Sin is so ugly and devastating. Its consequences are often neglected as the temptation and the sin itself seem so inviting. Yet we must fight with everything we have and kill the sin that easily overcomes us. This is where we find ourselves as born-again believers in Christ, fighting our sin. Sin, of course, comes in various flavors, and yet its object is always the same, to destroy you. For those outside of a redeeming faith in Christ, it brings eternal damnation and separat

Repentance must be a hallmark of every believer. It is part and parcel of who we are in Christ. Repentance is not just a resolve to do better; everyone who has ever made New Year's resolutions knows how easily our determination can be broken. Repentance certainly is not penance, an activity performed to try to atone for one's own sins; only Jesus can atone for our sins. But neither is repentance a solely intellectual issue. Surely even Judas changed his mind, or as the Script

It may sound odd, but one of the greatest qualities of Pastor Bear, a man who has been in ministry at MVBC for 25 years, is that he...

I think most of us would agree that we live in confusing times. Not because God is confused but surely because we His creation have...

Worship is a spring that wells out of a redeemed person’s life. God alone prescribes what worship looks like and what it doesn’t. The...

This is May, the month we celebrate graduations. Graduations always cause me to reflect on one of the greatest graduation speeches I’ve...

In the book of Galatians, Paul points to our union with Christ that results from His justification in our lives. This is so profound,...

As a corporate worship pastor, my time is often spent considering how our corporate worship, as well as our church as a whole, is...

Snow globes. When shaken, they are a display of the beauty that snow adds to a scene. Yet when you find yourself in one, so to speak, and...

This year’s Winter Camp teaching consisted of going through the book of Jonah with the teens. I was assigned to teach chapter 2, Jonah’s...