by Derek Fekkes | Oct 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. –James 5:12 This past Sunday, a man came up to me after the service and asked...
by Derek Fekkes | Oct 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” James 5:7 This past Sunday, we looked at James 5-7-11, which exhorts believers to live with patient endurance. I began by noting how almost everything in our culture is working against us being patient:...
by Derek Fekkes | Aug 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
“Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1) I recently witnessed an online conversation about COVID-19 vaccines, regarding a doctor who was advocating for the vaccines. One individual, who claims to be a...
by Derek Fekkes | Aug 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
I’m currently reading a book called Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age, by Alan Noble. It suggests that our “distracted age” of ever-present social media, news, sports, streaming shows, etc., keeps us from reflecting on the deeper realities and...
by Derek Fekkes | Jun 23, 2021 | Uncategorized
This past week, I preached from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, the passage about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. We focused on the role of weakness and difficulty in the Christian life, and God’s will to draw us into deeper dependence and contentment in him. As usual, there is a...
by Derek Fekkes | Jun 7, 2021 | Uncategorized
We are in the midst of a short series on identity, gender and sexuality. Yesterday, we looked at what the Bible has to say about human identity and purpose, because the conversations about gender and sexuality in our day are really conversations about identity and...
by Derek Fekkes | Jun 2, 2021 | Uncategorized
This past Sunday we looked at Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18). In the parable, the Pharisee’s disposition and attitude towards God is one of relief that he is “not like other men.” He considers those who are known to be sinners or at...
by Derek Fekkes | May 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
Something that we have seen repeatedly in our journey through the Minor Prophets is that God has committed himself to a course of action that depends on his extending mercy. From before time began, God set in motion a plan that would require his compassionate and...
by Derek Fekkes | Apr 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
One of the most significant and pressing questions we are constantly asking, even if subconsciously, is, “What does God think about me?” Or, “How does God see me,” “What is God’s disposition or heart or affections towards me?” And our answer to this question has...
by Derek Fekkes | Feb 24, 2021 | Uncategorized
Those who know me have likely heard me say something along these lines: Everyone has a theology, and everyone is doing theology all the time. That is, everyone has ideas of who God is or isn’t, and these ideas are continually being shaped by, while also themselves...
