Month: November 2025

I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116:17

We can all remember our mothers teaching us basic manners. If we want something we have to say the magic word. The customary reply… Thank you! Simple manners with easy words to remember. To say thank you is an expected response if someone does anything for you. But how often is this response simply an automatic reply, without much thought or intention? Often I would guess.

On the other hand, to be thankful moves beyond a cultural expectation. Thankfulness is a heart condition. To be thankful builds deep within us and moves far beyond words. In fact, unlike a thank you, true thankfulness cannot be expressed simply in words. That is because thankfulness is based on gratefulness and gratitude. Gratefulness is the realization and appreciation of something good being done to you. Gratitude is what we feel and the motivation to return kindness. Gratefulness and gratitude stem from a core response that causes us to feel cared about and bolsters the feeling of hope in our life. One of the greatest reasons we feel thankful is because compassion has been extended toward us.

When it comes to thankfulness, we have even created a national holiday for it. However, how much of this federal day off for Thanksgiving has stayed true to its original intention? There is an excitement that seems to be built around food, family and a four day weekend for many. With all the busyness of the day, how much time do we actually spend being thankful?

Then there is the God factor. When it comes to God, there is so much to be thankful for. In fact, it is limitless because God encompasses everything good in our lives. But, should our thankfulness toward God be and look differently than our thankfulness towed anything else?

The Scriptures are full of examples and teachings about giving thanks to the Lord. From lepers, to Daniel, to Paul, to Hannah, to the Samaritan woman, to Jesus Himself, we find a genuine thankful heart expressed toward God in so many situations. How they chose to exhibit thankfulness may have differed, but the heart behind it stemmed from the same place. A deep gratefulness and gratitude toward the Creator of all things. Such a small statement on our part, but because it is a true heart expression, God accepts our thankfulness as a sacrifice. Psalm 116:17 mentions the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was central to worship in the Old Testament. In the New Testament church, it’s just as important. Ephesians 5:19 says, …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is making a specific and broad statement all at the same time. We are to be giving thanks or expressing a thankful heart always for everything in a personal way to God. 

In the grand scheme of eternity, this makes the holiday of Thanksgiving somewhat menial. As born-again followers of Christ however, we live in the eternal hope of the Father. To be and express thankfulness for that should be our heart’s desire. That changes how we live right now. The thankfulness we express toward others should be based on our thankfulness we have for God, every day. This principle is the same one we find in love. If the love shown to others is not the love of  God, is it truly love at all?

Jason Metz, lead Pastor

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

Just a few weeks ago after shoulder surgery, my legs started hurting. It wasn’t hard to figure out why. My body is used to movement. Being down for my shoulder started taking its toll on the rest of my body. It was a kind of catch 22, I needed to keep my shoulder immobile, but by doing so, the rest of my body began to suffer. After discussing it with my physical therapist, she simply said, “Can you be trusted to go to the gym?”

Her concern was that I would overdo it and inadvertently hurt my shoulder. I can admit her concern might hold some weight. Okay, a whole lot of weight. Not to my surprise, Amy completely agreed and sided with my P.T.’s assessment. So I have been forced to ask myself, “Can I be trusted to be a good boy at the gym?”

In other words, will I limit my workout so I don’t hurt myself during recovery? 

The answer, probably not. If I’m being completely honest with myself, definitely not. My only answer to this question had to be, “I’ll try.”

As I continue to think about this concern over my shoulder, it does open up a much more profound question. Within our human nature, can we be trusted? From a Christian mindset, can we be trusted to do the right thing, the Godly thing? 

That answer has to be definitely not. On our own, our sin nature seems to always win out. For most Christians, it is not to the extent of murder, adultery, embezzlement or any of the other big sins. All too often though, we can justify our own actions through the lens of what we deem as extreme sins. “It’s not like I murdered anyone.” And yet, Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount bring clarity between intention in our heart and commission when it comes to sin. As a result, we must all admit, no, on my own I cannot be trusted.

If you have read this far, you are probably ready for some good news. It’s actually some of the best news out there. 

God can be trusted! 

In all things, God remains righteous, therefore no deceit exists within the Lord. Because of His very nature, we can unconditionally place our trust with our Creator, Savior and Lord. 

I know for me personally, this truly is great news. Because it seems the world presses in on me from every direction. There are ample opportunities every single day to do the wrong thing. Things that ultimately will hurt and bring harm to me. So I must come to the liberating reality that on my own, I cannot be trusted, but I never have to be on my own. 

Not only is unconditional trust in God available to every born-again believer, every born-again believer needs to surrender the trust they place in themselves and live with the trust we can only find in Christ. That’s not always an easy thing to do because of past experiences when our trust has been violated by someone. Similar to the love we experience from God, the trust we can experience is just as pure and genuine. Despite past experiences, God wants to do something great for us, but we have to place our full trust in Him. 

Peter is a great example when it comes to trust. Throughout the Gospels and Acts we see two very different Peters. One who trusts in himself, sinking in the ocean, cutting off an ear and denying his Savior. Then we see the other Peter, proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God, preaching to thousands at Pentecost and boldly proclaiming the Gospel message in the face of persecution. The difference in where Peter put his trust.

Jason Metz, lead Pastor

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

    but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 18:2

How many times have we formed an opinion way before we should have? Maybe it’s about a situation and how we think it will turn out. Maybe it’s about a person and who we think they are. The problem with jumping to conclusions is that we are operating from a very limited pool of information. Facts and truth matter. Without them we will be stuck in a perpetual mode of voluntary ignorance. 

