Annual Conference took place last week. It was the first time in history that both the Pacific Northwest and Oregon-Idaho conferences met together. Given that we met at the Red Lion Jantzen Beach, which sits on an island surrounded by the Columbia River, the conference was about making connections and about life giving water. As I head…

This Sunday is Father's Day. I'm reminded, as I think back on the Holy Land trip, that Jesus had two fathers. One was obviously God who called Jesus His beloved child in whom he was well pleased. The other was the of forgotten Joseph. Joseph was with Jesus for much of his first thirty years. Joseph taught…

This is graduation Sunday, a time to celebrate those who have completed course work and are ready to move into their next adventure. I 'll be sharing the message with one of our graduates, Ryan Breske. Ryan has grown up at this church, offered himself to his school and community in some pretty amazing ways. He is…

This Sunday we're celebrating gifts. The word alone can mean so many things. Gifts come in a wide array of colors and types. They can be something that we have inside us that needs to be shared. They can be something that we offer to others. They can be surprises or they can be...well...gifts. We find them…

In as much as we will be having two services this Sunday, they will not be at 9:00am and 11:00am. This Sunday we'll be one Body of Christ worshiping at different times in very different locations. About 60 of us will be at Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center doing our annual Lazy F Mission Projects. The…

One of the major realizations while in the Holy Land was the vast difference between Galilee in the North and what was Judea in the South; Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley in the North and Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the South. The land is different. The people are different. The histories are different and even worship was…

Last week I began a study of my realizations from the Holy Land. This Sunday I'll be getting much more specific. We often forget that Jesus lived thirty years before he began his ministry. Let's remember that the age of thirty in those times was considered old; at the very least well-seasoned, and mature. The life expectancy…

This Sunday we begin a new series titled, "Realizations in the Holy Land and the Jesus I Thought I Knew." This first Sunday is an introduction. It is, to some extent, a follow-up to last Tuesday's presentation by the team that visited these sacred sites. For me, the personal list of realizations is long. I'll be touching…

This Sunday will be one worship service at 10:00am and it will be a follow-up to last week's Mission Sunday. I will admit that last Sunday was a bit overwhelming as I walked from project to project, at least those taking place at the church. There was a spirit of joy that was contagious, an overall spirit…

These next two Sundays are all about the third word in our mission statement: Service. This Sunday, on April 23, we will meet for one worship service at 9:00am in the sanctuary for some singing, praying and a blessing before we head out to serve the community and world. We already have 100 (plus) signed up for…