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whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoeverwants to be first must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be servedbut to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:44-45). Happy Monday and Chatham Serves Sunday (CSS) is just six days away! Please check out the many opportunities to serve and sign up for one: www.cha...
Keep ReadingIn his defense Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." (John 5:17) Twister has always been a favorite movie of mine, and I recently watched the more recent iteration that followed, Twisters. It did not disappoint! The plot for both are the same: rag tag group of storm chasersyou guessed it!--chase storms to gather data...
Keep ReadingSo, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders beganto persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, "My father is always at his workto this very day, and I too am working" (John 5:16-17). As summer came to a close, we kicked off the fall with our Ignite series. Now in the final week, let's check in. Has there been a place in your life tha...
Keep ReadingSo, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God....
Keep ReadingJesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does (John 5:19) When you're faced with a tough decision, what guides you? Is it what society says, what your church teaches, your own gut feelings, or other people's opinions? Jesus always looke...
Keep ReadingJohn 5:16-21 This week marks the finale of our Ignite series. Hope all kinds of good things are "sparking" in your lives! Are you one of those people who hates surprises or loves them? "Prepare to be surprised!" should be printed at the start of the New Testament, just before we read Matthew 1:1. In fact, it should be printed, not only at the start of Matthew, but also a...
Keep ReadingWith great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrectionof the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them allthat there were no needy persons among them (Acts 4:33-34). This world can be a challenging place. And often, even when we look towards the Bible for guidance, trying to find the answer we want for a very "right now" conundrum can b...
Keep ReadingAll the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any oftheir possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). I've been a part of ten church communities over the course of my life. They're spread across the countryeast coast, west coast, upper and lower parts of the Midwest. So *fairly* representative, I'd say. An interesting t...
Keep ReadingAll the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). When I was younger, my brothers and I each had a glass jar with our name on it sitting on the counter. The jars had lines on them, each line labeled something like "get ice cream," "see a movie," or "go to McDonald's." ...
Keep ReadingAll the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land...
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