Pastor's Blog

The last Christmas I spent as a non Christian was what God used to bring me to Christ the very next month.  I was not a nice person, thinking only of myself and indulging in the many sins that many involve themselves in when they are headed in the wrong direction.  I guess it could be said that I was miserable and had no hope, no direction and no thought about my family's future.

One month later (January 24th) I became a new person through faith in Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus saved my life, marriage, family and gave me reason for existence.  It was eleven months later I preached my first sermon on Christmas Day!  

That’s not an uncommon testimony, but it is mine!  Where are you at this time in your life?  I admit it hasn’t been a picnic attempting to walk with Christ.  God has been patient and merciful with me.  There has been a message ringing in my ear over the past few years.  That message is, “Finish Well!”  By God grace I hope to do just that.  Join me!

Pastor's Blog

The Apostle exhorted the Philippians to “Pray with thanksgiving…”  Sometimes our prayers are weighted toward petitions or intercession, while expressions of gratitude are reserved only for those times when we realize a prayer has indeed been answered.

I believe we are to begin and end all prayers with words of gratefulness.  We thank God for allowing us to come boldly before His presence.  We thank Him for answering our prayers before we actually see any evidence in response from God.  Finally, we thank Him for the time and attention He has allotted us in our engagement with Him.

I believe such an approach to prayer will nurture a grateful, reliant and trusting frame of mind and heart.  The Lord’s timing, ways and answers may not be what we had in mind, but we will come to realize that our Father knows best because He loves us with an unfailing love that cannot be denied.

Pastor's Blog

I believe there is a multitude of people who are longing for some “good news!”  News that has some redemptive value in the midst of the breakdown of society.   News that offers hope instead of despair.   News that has promise for ourselves and our children.

·       News that imparts freedom instead of fear.

Friends, we are the only people alive that can offer such good news!  Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!”  Jesus says to His Church, “Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Let’s not miss the opportunity to share the “good news” while the “fields are ripe for harvest!”

THERE IS NO GREATER WORK in all the world!

The greatest experience I have ever experienced was to sit down with a non-Christian and lead that person to faith in Christ!

The wonderful truth about that statement is that we can ALL experience that blessed opportunity!

Pray for Divine Appointments!    

We don’t all have the same gifts, experiences, training and knowledge, but that is exactly why God has “custom-designed” us to reach the multitudes!

I cannot break through to people you can!

Consider the following 6 people God used:

1.   Peter – bold and to the point

2.   Paul – reason from the Scriptures

3.   Blind Man – experiential

4.   Samaritan Woman – testimonial

5.   Matthew – Lk. 5:29 – social/relational

6.   Dorcas – Acts 9 – Service

One thing they all had in common: they were faithful to seize the opportunity!

If your heart is willing, it will be easy enough, considering the days in which we live, to win some to Christ!

 

Pastor's Blog

 What does hope for a Christian look like in the 21^st century? The same as it did 2000 years ago. It looks like Christ’s open arms offering hope to the world.  

            When we allow bad news or world events to dictate our attitude in a way that takes away from who we were as the body of Christ, we are failing. If the church acts like it is defeated, the culture of defeat will create a pessimistic environment that will overshadow the good news of the Gospel. The world has been in a constant battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. The Bible says in Ephesians 6 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

            That has always been the case. The issue might be different today than it was yesterday or the methods used against might be different, but the battle is always raging. This battle is bigger than me and you; it’s bigger than this church, state, country, and even this world. It is a battle for supremacy of the entire cosmos. The church has been a part of this battle since its inception, but lately I think the church has been infected with a defeatist mindset. Lately we have spent so much time thinking about the enemy’s’ plans that we have forgotten to look at God’s plan. We have forgotten to rest in God’s promises in God’s love.

            I think one of the quintessential elements that the church in the United States has lost is hope. Hope that we can rest in the assurance of God’s love and grace today. Hope that tomorrow will be better than today, hope that salvation is offered to those who believer, hope that the grace of God is powerful enough to transform lives, hope that God is at all times working to thwart the plans of the enemy.

            God has a way of turning imperfection back to perfection. We see this so many times throughout the salvation history. It comes in many different forms, some of them painful, but others as the result of the fervent prayers of the righteous. Never doubt that God can find a way to draw in people. Of course we must continue to pray and ask God to use us, so that we can be a part of salvation history, but never forget that we serve a God who is not defeated. We serve a God who wove the fabric of creation into being, who knows every corner of Creation intimately. We serve a God who is faithful and loving, one who desires all people to be in a relationship with him. We serve a God who made us in his image so that we may enjoy life to the fullest. We serve a God whose reign’s sovereign. All it takes is one spark to start a fire and the right kindling. Will you be kindling for God’s spark of hope so that you may burn brightly?

            The hope of Christianity is not in death but in life. It is hope that allows us to say to death "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" There is no sting in death, because it is in death that we find life. It is in death that we are enabled to live as we ought to live now. Because of Christ we do not have to hope only for the future, we have hope now. We have hope that we can be a part of God’s salvation history in human history today.

            We serve a God who wants to rescue people from the death, corruption, and sin of the world. We serve a God who wants to whisper to every person that they are loved and made in the image of God. We pray in the Lord’s prayer “thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” We are not waiting to escape Earth as citizens of the Kingdom of God; we are God’s agents helping the world to realize that the Kingdom of God is at hand! There are a million reasons to lose hope and faith in humanity, but there is one reason, Jesus Christ, to hold on.

            As the Church we must help people to see that belief in Christ produces a hope so profound that it shines brighter than darkness.

Thanks,
Scott Donahue-Martens

Pastor's Blog

We read in Ephesians 2:1-9 about God’s ability to transform a “reprobate” into a “holy one” it is extraordinary!  Only He can:

• ·       Resurrect the walking dead and make them a Child of God.

• ·       Bring correction to a Child of rebellion and rehabilitate them into a Child of obedience.

• ·       Overhaul a wretched, sinful life and transform them into a saint of God!

How do we begin to define the amazing Grace of God that we all can experience?

·       When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage.

·       When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.

·       When a person receives recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.

·        But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can’t win a prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s Grace.

Paul makes it very clear that God’s favor cannot be earned. 

Living the Christian life to the fullest, means to strive to imitate Jesus in all we do, without forgetting, that we can only do so, because of God’s loving kindness or “grace.”

The Christian life is supposed to be a life lived by faith because of His grace.  It is by faith, coupled with His grace, that we enter into the Christian life; and it is by faith and His grace that we live on!