Author: David Cay

Priorities: A Study in John Chapter 17 – December 31, 2023

“Knowing God”

John 17:1-8

When my son, Jalen, was a baby there were times at night when he would just cry uncontrollably. Maybe he wants milk? Maybe he’s hungry? So, we would give him milk and still he would just cry and cry. What does he want? Maybe a diaper change? So, we changed his diaper and still he would just cry and cry. We carried and danced with him but still he would just cry and cry. We gave him a soother, same result!

We called this the witching hour because we couldn’t figure out what he wanted! It was frustrating because he would do this almost every day. He would just cry and cry, and nothing would soothe him.

Then out of frustration, I put him down in front of the TV, and shockingly he stopped! He would just watch TV. The next day it worked again, and again and again! What a relief! Life would be so much easier if babies could just tell you what they want, it would save so much time and your sanity.

Sometimes, that’s how it can feel like in our relationship with God. If God could just tell us what He wants, and what is important, then we can see clearly what it means to be His follower.

So, my big question today is: What does Jesus want? Our Bible passage today comes from John 17: 1-5.

There are two ideas in our passage that I want to explore today:

  1. Jesus wants glory
  2. God’s glory is good for everyone

Christmas (2023) – December 17, 2023

“The Greatness & Humility of Christ”

John 1:1-14

All kinds of things grab our attention, especially during Christmas! December can be really busy. We have family parties and we have to buy presents!

And if we’re not careful we can miss the greatest thing about Christmas! So, my big question today is: Why is Jesus worth our attention this Christmas season? 

In our passage, we will learn 2 things about Jesus:

  1. Jesus is the still greatest person we can know, and…
  2. He is also the humblest person we can know. 

Holiness: A Study on Leviticus – December 3, 2023

Leviticus 21:16-23

My main question for today is: what is heaven like?

We see all these ideas in an unexpected place in the Bible. Our Bible passage today is about a weird law that the ancient Hebrews had to follow. But it’s a law that helps us understand what heaven is like and it gives us something to look forward to.

When we fully understand, it should motivate us to make earth a bit more like heaven.

As strange as it may seem, our passage today gives us two ideas about Heaven:

  1. Heaven is a place of wholeness
  2. Heaven is a place of complete fellowship

Holiness: A Study on Leviticus – November 12, 2023

Leviticus 10:1-7

One of the great things about basketball is that it gives people a chance to be part of a team that shares a common mission. Even if they don’t make it into the NBA, it’s the journey that counts the most! It’s the friendships you make along the way. The character formation and the habits created.

These ideas carry over to other parts of life because life is a team game. And following Jesus is a team game and as Christians, we share a mission together.

So, my big question today is: How can we fulfill our responsibilities on God’s team?

We find two answers in our passage today:

  1. We need to obey what God says
  2. We need to bring him honor

We see these answers in our Bible story, which is about some serious drama that happened in the household of the high priest Aaron.

Romans: Back to Basics – October 29, 2023

Romans 12:3-8

Pastor David Cay

When we need to be efficient and serve lots of people, the best way is to work together and specialize.

In the same way the Church has a mission- we’re trying to get Jesus into the hearts of every person in the world. It’s a mission to save the world.   

So, my question today is: What is your part in God’s plan to save the world?

Romans: Back to Basics – October 22, 2023

Romans 11:33-12-2

Pastor David Cay

It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when we follow Jesus. As a result, some Christians respond by only do the bare minimum like attending church only. We skip the hard stuff that costs us more.

That’s like stepping onto an escalator with one foot and the other foot dragging on the ground. If we only follow Jesus halfway, it could end up hurting us even more. However, if we have the right attitude, if we can truly understand and appreciate what God has done for us, we’ll have a lot more peace and motivation to follow Him when it is scary.

So, my question today is: what is the most helpful attitude for followers of Jesus?

Our Bible passage today tell us that to have a better attitude we need to revel in the grace of the savior, so that we can follow him happily as our Lord.

Romans: Back to Basics – October 1, 2023

Romans 1:18-20

Pastor David Cay

We can know based on good reasons that God exists. So many people are not Christians because they’ve never heard of good enough reasons to believe. I’ve heard of many stories of Christians who leave the church because they weren’t allowed to ask questions or share doubts.

Ultimately, they were not given thoughtful reasons for why God exists. But I really believe that there are good reasons to believe he does exist- that Jesus is a real person.

So, my big question today is How can we know that God exists? It’s a tall order today to do this in 30 mins but my aim is to start a conversation. The answer we’ll see in our bible passage is that we need to follow the evidence with integrity. Our passage today comes from Romans 1:18-20.

Proverbs: God’s Wisdom for Us – September 17, 2023

Proverbs 17:1, 19:11, 13:24, 27:5

Pastor David Cay

Conflict is an inevitable part of life. Some conflicts are going to be explosive and ugly. Some will be more subtle and less dramatic but still uncomfortable. Some conflicts are avoided, but the bitter feelings still linger.

On the other hand, some people seem to live conflict free because they possess good skills in handling conflict. So, the way we handle conflicts makes a really big difference.

So, my big question today is: How can we be wise with our conflicts? 

I want to make the case today that we need to prioritize peace, but sometimes we need to enter into conflict for the sake of others.

Proverbs: God’s Wisdom for Us – August 27, 2023

Proverbs 14:30

Pastor David Cay

We all struggle with mental health on some level, but one of the great things about being a Christian is that our relationship with God gives us the resources that can help our mental health significantly.

But just to be clear, a relationship with God doesn’t magically fix every mental health problem. Some people still need medication, some people need therapy, and many times some problems can’t be fixed on this side of eternity.

But what I am saying is that a Christian way of thinking can give us the best chance at great mental health. So, my big question today is: How can we improve our mental health? Our proverb today teaches us two things:

  1. We need to value peace like life itself
  2. We need to get rid of envy

Proverbs: God’s Wisdom for Us – August 13, 2023

Proverbs 22:4

Pastor David Cay

We all have things we treasure. We have things that are important to us, things we value, things that give meaning to our lives. Some people love their home and their possessions. Some people love their freedom. Some people love their career.

Some people love their relationships and families. And some people love to have fun. And these are all good things, so we treasure them and so we base our priorities on the things we treasure. However, we get into trouble when our priorities are not set properly.

So, my question today is: how can we set the right priorities? As it turns out, there is a whole book in the Bible dedicated toward helping us find the right priorities.

Today, we are starting a new series in the book of Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is a book of patterns, and not necessarily a book of promises. This is an important distinction. It was written to teach us how to think, how to navigate through life and how to set our priorities.

The most foundational idea in the book of Proverbs is that a good relationship with God is the key ingredient to a wise life. When we have a proper relationship with God, it makes all of our priorities fall into place. So, the first priority is to get things right with God. We’ll see this in our main verse today.