Hosanna

by Pastor James Bell
Jesus heard the laughter, even the punch line of the joke the greeter was telling some other folks. And it was a funny story, but Jesus had heard it many times before, usually in churches. No one took much notice as he quietly slipped through the door and across the foyer. You [...]

by Pastor James Bell

A choice to do nothing is still a choice….and it will have consequences.
Everything comes to him who waits. Sometimes that includes things you didn’t really want to come, and often the timing is way bad.
The second hardest thing about any project is the planning (the hardest thing is the disaster that occurs [...]

by Pastor James Bell
I was the kid who was bored in Sunday School and fantasized about playing baseball as the pastor droned on in his weekly sermon. How did I get to be so religious?
I can’t blame it on my middle-class, church-going, upbringing. Mother and Dad were faithful to the church, but more generous than [...]

by Pastor Kenny Innes
We know that God is gracious, loving and merciful. We know that God forgives sin. Does that mean that God doesn’t care about our sin, and therefore, neither should we?
There is a false grace movement on the fringes of our faith which says that we can sin all we like because God [...]

by Pastor James Bell

The first church Suzanne and I pastored was about fifty people meeting in a strip center. They were nice people and they were appreciative of our ministry to them, but there was a problem. They didn’t want to grow. “If we wanted to be in a large church, we would join [...]

by Pastor James Bell

Bob Hamp, one of the ministers at Gateway Church, recounts a story about the time he was a parole officer in a small West Texas town. In his book, Think Differently – Live Differently, Bob tells of a distraught mom as she was nervously asking about the restrictions to be placed on [...]

by Pastor James Bell

A few days ago I read an article where Christian leaders were predicting the direction of the church during the next decade. There seemed to be a consensus that some radical shifts are beginning to happen and will continue.
For example, Larry Stockstill believes that “results will no longer substitute for character, and [...]

by Pastor James Bell

Matthew, Mark and Luke all shared the phenomenal story of a demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs near the city of Gadara. No one could control this man. That is, until Jesus arrived on the scene. The spirits within the man cringed at the sight of Jesus and at his command [...]

by Pastor James Bell

It’s that time of year when everything is changing. New life is springing up everywhere! How about you? Can you spare some change?
“Moses, you have had an exciting life. Hidden as an infant, raised by the Pharaoh, exiled to another country, and now raising sheep. Ever think of writing a book?”
“Hey, [...]

by Pastor James Bell
Authentic Christianity is, more than anything else, a reflection of Jesus. This Easter we we were caught up in joyful, exuberant worship. The welcoming of many visitors and the fellowship of our church family was highlighted by a new peak in attendance. We had 701 in our combined (9:00, 10:45 and [...]