Pastor Quinn • September 4, 2022

Put Down What You Love; Pick Up What You Loathe

It is an unavoidable hard truth. Our relationship with Jesus will put us in situations where we must decide where love for him ranks compared to love for other people and things. And Jesus is not content to be one of many important things in our life; he wants to be first. He wants us to follow his Word unwaveringly, even when he asks us to do difficult things. As a result, following Jesus will force us to let go of things we love and embrace things we would naturally loathe.


Jesus is loving and honest. He doesn’t hide this hard truth! Instead, he tells us up front that we must count the cost of following him. That means calculating what we might have to give up as his followers. He wants us to do that now, ahead of time, rather than waiting until we are in the heat of the moment and emotions are running high.


However, our calculations should not only consider what we might give up for Jesus. They also entail calculating what we get through him! When we perceive the infinite blessings we find in Christ, the decisions we must make, while difficult, will be clear. Whatever is lost as we follow Jesus pales in comparison to what we gain.

Say it Out Loud: God Loves Sinners

By Pastor Quinn • June 7, 2026
They never forgot their past. Moses never forgot how he killed a man in a fit of anger. Paul never forgot how he had savaged the Church of God. Matthew never forgot how, as a tax collector for the Roman Empire, he was considered a traitor to his people. But God forgot their past. He forgave all their sins and called them to proclaim his mercy. Christians are sinners whom God has mercifully called. Only mercy can explain why Jesus brings people to faith and promises them salvation. Only grace can explain how he calls them to serve as they are able, even in the ministry of the gospel. God loves sinners.

Say it Out Loud: God is Triune

May 31, 2026
Without the resurrection of Jesus, death would appear permanent. No one would have come back from the dead to explain what happens after death. Jesus told his disciples what would happen. But they were slow to believe the Easter truth. God ensured that his people had witnesses to assure that Jesus did not remain dead. He lives, and it makes a difference! I too shall live. Death has become a pathway into paradise. Jesus has already made me spiritually alive by giving me faith in his resurrection. In every possible way, Jesus takes me from death to life.

He lives to pour out his Spirit

By Pastor Zahn • May 24, 2026
When the disciples were distressed about Jesus ascending into heaven, he assured them, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). That Advocate is the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, the Holy Spirit would have had no reason to enter the lives of disciples. But Jesus lives, and it makes a difference. The Spirit provides faith and purpose for life.  Pentecost, the celebration of the special arrival of the Holy Spirit, is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. Pentecost closes the fifty-day period after Easter and ends the festival half of the church year. The Church dresses in red on this day to commemorate the tongues of fire that marked the Spirit’s gift as well as the blood of the martyrs.
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