Messages

Pastor’s Message

So who are you when nobody is watching? Do you do the right thing? No matter what the circumstances?

I read a news report recently about a fishing trip that 14- year-old Connor Halsa enjoyed with his grandfather in northern Minnesota. On this fishing trip, Connor made quite a catch. He reeled in a wallet, which contained $2,000 cash! Eventually, Connor and his grandfather were able to track down the wallet’s owner, Jim Denney of Iowa. Jim came to retrieve the wallet and was impressed that Connor turned down his offer of reward money. Jim gave Connor a custom fishing cooler and took the family to dinner as a thank you. I love what Connor said when asked why he was honest and returned the cash: “We didn’t really work hard for the money. He did, so it was his money.” Don’t you love stories of integrity like that?

The word “integrity” is derived from the same root word as integer, meaning whole. It implies the wholeness of a person. A lot of people think of their life like a pie, and the different parts of their life are the pieces of the pie. This slice of the pie is my work life. This slice is my spiritual life. This one is my family life. That one is my social life. Then over here is my secret life — the things nobody else knows about. If you segment your life like that, you lack integrity, because your life is not a whole.
 
The world judges a person’s integrity from what it sees in their outward behavior. God judges integrity from what He sees in a person’s heart. In other words, man measures integrity from the outside, and God measures integrity from the inside. A person of integrity has nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Billy Graham once said: “Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.” Proverbs 10:9 (NIV) “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” We’re interested in image, but God is interested in integrity. We’re interested in reputation, but God is interested in integrity. Reputation is what everybody thinks you are. Integrity is what you really are. Reputation is what you are in public. Integrity is what you are when no one is around except you and God. Integrity is not something we have, but something we are. It shows itself in what we do and say. Integrity is authenticity. Being a person of integrity is important because people are watching us. “The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.” (Proverbs 11:20 NLT)
 

I hope you are planning to join us in church this coming Sunday. Have a great week and let your light shine for Jesus this week!

Pastor Rick

Message From Andy (Student Minister)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35

February is often recognized as the month of love because of Valentine’s Day! As Christians, we should be quick to share Jesus’ love with others and to emulate His great love for us. We have to caution ourselves, however, to make sure that our definition of love aligns with Jesus’ definition of love. In His love for people, Jesus never affirmed sin. He loves us, and because of His great love for us, He wants us to turn away from sin.

Let’s remember Jesus’ response in His encounter with the woman caught in adultery found in the 8th Chapter of John: “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” To put it in common southern language, Jesus didn’t say to the woman, “Oh, honey, it’s okay.” He told the woman, “Go and sin no more.”

When I read God’s Word, any time I see the word “go” I pay close attention. Because it means He wants us to respond, to do something.

When we find ourselves falling into sin, we need to do as Jesus said, to repent and turn away from sin. And as we love others, we need to remind them as well to “go and sin no more.” In loving people, we should never say that sin is okay, but we should help people be okay by leading them to Jesus!

Andy