were to buy prednisone Pastor Barry is the speaker unless otherwise noted. http://busingers.ca/concerts/gospel-and-other-good-news-spring-show/ Schedule subject to change.


JOY NO MATTER WHAT Sermon Series

Philippians is the most joyful book in the Bible. it is literally full of joy. The words joy, glad, enjoy, rejoice, happy & happiness are used in various forms seventeen times, and there are only four chapters!  It’s the happiest book in the Bible. What’s amazing about the happiest book of the Bible is that it was written by Paul while he was in prison in Rome which goes to show you can experience JOY NO MATTER WHAT!


 

10/1 (Communion, Stewardship Sunday) Joy No Matter What: God’s Promise to the Generous.  Philippians 4:14-20. In Philippians 4:14-20 the apostle Paul gives insight into six specific ways you will benefit when you’re a giver and not a taker in life. In fact Paul the promise that “…God will take care of everything you need,…” v.19 is tied to generosity. On further reflection we see that this letter Paul wrote to the Philippians is not just about joy, but also generosity. When we are generous 1. others are grateful. 2. It shows what I value most, and 3. You become more like Jesus.

10/8 (Stewardship Sunday) Joy No Matter What:  God’s Promise to the Generous (Part 2). In Philippians 4:14-20 the apostle Paul gives insight into six specific ways you will benefit when you’re a giver and not a taker. In fact Paul ties the promise that “…God will take care of everything you need,…” v.19 to generosity.  “The kind and generous man benefits himself.” Proverbs 11:17. Last week Pastor Barry shared 3 ways you will benefit  when you are generous. In this final sermon in the Philippians sermon series, Joy No Matter What,  he shares the remaining three benefits… 4. It strengthens your faith. 5. You are investing in your eternal home, and 6. You make God smile.


“Maui Musings” Mini-Sermon Series

Musings: Absorbed in thought; meditative contemplation; reflection.

The news since August has been largely dominated by the tragedy in Lahaina, Maui.  The Lahaina wildfire was one of four blazes that broke out on Aug. 8, scorching a combined 10.4 square miles. More than 2,700 structures were destroyed. The death toll is rising. Immediately following the tragedy, the questions began. Why?  How could it have been prevented? Who’s to blame?  I suspect that those who were directly affected by this have ultimately asked, Why did God allow it?  In this Mini-Sermon Series, Pastor Barry contemplates, the questions raised by this tragedy and in thoughtful reflections offers hope for those rebuilding theirs lives.

10/15 Maui Musings: Is God Really Good All the Time?  Psalm 100:5.  Is God good all the time in your life? What about the times when you’re suffering and have experienced great loss? the Psalmist says God is good all the time. Is that true for those who have lost so much in the tragic devastation in Maui? In this sermon Pastor Barry reflects why focusing on God’s goodness is so important and why when we forget to focus on God’s goodness, it causes all kinds of problems.

10/22 Maui Musings. Is God Really Good All the Time? (2). Psalm 16:1-2. When we forget or doubt God’s goodness there are some negative consequences that come into our lives. We need to understand this, so we can avoid them. We looked at the first negative consequence in the previous sermon, You start claiming credit for things that God did for you. In this sermon Pastor Barry shares #2 You stop asking God for help; #3 You stop trusting God in difficult times, and #4. You become pessimistic about the future.   


10/29 (Reformation Sunday) The Just Shall Live By Faith. Romans 1:17.  On the Christian Calendar each year is Reformation Sunday, observed the last Sunday in October. In this sermon Pastor Barry introduces Martin Luther and shares how his life was transformed by the realization that, “the just shall live by faith”. Speaking about that verses’ impact on his life Martin said, “When it broke in upon my soul, I was filled with such peace and certainty of eternal life that my entire life was transformed.” And no wonder, very few have worked for their salvation as hard as Luther did. Martin Luther simply brought to light again the grace of God and why it is so amazing. His passion and devotion to this realization was so radical it sparked the Reformation.


11/5 (Communion) Maui Musings:

11/12 (Veteran’s Day Sunday) Maui Musings:


11/19 (Thanksgiving Sunday) Poison Envy. Genesis 4:1-16. The first news story in the Bible is Cain Slays Able. Cain and Able were brothers. They grew up together building forts, carving their initials in the trunks of trees, swimming in the river. As young men they built their altars to offer their praise and thanks to God. One is accepted the other rejected. Abel makes the team, but Cain is cut from the roster. That’s the jungle where envy lurks. Cain lives in your soul as he lives in mine. We must be especially alert for him as we walk three pathways and when we are affected there’s only one antidote. 


11/26 Maui Musings:


12/3 (Communion, First Sunday in Advent) The Unfamiliar Tree of Christmas. Matthew 1:1-2. When you open the pages of scripture to read the nativity story, way before you ever read of Jesus’ birth you read about Jesus’ Family tree, the genealogy of Jesus. It’s very much a part of the Christmas story that start in Genesis, continues all the way through the Old Testament to the first chapter and the first verse of the New Testament. The family tree of Jesus reflects all of humanity and the message is clear. Christmas is for everyone!  Christmas is for everyone because everyone is represented in Jesus’ family tree. Whatever kind of family you come from is the kind of family that Jesus comes from, but more importantly it’s the kind of family that Jesus comes for.

12/10 (Second Sunday in Advent) Tis the Season to be…Lonely.  Psalm 142.  Tis the season to be jolly? Not for some. Earlier this year the Surgeon General declared war on what he believes to be the #1 health threat of our day…Loneliness. In Psalm 142 David writes about his experience while in a cave feeling alone and depressed. From his words Pastor Barry shares how David worked through his loneliness finding hope on the other side.

12/17 (Third Sunday in Advent) The Unsettling News of Christmas. Luke 2:25-35. The angel announced good news to the shepherds, (Luke 2:10) but that’s not the whole story. Our reading of the Nativity often ends with verse 20. In the following verses, Simeon’s words are our first hint that this baby would grow up and shake things up.  This quake upsets the mighty and exalts the lowly.  It’s the beginning of a great judgment that will set things right but even those who find salvation in it will be shaken by it. 

12/24 am (Fourth Sunday in Advent) A Visit From Herod the Great. Matthew 2:1-3.  King Herod (impersonated by Pastor Barry), returns to tell us the Christmas story from his perspective.

12/24 pm (Christmas Eve) Who Cares About a Baby Born in Bethlehem?  Luke 2:4-7.  Have you ever noticed that some things that really seem important at the time, if you wait awhile you realize they weren’t really important at all.  Twenty centuries ago who could have cared about the birth of a baby in Judea when all eyes of the world were on Rome. While Rome was busy making history, God arrived.  He pitched His fleshly tent in silence on straw… in a stable… under a star.  The world didn’t even notice. The world overlooked Mary’s little Lamb, and – it still does.


12/31 Guest Speaker:



1/7 (Communion) Guest Speaker: 

1/14 Happy New You!  Ephesians 4:24 Your happiness in the new year will be determined by your willingness to change, to become a new version of yourself.  If we aren’t growing and adapting, we just tend to perpetuate the same old problems over and over. In this sermon Pastor Barry shares that the new year will have new problems, and new pressures that will  require new attitudes and new adjustments.

1/21 Guest Speaker: Emory Gaskins, Chaplain, Castle Medical Center.

1/28

2/4 Guest Speaker: Patty Bilyeu, Executive Minister American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region (Illinois & Missouri).

2/11

2/18

2/25 Guest Speaker: Jon Good, International Ministries Global Servant in Hungary.