We are excited, honored and blessed to have, as our Pastor; John Nehs.  John brings with him strong convictions and an amazing passion for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  John's words, whether spoken or written, are honest and inspirational...

Read on...   then join us for worship at 10:00 each Sunday!!

Transformers

When my son was “my boy”, he was all “boy”. He loved trucks, dirt and destruction. One of his favorite toys was a “Transformer”, a truck that he could turn into a robot. The process was a simple matter of "unfold this and pull on that", as he twisted and pulled, arms unfolded from the wheels and a head from the front grill. I must confess that I enjoyed playing along side of him and liked turning the toy truck to robot and back again almost as much as he did.

 There is a story from the book of Acts that reminded me of the need for us to be transformed. The story is the point of transformation that turned the zealous persecutor of Christians into a zealous leader of the people he had once sought to destroy. Christians know the person I speak of as the Apostle/Saint Paul. We know him today as the great writer of many invaluable letters that have become core to the faith of Christians around the world. In Acts 26:15-18 Saul became Paul and was given two directives as well a promise. The promise was, that as he lived his life as Paul, he would see the transformation of others. The Lord spoke to Saul and gave him these two starting points for who he would become as Paul.

 “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.”

 Notice a couple of things, first of all is this, when Saul got knocked down the Lord was there to say, “get up and stand on your feet”. Secondly, that the Lord appointed Saul as a witness and servant based on what he had already seen of him, and what he was yet to see. The Lord had more to show him and more that Saul needed to know. But first things first, Saul needed to “stand up”. The message for the Church today is the same. Stand up and secondly you must be ready to speak for Christ. Your message will be based on what you already know, but you will also live in a state of always getting to know Him.

 The Lord ends his initiating point of transformation of Saul to Paul with these words.

 “I am sending you to them (Jews and gentiles) to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light…so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

 The transformation of Saul was one of those defining moments in life. A moment that opens eyes and changes a person’s purpose. If you can answer the question of your purpose, the “why am I here and what am I doing that is of eternal value” you too can be counted among the transformed. But remember, just as the truck could turn into a robot and the robot could be turned back into a truck. We must resist any pressure that causes us to “morph” back into who we were before our encounter with Christ. That encounter was the starting point of faith that transformed our purpose and made us into witnesses and servants ready to stand on our feet and be transformed into the ones who are now about the business of seeing that others can have their eyes opened, their sins forgiven, and become the “sanctified by faith in me.” (The Lord, Jesus Christ)

Your Pastor,
John Nehs