Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

In our last message, we saw how we commonly approach The 1^st Four Beatitudes as if they are instructions for us to “be like this and you’ll be among the blessed.”

If this is true, we would have to rewrite this 2^nd Beatitude. It would have to read, “Be mournful and you’ll be blessed.”  Somehow I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind at all.  Jesus did not say: “What a fine thing to be mournful! Those people are blessed!”  He said…  (more…)

Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   Matthew 5:3

What we need to see/admit is that this is not a virtue! Poor in Spirit does not mean “humble.”  Poor in Spirit refers to the spiritually impoverished and destitute, the spiritual losers!

We’ve attempted to translate this and the other dreadful states of existence mentioned by Jesus in his preamble to his Sermon on the Mount, into virtues because it’s inconceivable to us that God would do anything for those who don’t first become worthy or who don’t first at least seek him.  (more…)

Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

God has called us to join him in the battle against injustice in our world, rescuing and restoring lives in the name and power of Jesus, the Savior of the World. Part of our motivation for combating injustice in our world is learning true empathy.  According to Webster, Empathy is “the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another’s feelings.”  Wow! How good are we at dong that?  God’s Word actually tells us, straight out, to be empathetic.  Check this out… (more…)

Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

Doing Good & Practicing Hospitality— Loving Strangers—It’s What We Do as the Family of God! Check out what God’s Word has to say about us, God’s Fam, doing just that… (more…)

Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

A couple of very interesting scripture passages present themselves when we’re trying to discover what it really means for Jesus to be the Head of the Church, His Body. (That’s us, by the way.)

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)  (more…)

Chuck Foreman – Teaching / Missions Pastor

Because we have Christ in common, we are experiencing a new, restored community where barriers, dividing walls and hostility between people are all being broken down and replaced by genuine reconciliation and true brotherhood. This does not happen in our world, but it is the norm in the Family of God—or at least it should be. If it isn’t, we are not the Family God is building on earth. (more…)