Sermon Series (Page 2)

Most of us when we hear this question immediately identify the commercial on TV, the main actor who is featured, and the product being pitched. Being able to identify the product being advertised makes a really quality commercial. The actor: Samuel L Jackson. The product: Capital One credit! See… they are even getting some free air time from us in this newsletter! But let’s think about that phrase… “what’s in your wallet?”  It implies so many things that tug at…

Crossing the Continental Divide In North and South America our combined continents are divided east and west — and this line is of greater significance than any divide that might show us north and south. All water that east of the continental divide flows essentially into the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico and its direct connection to the Atlantic). All water that hits west of this divide flows into the Pacific Ocean. When I was a kid our grandparents took…

Seems like a regularly get either an email or a brochure in the mail about a cruise to some wonderful destination. Many of you have been on cruises before – but oddly, with all my travels, I never have been at least to this point in my life. But either way, I enjoy looking and dreaming when looking through those brochures. There are a couple of cruises that especially intrigue me. One of them is one that leaves western Europe…

I do enjoy a good movie, and one came out in 2020 staring Tom Hanks (a great actor) that was called “News of the World.” Set in that late 1800’s post Civil War Texas, the main character would travel around to small villages in the frontier of Texas and read newspapers to people. Even though these farmers and ranchers in the tough frontier land of Texas were not able to go anywhere outside their own county, they could feel attached…

In and around the years 2008 to 2010 here at LifeWay Church, they were tough years here, and we began wrestling with how to follow God’s lead to make a difference in the world. The leadership of this congregation were deeply moved and began to take distinctive steps to leading our church in very specific ways into how to take on the responsibility of making footprints for the gospel in specific places in the world that He has guided us…

Welcome to GIC season! LifeWay’s annual Global Impact Celebration will take place Wednesday, October 18- Sunday, October 22. We hope that you will prepare your calendar (ie, clear it!!) so that you can get the most out of this awesome time. But we also want you to prepare your heart and mind so that God can speak to you during that time. On Sunday, you will receive booklets with lots of information about the GIC, but also information about how…

Have you ever had an autopsy performed on yourself? Silly question… of course not! If  you are reading this article then you are still around, still alive, and haven’t needed an autopsy.  We have to first die before an autopsy, right? An autopsy is something we perform on the dead to try to figure out what happened to them. Why did they die? We often learn from autopsy’s how to help others who suffer from the same disease. This is…

We all have a mirror but we may not all have a telescope. But we certainly know the difference between them. We use a mirror when we want to get dressed and make sure that everything is in its proper place. We use a mirror when we really want to take a closer look at ourselves – our face, our hair, or any blemishes we might want to find on ourselves. A telescope of course is useless to us if…

It’s the Gospel Truth!! This might be an expression that you are familiar with. Have you ever heard it used? Have you ever used it yourself? If we follow its original intent, it implies that I am telling you something that is so true and so correct, that it is backed up by the absolute truthfulness of the gospel itself. It implies that the gospel is absolutely true, so now my story is just as true as the gospel. There…

What Bible verses can you recite from memory? Most Christians can usually recite a few verses from the Bible. The reason why they can remember a certain Bible verse varies from individual to individual. Maybe it was the first Bible verse they ever remembered from Sunday school. Maybe they bought a coffee mug or throw pillow, with the verse printed on it. Maybe the Bible verse become a favorite because it encouraged and inspired them during a difficult time in…

This past Tuesday our staff office team had a review and evaluation time of the summer events, programs, teaching, and ministries we had as part of the life and LifeWay for the summer of 2023. It was productive for review, but far more importantly we had to ask ourselves ‘was it productive when we measure our goals. So… what was our goal? The goal was our theme for all things post Easter (May – August). The theme was Engage! Engage…

Over the whole summer, beginning in June, we have spent time with 6 Spiritual Habits for a growing and thriving Disciple of Jesus… This Sunday August 27 we will look at the 7th on our list… When you use and hear the word “Worship,” most of us think of music, singing, or even we might call it “going to church.” But it is far beyond this.  As you come this Sunday morning, spend some time looking over and contemplating Romans…

