August 13, 2017   From the very beginning, Jesus promised His followers would suffer. Severe persecution, even martyrdom. For example, in His first recorded sermon (Matthew 5), Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you […]

August 6, 2017   Everyone likes good news. Good news, it’s a boy. Good news, it’s a girl. Good news, she said her first word today – no. Good news, he took his first steps today – told you he’d do it before kindergarten. Good news, she got her report card today – all A’s. […]

July 30, 2017   If you’ve been at Alliance, you know I usually spend some time on the introductions to my sermons. I try to think of something catchy – whether it’s a story or a picture or a humorous anecdote or I’ll grab something from the headlines, or, my personal favorite, something from history. […]

July 23, 2017   There is an old fable in which three apprentice demons were talking to Satan. They were to finish their apprenticeship by going to earth to tempt and ruin humankind. The first demon said to Satan, “I will tell people there is no God.” Satan replied, “That will not fool many, because […]

July 16, 2017   So this week, I was in the office, actually preparing the sermon for this morning. Sue Waters, who volunteers in the front office, was telling me her sister, Joanna, who also goes to our church, is going to Jerusalem to teach for an entire year. Sue said, “I told her, that’s […]

July 9, 2017   Forecasting the weather can be quite challenging. In Colorado, for example, weather can change quickly and drastically. So much so, we heard a TV weather forecaster actually say, “Today, go to your front door and look out. Whatever it’s doing, that’s your forecast.” He was actually quite accurate. I found this […]

July 2, 2017   Well, I don’t know if you realize it or not, but we have a serious problem. Over the past several decades, end-times prognosticators, date-setters, and prophecy mongers have told us all the signs are in place for Jesus to return at any moment. In addition to wars and rumors of wars, […]

June 25, 2017   This week while driving home, I turned on a Christian radio station.  The speaker – a well-known pastor many of you know – was teaching on one of his favorite topics – prophecy.  Seems like every time I hear him, that’s what he’s talking about.  Now, don’t misunderstand me, he’s a […]

June 4, 2017   Jesus is coming back. This is a non-negotiable truth of the Christian faith. But the question is when? Perhaps no other question has sparked more interest or been debated more hotly. While Jesus Himself said no one knows the day or the hour, people have always tried to answer the when […]

May 28, 2017   Some of you know that years ago, when I served in a small church, I also worked at a bank. Now, I’d never had a finance or banking class – but it didn’t seem that hard. It was all about OPM, other people’s money. People who had money put it in […]