"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." - Acts 16:31

There are time when the Bible is, admittedly, hard to understand.  There are passages of Scripture that baffle Bible scholars and provoke endless debate.  However, when God wishes to make something plain to us, he doesn't waste time with making the message any more than it has to be.  When Paul and Silas were asked by the jailer in Philippi (just after an earthquake had caused the building to collapse, but all of the prisoners had remained in their cells because of Paul's preaching), "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" the answer was remarkably simple.  Paul simply replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."
It is amazing to me how we can overcomplicated such a simple message.  How the Church can take God's one sentence offer of salvation for those who believe in his Son and turn it into a massive tome.  The message itself is complete without any embelishments.  There isn't anything else we can do to be saved, there isn't anything else we have to do to be saved.  There isn't anyone or anything else that we can put our faith in that will get us the result of salvation promised by Jesus.
And yet, over the centuries, we've allowed other things to creep in, we've made the test of faith harder for those on the outside to pass.  We've forgotten that we too were saved by the blood of the Lamb and that without Jesus we'd be as lost and fallen as anyone.  I had a basketball coach that liked to recite an acronymn that he was sure teenage boys would remember: Keep It Simple Stupid.  He didn't want us to overcomplicate the sport, but the sentiment applies here as well.  The message was simple and straightforward when Jesus spoke it, it was simple and straightforward when Luke wrote Acts, and it should be simple and straightforward when we tell it to the world today.
What about good deeds, don't I have to prove that I'm worthy?  That comes later.  Once we become Christians we prove that our faith is genuine by obeying God's laws and following the teachings of Jesus, but those deeds alone will never save us.  They're part of a process of becoming like Christ that will occupy the rest of our lives as we seek to removed impurities through the grace of God.  Rest assured, if someone tells you that you need to be good before you can be a Christian they don't know what they're talking about.
The message is simple, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."

Franklin PA, Day 1

Today was my first official day as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Franklin.  Nicole and I arrived here on Wednesday night and began the laborious task of unpacking, we were joined by my parents who came down for the weekend and helped out.  Today's message, the Year of Jubilee from Leviticus, was the same message that I preached as a farewell to Palo.  The Scripture works for both an end to something and a beginning to something because it teaches us that we need to have second chances in life and start thing afresh from time to time.  The people at Palo began life without me today, the people here at Franklin begin it with me...On a lighter note: I was "recognized" on the street yesterday by the owner of the antique mall; he had seen the article in The News Herald on Saturday that detailed who the new pastor of the 1st Baptist Church was and included the photo of myself and Nicole at the Stanley Cup Finals (where they beat the Penguins by the way!) with my Red Wings jersey on; as they say in hockey, "game on".

The end of an era, the beginning of a new adventure...

Today was my last service preaching at the First Baptist Church of Palo.  It was my first pastorate as a senior pastor and ended up lasting five years.  Today's service was bittersweet as some tears were shed and hugs shared.  I was glad to have the opportunity to share in Communion one last time with my congregation and hear one last story in the middle of the service from Wilma.  I know that in the future we will both be praying for each other.  Help me pray that the church at Palo finds a new pastor whose passion, knowledge, and wisdom (all good things from above) are what the flock there needs to continue in their worship of God.  Help them pray, along with many who already are, that I will be up to the task of my new ministry in Franklin, PA.  It is a new chapter in my ministry and my marriage, one that, Lord willing, will continue to glorify his name through the work that he is able to do through me.  That may seem a bit much to some, but it is actually something that I've prayed for many years, "Lord, make your name great through me".  It's the kind of thing a man can pray when he doesn't really know where the Lord is leading him but he's willing to live with the uncertainty if meaningful ministry results in the end.  When I accepted the call to Franklin, it felt like that prayer had received a new answer.  For the past five years the place where I have ministered has been the beautiful stone church in Palo (and an alternative education building in Portland), in two days Nicole and I will leave for PA.  It will be a new adventure, but one that begins with equal parts excitement and sadness.  We'll miss you guys, God bless you for giving me a chance to minister to you.

Sermon Video: "The Year of Jubilee - Leviticus 25

What do Jewish regulations about the Sabbath, land ownership, and workers' rights have to do with the Church today? The answer, it turns out, is plenty. The principles of justice and second chances that underpin the celebration of the Year of Jubilee are certainly needed in our world today. In addition, the return of land during the Jubilee to its original owners helped to balance wealth and poverty in Israel as well as allow those who fallen on hard times to redeem their families land and start over...


This sermon is the last to be given to the people of the First Baptist Church of Palo, my first pastorate, and as such ends with a personal message of thanks and prayer for the future ministry at Palo.
 
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: The Shepherds' Tale - Luke 2:8-20

Why were lowly shepherds chosen by God to be the first to hear the message of the newborn Messiah?  Imagine their amazement when not only one, but a whole choir of angels sang in praise of Christ's arrival in the flesh.  That God chose to speak to shepherds should come as no surprise, he has a long history of working with those that society has forgotten and using our weakness as his strength.  How did the shepherds prove that God made the right choice?  They went quickly to see the Christ-child, and just as quickly went out and told others of the wonderful things which God had done.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video