Assumptions are formed for a variety of different reasons. If we lean toward a pessimistic attitude we will tend to assume the worst of the situations we find ourselves in or expect the least from the people we meet. An optimist does the opposite. The rose colored glasses rarely live up to their initial impression. Both rarely hit the nail on the head because assumptions get in the way. For those that struggle with fear and distrust, assumptions jade every conversation. For those that are naive, misplaced trust often gets them into trouble.

Pride also plays a major factor when assumptions are carelessly thrown around. Pride is a self-sufficient attitude that disregards the need for genuine knowledge. Our pride convinces us that we know everything so the opinions we form must be right. And if we are always right, that means those around us that disagree with our assumptions must be wrong. 

The assumptions we make in the situations of everyday life that we are constantly faced with can put us in precarious positions. For example, if we assume we have enough gas in our car to go from point A to point B, we can be left stranded on the side of the road. If we assume the pot on the stove is cool enough to move, burned fingers are a real possibility. These are not accidents, but rather bad assumptions. 

The assumptions we make about people can have even bigger ramifications. If my first impression of someone, which is really just a first assumption, is negative I can forfeit what could potentially be a close relationship with that person. On the other hand, if I am captivated by the first assumption, I may find myself being hurt when true colors are shown. Both of these situations if not kept in check with facts and truth can jade us in how we see others and how we interact within society. 

Assumptions are the fuel that powers racism and bigotry. When we base our opinion of an entire race, culture or gender from limited experience we are ignorant fools. Assumptions cause us to be close minded in these cases and the result is at its least division and at its extreme violence.  

As harmful to individuals as well as society as this can be, the most dangerous assumptions we can make are about God. People do it all the time. Assumptions about God quickly filter down to assumptions about Christianity as well as Judaism. How many religious assumptions throughout the ages have facilitated horrendous acts? The fact is, we don’t ever have to make assumptions about God because the Truth of Scripture attests to who He is. Within our own faith, assumptions have the potential to open ourselves up to dangerous theology. Assuming that everything can be trusted by those who proclaim themselves as a pastor, minister, teacher, evangelist, prophet or apostle has led many astray through the ages. 

Though all assumptions are not proven false, all assumptions should be checked with fact and truth. In our faith the Bible must be our main source of information. When we fall victim to making a false or bad assumption, there is only one person to blame, ourselves. The Holy Spirit offers something very different to us in the form of discernment. Discernment doesn’t rely on our emotions, opinions, education or experience. To the contrary. Holy Spirit discernment comes through our surrender, humility and relationship with Christ. How can you move from assumptions based in ignorance to discernment given by the Holy Spirit? 

Jason Metz, lead Pastor

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

–Mark 2:27

The Sabbath principle is both interesting as well as wonderful. The original Hebrew word describes what we can relate to as an intermission. Within the context of the Sabbath principle this makes a lot of sense. An intermission is a break from the normal or routine. It is a respite or in the most simple terms, breathing space. 

God Himself initiated the Sabbath principle after creating everything we see in six days. Genesis 2:3 says, 

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.

God’s plan and God’s example is for His people to take time, to break from the routine and have some breathing space. Unfortunately, the Jews had transformed what God intended for the benefit of His people into a mandatory law punishable if transgressed. It became a you must instead of the gift it was intended to be. Whether or not we choose to participate in a Sabbath ultimately does not affect God, but absolutely affects us and our relationship with God. Jesus summed this up in Mark 2:27 with His eye-opening statement, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

So what is the practical application here for the born-again Christian living now? It’s not hard to see that we live in a culture of perpetual opportunity and busyness. Our lives are crowded with things to do. As a Christian, many of those things are, at their core and in our intention good. Combine those with our obligation, our families and our hobbies or leisure time and our schedule gets filled up quickly. Many times we have to squeeze in Bible time and prayer before hastily moving on to the next thing. When someone asks us how things are going, the popular response is, “BUSY.” This has almost become the expected answer because if we are anything but “BUSY” we must be slacking. But what if instead we are busy because we are distracted or inefficient in our efforts? How would we even know? 

It’s actually quite simple. Take some breathing room. Intentionally set some time aside to worship, listen and quietly be with the Lord. Separate yourself from your agenda, your schedule, your routine. Sounds simple enough, but the actual application can prove more difficult. 

The Sabbath principle is based on sacrifice. I have to willingly choose to sacrifice other things in my life in order to offer my time to the Lord. When we think about it this way, the idea of a Sabbath becomes something that has a lot of weight in an already heavy life. Which guides us back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:29-30 which says,

“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

The teachings and the application of these words are that we need to learn about Jesus. To follow Him means to mimic Him and His example. The only way to do that is to spend time alone with Him. Voluntarily and sacrificially dedicating time away from this world and with Him.

We must also understand that the Sabbath is not just unplugging in the same regard that fasting is not just skipping meals. We unplug from our busyness so that we can plug into God’s presence. Again, that takes intent and application. 

So what is keeping you from the Sabbath? Ignorance because of a lack of understanding or bad teaching? The thought that you just don’t have time? Pure apathy toward this Godly principle? We can come up with all sorts of excuses as to why we can’t. But maybe if we see and experience the benefits and blessings that come only from Sabbath time we will prioritise breathing room with God.

Jason Metz, lead Pastor