All (Page 4) Articles 2022 Archives

Nicos and Yosef Save Easter?

The real question is whether or not we will choose to follow Jesus from the cross, to the tomb, and into the new life that Jesus' resurrection brings?

Phil Ware reminds us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were indisputable eye witnesses to the death of Jesus so the resurrection could be assured!

Hearing Silence

It's good to embrace seasons of quiet.

Melissa Troyer urges us to listen to the silence so we can hear the voice of God calling to us in the gentle slosh of the paddle slide through the water and the whisper of a gentle breeze.

ToGather: Interrupting the Silence of Foolishness (April 17, 2022)

Before Jesus’ resurrection, to believe in a crucified savior was a ridiculous and foolish!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware combine to bless us with a powerful Resurrection Sunday message on Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection and the power God blesses us with to triumph over sin and death.

Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight: The Torchlight

With Jesus' arrest under torchlight, the end for darkness' reign drew near.

Phil Ware concludes his four-part series on Jesus' Passion called seed, towel, promise, and torchlight.

Key Resources for Resurrection Sunday and Holy Week

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched.

Phil Ware shares some great online resources for images for Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday.

Amazing Love!

Jesus died in the place of Barabbas. More importantly, Jesus died for you and me.

Byron Ware recalls a memory from fifty years ago that shaped his life, his love, his family, and his understanding of grace, Jesus dying in the place of Barabbas and us.

ToGather: Right on Time (April 10, 2022)

If an event is epoch-changing, part of the dynamic that makes the event so transformational is the timing.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware combine to bless us with a powerful message on the timing of Jesus' coming and death as well as a virtual worship service focused on our right on time Savior.

Seed, Towel, Promise, & Torchlight: The Promise

Jesus gave his promise to speak comfort and hope into this place of deep longing in their hearts

Phil Ware continues his series on Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight, focusing this week on the power of Jesus' promise in the face of his own impending death.

The Easter Corsage

It was 'different' — colorful and carefully glued together, all made out of pieces of construction paper, using an old pearl pin as its base.

Ron Rose is in the coffee shop carrying on a conversation when God shows up and reminds us what a lasting legacy of faith and service looks like.

ToGather: Eyes on Jesus (April 3, 2022)

As human beings, we live where we look: Our lives follow the focus of our hearts.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware share a powerful virtual worship in Scripture, songs, and communion focused on Hebrews 12:2 and our need to fix our eyes on Jesus to continue with perseverance and endurance as we follow Jesus and seek to become like him.

Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight: The Towel

The hands that would soon be nailed to a cross now reached for a towel to serve those that would abandon him while he hung on that cross, alone!

Phil Ware continues his series on Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight focusing on common elements in our world, our lives, that Jesus used to join our hearts to his love.

To Your Advantage?

It was in the middle of one of these nitty-gritty down-to-earth conversations between Jesus and His disciples that He fleshed out the secret.

Melissa Troyer reminds us of Jesus' strange promise of going away being better for His disciples than staying with them.

ToGather: He is My Mighty Rock, My Refuge (March 27, 2022)

We celebrate that God is our salvation, our stronghold, our refuge, our one certainty in the middle of all that is unsure!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us that God is our stronghold, foundation, certainty, refuge, strength and assurance.

Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight: The Seed

Go ahead, plant a seed. See it disappear into the dirt. But, don't forget!

Phil Ware continues his four week series on seed, towel, promise, and torchlight focusing on the power of the Seed to overcome dirt, darkness, and death.

Seed, Towel, Promise, and Torchlight: Introduction

Yes, the seed is still enough of a mystery to keep me interested while I wait for the full blessing of its secrets to reach full bloom.

Phil Ware begins a four-week series on seed, towel, promise, and torchlight as he looks at Jesus' last hours on earth and what they mean for us.

Our 'NUT Stories' Keep Us Alive

We all have stories that are yet to be told, I call them our 'NUT Collection' — stories about where we've been and what we've done back in the day.

Ron Rose talks about God's work in growing us into something special who all began as nuts who held their ground and God grew into his witnesses with stories to tell.

ToGather: Growing Up Into Jesus (March 20, 2022)

Not only will the Holy Spirit help transform us to become more and more like Christ, which must be our goal; the Spirit will also produce God's fruit of goodness in us.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to encourage us to grow in Jesus now that we have tasted that the Lord is good and crave good spiritual food.

More Than...

Our churches not living on mission to make a perceivable difference in the lives of the disenfranchised and broken, like Jesus did, is disillusioning to young adults seeking to live for Jesus.

Phil Ware talks about the need for our churches and our people to focus on becoming JesuShaped as they live the Kingdom of God and not go for gimmicks to solve our church problems.

But God!

In a world swirling with heavy clouds and looming headlines, we mothers hold a massive opportunity!

Melissa Troyer looks at everyday life, her children, and the horrifying images and videos and cries of mothers and children, and sees an opportunity to teach our children to say, But God!

ToGather: God at Work in You! (March 13, 2022)

Jesus demonstrated God's love powerfully while he was on earth and is now at the right hand of the Father with power to work in our lives for our good and God's glory.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of God's grace to be at work within us for our ultimate Good.

Finding Jesus' Heart for Ministry: Proof

Jesus asks us to trust him — not just for receiving our salvation, but also by obeying him in our daily lives.

Phil Ware concludes his six-part series on the man with leprosy that Jesus heals (Mark 1:35-45) and how we can learn to impact the lives of others as Jesus did.

Give Him What You Have

You know the paralyzing fear that surfaces when the information is too much to learn, the change is too great to make, the grief is too deep to survive, or the crowd is too numerous to feed.

Max Lucado reminds us with Jesus' feeding of the crowd with five barley loaves and two fish that it is his job to make what we have sufficient for the moment.

ToGather: The Power of Praise in the Presence of Enemies (March 6, 2022)

When things on earth seem bleak and our strength feels small, we can push against the darkness with praise!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us and call us to passionate praise as our gift to honor God and empower his Kingdom in the face of fierce opposition today.

Finding Jesus' Heart for Ministry: Raised

In the healing of a man with leprosy, we see the touch of Jesus and new life promised to us through the Spirit's resurrection power.

Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus touching a man with leprosy and focuses on how Jesus' touch and word of command made clean and redeemed this man who was left alone to die, abandoned by everyone and everything in his world, revealing Jesus' heart f

Hope Is

Hope is the life in our veins, the breath in our lungs and the courage for tomorrow.

Melissa Troyer looks at our cold world as we ensure the cold of later winter and trust life will come back in the Spring and reminds us to trust life is coming.