Crucifying Unbelief

Pastor Craig Carter The disciples had been traveling with Jesus for more than three years when He made the astonishing declarations we looked at last week.  First of all, Christ informed them, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Luke 9:22 NIV) As disturbing as that news was to His followers, His second announcement was even more troubling.  Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple …

A Comeback Story

Pastor Craig Carter Everyone loves a comeback story, don’t they? I was recently watching the Baseball All Star Game Homerun Derby and found myself rooting for Trey Mancini, even though I know little about him and am not a fan of the team he plays for – the Baltimore Orioles. But I do know a year ago he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and is already back in the big leagues and will probably win the Comeback Player of the Year award (and deservedly so).  Beyond just athletic comeback stories, we’re inspired when we …

A Winning Battle Plan

Pastor Craig Carter In our current sermon series — reading through the Old Testament books of Joshua and Judges — we have learned some important life lessons on courage, leadership, and faith from characters like Joshua and Caleb.  More than anything the book of Joshua reads like a history book as it describes the Israelites’ invasion and occupation of the Promised Land of Canaan. It chronicles three separate military campaigns that include thirteen battles through which 31 cities are conquered.  Of course, the most famous of those was the battle of Jericho. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who …

Caleb

Pastor Craig Carter Like many adults, I enjoy some good summer reading. I took a couple of books on a recent vacation, one of them being Greenlights, the autobiography by actor Matthew McConaughey. It was an interesting read as he is a fascinating character, to say the least.  Another fascinating biography is found in our Summer Book Club readings – Caleb. His story is told in Joshua chapters 14-15, but to understand what we’re told about Caleb there, we must first be familiar with the prequel which is contained in the Old Testament Book of Numbers, chapters 13-14.  The Israelites …

How to Live by Faith

Mindy Clemons, Lynn Haven UMC Adult Discipleship Director As a church we have been reading through the Letter of James – a section each week – and exploring the letter’s How to Live instructions through Sunday’s teaching sermons and our mid-week Bible study. It is our hope that every member of our church is growing in faith by participating in this plan. We have learned that James, the half-brother of Jesus and a leader of the church in Jerusalem, was writing to an audience of Christian believers. It’s important to know whose mail we are reading for the passage we …

Essential: Believing

Pastor Terry Tatum Last week, Pastor Craig touched on a concept that guided the church world for generations. The concept was BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME. Those words in that order represent a process for people to fully develop in Christ. For much of the last century this was the formula that guided many churches as they sought to spread the Good News of Jesus. While that formula was responsible for much of the great foundation today’s Christians enjoy, over the last 25 to 30 years it hasn’t been as effective as it once was. In recent years, many people have been …

Essential: Unwavering Faith

Pastor Terry Tatum To say the last couple of weeks have been challenging would be an understatement. At times it’s been down-right hard and discouraging. Earlier this month we had our staff and their families tested for COVID-19 and three tested positive. Since then all three have tested negative and have shown no symptoms of the virus. But then earlier this week we found out that Pastor Craig and his household had been exposed to the virus and were experiencing mild symptoms. It was later confirmed that they did indeed have Covid-19 and are currently recovering in isolation according to …

A Hopeful God

Pastor Craig Carter According to the Apostle Paul, “Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT) In our current sermon series, we’ve been looking at these enduring realities. First, we explored how we can ensure these virtues are part of our lives. Now we’re studying how they have their origin in the very character of God. To put it simply: You and I are to be faithful, hopeful, and loving because God is. Today we’re going to explore the hopeful nature of God. In his letter …

A Trusting God

Pastor Craig Carter It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that something has gone horribly wrong in the world in which we live … and I’m not just talking about the current pandemic. With or without reports about Covid-19, every day we hear news of sickness, famine, disasters, violence, and all manner of evil. Who’s to blame for it all? Who’s responsible for the sad state of affairs? Well, the simple answer is: God is … at least indirectly. Let me explain. According to the opening chapter in the Bible, “God created human beings in his own image…” (Genesis …

Love that Lasts Forever

Pastor Craig Carter Happy Mother’s Day 2020! Today we are going to continue our investigation of what the Bible describes as enduring realities: “Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT) Having explored faith and hope in two previous sermons, today we’re going to turn our attention to the subject of love. Why is it eternal? And why is love the greatest of all things? The Apostle John gives us the answer in his first epistle when he states quite simply, “God is love.” (1 John …