You should know by now that we will once again (2nd weekend in a row) NOT be worshipping in our building, but instead this week we will be at the sports field at Saghalie Middle School Federal Way (close to Fred Meyer) for an outdoor service joining with a few other churches. We did this last year, and it was wonderful, so we are doing it again.  But what is “Desna Cup?” Why is it called that? What is the…

How often do you think about fear? Maybe when you talk with young children about a bad dream that they had. Or maybe when you talk with a parent of a teen that’s about to move to a new city and start college. Or maybe when you talk with someone who is in an unstable work environment and their future seems unsure. In all those cases, the root idea of fear is that something, whether known or unknown, is coming…

We have identified 7 Spiritual Habits for a Christian that we are teaching all summer long. Most of us would all agree pretty easily that (1) Prayer and (2) Reading the Bible are an easy fit. We may or may not actually do it regularly, but it is easy to agree that we should and would like to learn to do it better. We would even easily agree that “Gathering” (or simply put — be at church gatherings regularly) fit…

A couple decades ago, Matt and I were living in Dallas while I was in seminary. As a part of my evangelism class, he had agreed to come with me to the State Fair of Texas to work at a booth where people could ask questions about faith or have someone pray with them. It seemed non-intrusive enough—until one of our friends (a guy with a huge heart and a clear gift for evangelism) said, “Hey Matt, let’s go chat…

Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4 with the last few verses from each of these has always been a picture of what a church gathering should look like. I have heard teaching lessons all my life from these sections. I have also taught these passages many times dating all the way back to my high school days. Whenever church members have needed a good example of what a church gathering is to look like, this is where we most…

Did you know that there is a spiritual habit of “Gathering?”  This is the label that we give it in our church when we include it on the spiritual habits list.  Some might use the term “meeting” or “assembling” or “get-together,” or even “fellowship.” But I would use the basis for this spiritual habit from two major Scripture passages in the Bible… Look these passages up before you come to service this Sunday and use the filter of the importance…

When you hear the word “discipline,” do you think of words like control, regulation, work, authority, rule, or strictness? Maybe it explains why so many Christians ignore the pleas of pastors across the country who want their flocks to make a discipline of reading their Bibles daily. Polls show that although the Bible is still among the best-selling books of all it remains one of the least read. At Lifeway, we believe being in God’s Word is critical to our…

A huge thank you to our guest speaker for the last couple of Sunday’s, Scott Brewer. If you did not get a chance to be at the services, you can listen to those messages via our website. Scott spoke to us out of his years of experience on how to grow strong with a consistent prayer life. This week Alvin and I have also led what we are calling a “LifeWay Prayer Lab” where we have laid out some practical…

At LifeWay we elevate prayer as a hallmark of a maturing Christian’s life. God commands in scripture that Christians pray for a host of reasons including: It is clear that scripture indicates that prayer is about so much more than simply asking God for what you need. Rather it is a consistent communication path with God available to us all at any time. Matthew 6:9-13 is the most famous prayer of all when Jesus himself commands us to pray: “Our…

Last week Alvin wrote an article, then preached a sermon on Sunday to help launch us into our summer plan. He used the word “Discipline” — a word that most of us don’t like very much. We all know we need it, but it is just too hard! We just don’t seem to have enough willpower. It often just takes too much work, right? But most of us really know we need it in several areas of life. Why do…

What do you think of the word, Discipline? I don’t mean discipline as in using discipline to punish a person for making a mistake. But I mean discipline as in training oneself to reach a certain improvement or goal. This past week, a friend told me he had been training hard for his very first triathlon in his life. But for the most of us, No, we don’t think very highly of the word. Discipline stirs up feelings of pushing…

This Sunday I am going to teach the last in this series “Knowing God,” but by saying this, please understand, there is NO WAY that we have come to end of what it means to Know God. We have taught about 35 Sunday’s using this headline “Knowing God.” We have taught a great deal from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Matthew, John, and Hebrews… and have looked carefully at many other Scriptures as well during this whole academic year. Some of us…

The Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4     “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one.  Love the Lord your God   with all your heart,  soul, mind  and strength.” In the days of Moses, just before they were to cross the Jordan River to enter the promised land, the people of God – the Covenant people Israel – were given this command that we find in Deuteronomy 6:4. It is famous in the Jewish world and called “The Shema.” This literally means… “listen!”…