Join Pastor David in this observance of Ash Wednesday, which this year is February 17. Ash Wednesday starts the season of Lent, a season of preparation before Easter Sunday (April 4).
You will have the opportunity to pause the video and read Isaiah 58:1-12 during this experience. You may either have a Bible handy or find it online, for instance at this site: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2058%3A1-12&version=NIV
Posted by Mt. Haley Church of God on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Jesus’s Prayer
Jesus experienced a moment of spiritual formation when he prayed at Gethsemane, just before he was arrested and then crucified. How does his prayer lay the foundation for our prayer lives? Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 26:36-46.
Josiah’s Listening
King Josiah and his people discovered the scriptures and listened deeply to what God was saying through those writings. We all can do the same! Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on 2 Kings 22.
Ash Wednesday 2018: The Jesus Prayer
On this Ash Wednesday, Pastor David spoke about the “Jesus Prayer,” an ancient Christian prayer that has its roots in the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14.
Where God’s Story Began
Adam and Eve’s temptation is the same as Jesus’s temptation, and it’s the same as our temptation: to become more like God. Listen to Pastor David’s message on Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 and on where God’s story began.
Poured Out: Empty to the End
Kenosis: Jesus emptied himself, poured himself out for our sake. On this Palm Sunday, as we anticipate Jesus’s final steps toward the cross, we consider the beautiful description of Jesus’s work found in Philippians 2:5-11. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on this text here:
Super Tuesday, Lions, and Lambs
Today is “Super Tuesday,” a day in which some presidential candidates will vault ahead in their pursuit of their party’s nomination, and others will experience great disappointment. As a nation, we are waiting with bated breath to see what happens next.
Today is also the day of another snowstorm here in central Michigan. We are projected to see 6-10 inches of snowfall by this evening. Looking outside right now, I see a snow-covered road and beautifully dusted pine trees. It’s beginning to look a lot like winter. Time will tell how much today’s snowstorm will affect people’s lives, in terms of cancelled events, power outages, and auto accidents.
Today is March 1, as well – the first day of a new month. Who knows what this month will hold? The presidential race will surely change; hopefully our weather will, also. As one Facebook friend wrote today, “March truly comes in like a LION.” An old adage suggests that if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. If the weather looks horrible on March 1 (like it does today), then in a few weeks it will look much better. One can hope, anyway.
But I see another layer of meaning in that saying. On this “Super Tuesday,” we are focusing our collective attention on a few individuals whose names appear on ballots in thirteen states. Many lions are competing for supremacy in the power struggle of our political system.
If March begins like a lion, how will it end? Continue reading
Poured Out: Empty Homes
Poured Out: Empty Nest
Jesus compared himself to a hen who wants to gather her chicks close to her for safety and life. But the people were not willing. What does it mean that Jesus came home to Jerusalem, only to find an empty nest? Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on Luke 13:31-35.
Poured Out: Empty Dreams
Our series this Lent explores how Jesus poured himself out, even to death, for our sake. In this first sermon, Pastor David helps us walk into the story of Jesus’s temptation in Luke 4:1-13, a story in which Jesus empties himself of unfulfilling dreams.