Keystone Nazarene Church

John 20:19-31 In this second week of Easter we find in scripture that the truth sometimes slowly sinks in.  While Mary tells the disciples of her encounter with Jesus we find them still locked in a house, frightened and forlorn.  And we too often are like they. Hearing that Jesus holds the keys to all […]

John 20:1-18 That lonely morning when a heart-broken Mary Magdalene walked to the tomb she had no idea what lay in store for her.  It was empty.  But while she and Peter saw only the remains of a theft, John saw and believed, without fully understanding all the details, that Jesus was not dead, he […]

Mark 1:1-11 You could feel the excitement!  It was contagious with people shouting, singing, clambering over one another, waving palm branches.  Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of the prophet Zechariah.  Finally God would give Israel the freedom they had desperately longed for… But they didn’t understand their true problem, […]

John 12:20-33 Have you ever imagined how a tiny acorn has the potential of growing into a tree the size of a house?  This is potential God has created but it is only unleashed as the seed is planted and dies.  The even more amazing by-product is that as the seed is transformed into the […]

John 3:14-21 When you have or work with small children you recognize the need for discipline to help them understand boundaries to have good relationships.  God did the same for Israel in their desert wanderings when they were being very disrespectful.  But even more than a good parent, he provided a way of salvation with […]

John 2:13-22 I’ve watched fathers who grow up loving baseball get more and more obsessed with winning and the stats of the game that when they teach their sons, the kids end up hating the sport. It’s so easy to miss the point in the things of our lives, nothing more-so than with the life […]

Mark 8:31-38   There is a two-sided coin of being a human.  One is wanting what we want, and it is shocking what people do to get what they want.  The other side is fear that if we don’t secure life for ourselves then we will be lost or forgotten.  Jesus, though, flies in the […]

Mark 1:9-15   The season of Lent has begun.  It is a time of honest reflection, of remembering, of repentance.  Apart from God we are ashes.  The cross reminds of us this.  But in our passage we find that we have not been left alone.  Jesus, the Son of God, our savior and guide begins […]

Revelation 21:1-7 This week Daniel Morton, a 6-year old in our congregation, died in a tragic accident at his home.  This week’s service is in memory of Daniel and for the support of his parents Jeremy and Vanessa.  The promise we hang onto in the midst of the storm, is that in Jesus we have […]

Ezekiel 36:24-28, 37:1-14 Have you ever gotten stuck in a rut?  Perhaps it’s in a relationship and you’ve done again, the thing you said you wouldn’t do.  Consequences come and you feel hopeless asking, can I ever change?  In the storm, God’s promise comes to us from the prophet Ezekiel, speaking to Israel after hundreds […]

2 Corinthians 11:16-12:10 It’s easy to not feel safe.  With economic threats, job cutbacks, life in a violent society, threats to marriage and more, it seems that life can be spent simply trying to establish and maintain security.  Paul lived in a life filled with more threats than we will probably experience, but God taught […]

2 Chronicles 7:11-14 Challenges and difficulties are a natural part of life.  A difficult boss, a poor choice, stress in marriage, or the death of a loved one can make the typically calm waters of our lives into a turbulent storm.  It is in these times that our live in Christ is tested and it […]

Luke 1:26-38, 46-55 Christmas can be a time of great joy, but it can also be a time which reminds us that we feel alone or inadequate.  It’s easy to feel that the forces of the world go on and leave us behind.  Yet it is precisely to a very simple girl named Mary that […]

John 1:6-8, 19-28 What is the secret to Joy?  Christmas, if ever, shows that the world is hungry for it.  We look again to John in the wilderness.  The people coming to him are seeking it, the religious leaders are curious about it for their own motives.  But John does not play into the lure […]

Mark 1:1-8 Have you ever felt that all the celebration surrounding Christmas doesn’t deeply satisfy?  It’s great and fun, but it comes and goes, and we’re looking for something that lasts. Mark’s gospel begins not with angels, wise men, and stables but rather John in the wilderness saying that the Messiah is coming and to […]

Mark 13:24-37 As we enter the Advent season all around us is the hope of Christmas trees, parties, gifts, and holiday cheer.  However, this often tries to mask and hide the deep brokenness that exists in our lives and in our world.   Jesus tells the truth, sin causes destruction and it will continue that […]

Ezra, Zecheriah (Nehemiah, Haggai) Have you ever woken up in life and wondered how you got to the place you were;  Whether it be driven by stress or anxiety, out of shape, a broken marriage, dysfunctional relationships, or just a sense of apathy, or so far from God? It seems impossible to get out… to […]

Esther 1-10; Daniel 3, 6   We daily make choices and these choices guide our lives into different directions.  Sometimes we wake up and wonder how in the world did we get to the place we are.  Israel probably asked the same question as they had drifted so far from God that he allowed other […]

2 Kings 17-25, 2 Chronicles 28-36, Ezekiel   After Israel’s disobedience and final defeat by Assyria and exile, the nation of Judah continues to live their own way.  Like a stubborn kid who will not obey or respond to a parent who loves them, God let’s Judah live their way and they are defeated by Babylon […]

1 Kings 3-11, Ecclesiastes   Solomon had it all.  He was from a good family, he loved the Lord, he was smartest man on earth, he was rich, he was powerful, he was successful.  God blessed him, but then Solomon began to drift.  He began to let the gifts get in the way of his […]