couple decades ago, Matt and I were living in Dallas while I was in seminary. As a part of my evangelism class, he had agreed to come with me to the State Fair of Texas to work at a booth where people could ask questions about faith or have someone pray with them. It seemed non-intrusive enough—until one of our friends (a guy with a huge heart and a clear gift for evangelism) said, “Hey Matt, let’s go chat…

Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4 with the last few verses from each of these has always been a picture of what a church gathering should look like. I have heard teaching lessons all my life from these sections. I have also taught these passages many times dating all the way back to my high school days. Whenever church members have needed a good example of what a church gathering is to look like, this is where we most…

Did you know that there is a spiritual habit of “Gathering?”  This is the label that we give it in our church when we include it on the spiritual habits list.  Some might use the term “meeting” or “assembling” or “get-together,” or even “fellowship.” But I would use the basis for this spiritual habit from two major Scripture passages in the Bible… Look these passages up before you come to service this Sunday and use the filter of the importance…