Category Archives: Mission

Your Mission, Should You Decide to Accept It

Posted on February 20, 2025 by salooper57

But our mission is more complicated than just bringing news about God to people who have never heard it. We are bringing news about God to people who have misheard it. They think they already know about “God and those Christians.” Continue reading →

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The In-Betweeners

Posted on February 8, 2025 by salooper57

They live in that strange land between the already and the not yet, between what is and what should be. The pressure here is like that of gravity. Often it goes unnoticed, but sometimes it slams you to the ground. Continue reading →

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Prayer: It Doesn’t Need to Be Boring

Posted on August 13, 2024 by salooper57

If prayer is boring, it is because bored people are praying about things that have little to do with “real” life. Continue reading →

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Baptism: What Is It All About?

Posted on July 25, 2024 by salooper57

Note: We are changing the way we post videos, so I will wait until that is completed before I post the video of this sermon. I will post the manuscript (which always differs a little from what it actually said) … Continue reading →

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Ascension Day: It Matters More Than You Know

Posted on May 11, 2024 by salooper57

In 1925, Pope Pious XI introduced “The Feast of Christ the King” into the liturgical calendar. It came on the last Sunday of October which, metaphorically speaking, is the no-man’s land of the church calendar. In 1970, Pope Paul VI … Continue reading →

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Vital Attraction (Titus 2:9-10)

Posted on September 3, 2023 by salooper57

In Leviticus 19:2, God says to his people, “Be holy for I, the LORD your God, am holy.” More than one famous Bible scholar has pointed out this could be translated, “Be different for I, the LORD your God, am different.” Continue reading →

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Why Have 40 Million Americans Stopped Attending Church?

Posted on August 5, 2023 by salooper57

A former youth pastor once said to me: “I’ve seen kids do well” – in terms of faith – “whose parents were genuine Jesus-followers. I’ve seen kids do well with addicted, abusive parents who don’t know God. But I’ve never seen kids do well whose parents talk like they’re Christians but live like they’re not.” Continue reading →

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Leaving Home (not knowing where we are going)

Posted on April 7, 2023 by salooper57

I will be finishing up the work that God gave me to do at Lockwood Community Church over the next few months. It has be a long, fruitful, and (for the most part) happy time. My wife and I have … Continue reading →

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Make Disciples (Following Christ Today)

Posted on February 14, 2023 by salooper57

Among Jesus’s commands to his disciples is the command to make other disciples. In this class, we look at what that entails and how the church can carry it out. We start off looking at the background to the commission … Continue reading →

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Committed to the World (1 Peter 2:9-12)

Posted on February 5, 2023 by salooper57

The Christian’s commitment to the world is multifaceted. It includes a commitment to people’s welfare, to justice, and more, but it is rooted in the commitment to Christ. One aspect of our commitment to the world is our intention to … Continue reading →

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