August 5, 2018 Pastor Jeff Struecker Sermon Notes Sometimes the question, “Why did this stuff work out the way that it did?” can lead to huge scientific discoveries, like Charles Goodyear in 1839. Goodyear was working on a process of making rubber. He was putting chemicals together with rubber, and he kept trying to figure […]
“The church is full of hypocrites!”
“The church is full of hypocrites!” Have you ever heard that one? I’ve heard this comment many times when sharing my faith in Jesus. I have heard this comment more than any other when talking to people about Jesus. I also assume that many more people believe this is true of church people but don’t […]
Reach Deeper: Asking Someone to Surrender
July 29, 2018 Pastor Jeff Struecker Sermon Notes Would it make you mad if your friend from work invited you over to his house to go swimming and you spend all of your time blowing up a floaty, and you get the children all lathered up with sunscreen and you were looking forward to go […]
Would you agree to “unconditional surrender”?
The world was a big, black bomb waiting to go off in the early 1910’s. Then Gavrilo Princip lit the fuse and the world exploded into death and destruction. Here’s how the History Channel describes this incident that plunged the world into the “Great War”. On June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo […]
Reach Deeper: How to Handle Fear When Talking About Jesus
July 22, 2018 Pastor Jeff Struecker Sermon Notes I want you to think back for a minute (for some of you, you’re going to have to think way back), but I want you to think back to the first day that you learned to ride a bicycle. Or maybe for you it was roller skates […]
How to ask for a big pay raise
Apparently, the thought of asking your boss for a pay raise can really stress people out. I can’t really speak from personal experience because I’ve never been in a situation where I could ask for a pay raise (The US Army doesn’t allow a soldier to ask for a pay raise!). However, I’ve become acutely […]
Reach Deeper: Asking the Big Questions
July 15, 2018 Pastor Jeff Struecker Sermon Notes Sometimes the long questions are easier to answer than the short ones. Let me tell you what I mean. Imagine that you’re back in school, that you’ve got this word problem that’s about a mile long on a math test, and you’re trying to figure out how […]
Answering the big questions of life
Why is the sky blue? Have you ever tried to give an honest answer to a 7-year-old child when asked a question like this? It’s not an easy question to answer. I probably gave the worst answer in history to this question when my children were young. The longer I tried to explain my answer, […]
Reach Deeper: How to Start a Gospel Conversation
July 8, 2018 Pastor Jeff Struecker Sermon Notes We heard from the Scripture about somebody who was alienated and separated from Christ and then out of God’s great love, he sent his Son Jesus to reach in and to snatch us back from our sin, and maybe one of the greatest examples of this story […]
How to write a great story
As a published author, I regularly get asked questions about how to get a book in print. Most people who ask this question don’t understand the challenges of writing for mass distribution. Many people have a book idea in their minds but nothing on paper and are just trying to understand how the literary industry […]