Author: David Cay

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.

Knowing Jesus Personally – July 30, 2023

John 15:1

Pastor David Cay

A recent study found that the average iPhone user is on their phone for two and half hours over seventy-six sessions. Another study on millennials put the number at twice that!

Can you imagine how much you could get done if you had another two and a half more hours in a day? Or if you were interrupted 76 less times?

But whenever I’m away from my phone, I feel angst like I feel I’m missing out on a WhatsApp message, or I’m missing breaking news on Twitter.

For some of us it’s playing a game or checking YouTube and Tik Tok (Instagram, Snap Chat), and before you know it you look at the clock and you’ve wasted so much time. You’ve lost so much time to this black hole called our phone.

Itt’s not just the phone, but people waste time in all kinds of ways. It might be a toxic relationship, or wasting time on some achievement that in the end doesn’t fill your soul.

It happens to us even though it’s the opposite of what we want. Most of us have a good desire to make a difference in the world. We want to make a difference through our work, family, and relationships.

We don’t want to waste our lives So my question today is: How can we get the right things done so our lives are full of meaning and purpose?

Knowing Jesus Personally – July 16, 2023

John 14:1-6

Pastor David Cay

During the pandemic, I had to put down my dog Kiwi. It’s probably one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had to go through. One of the hardest things to go through was the days after her death. It was actually the simple moments where it really hit you. It really hurt.

The older I get, the more I realize that grief, times of loss and discomfort is inevitable. The Bible tells us to expect it- there are even times when God directly leads us to times of grief. But at the same time, God gives us great hope in the midst of it.

So, my question today is: What is our greatest comfort in times of loss?
As we will see, in times of loss, we have to apply our knowledge of Jesus. And as always, we’ll see our big idea in the Bible.

Knowing Jesus Personally – June 18, 2023

John 6:25-27; 35

Pastor David Cay

Today we’re starting a new series in the book of John. We’ll be covering five statements that Jesus says about himself. Radical truths about him that can change our lives for the better. Today’s story comes from a time when Jesus was really famous!

Sometimes our heavenly father will let us go through pain and hard times and people can get really bitter at God. I’ve seen close friends leave the faith because they feel God did them wrong

So, my big question today is, how can we be happy with God and less frustrated? Our Bible passage today tells us 2 things:

  1. God doesn’t fit into our plans, but instead…
  2. We need to fit into God’s plans.

Relationships: Lessons from the Song of Songs – June 4, 2023

Song of Songs 2:1-7

Pastor David Cay

Romance is a huge part of our culture. We are inundated with it since childhood, just think about Disney movies and the “happy ever after” narrative. But as we all have seen and experienced, it doesn’t always happen that way. Many times, we see the exact opposite! We see heartbreak and pain.

Just because people fall in love doesn’t mean they will have a great romance. So, my question today is: What makes a great romance?

Our passage today gives us two principles for a great romance:

  1. Loyalty
  2. Intensity.

These two principles are important to any situation. So, if you’re young, we can prepare for it. If you’re in a dating relationship, you can cultivate it. If you’re married, you can maintain it or try to repair it.

The Book of Nehemiah – May 21, 2023

Nehemiah 13:6-12

Pastor David Cay

We are all a part of groups. Many of us have groups at work. At church we have groups (youth, tech), and many of us spend a lot of time with friends and family, so we have groups of people that are close to us. But not all groups are healthy.

You probably know how it feels like to experience a bad group. People fight, people are stressed, and they fail to live up to their responsibilities. But the Bible gives us wisdom to help our groups succeed. And if we follow that wisdom, we’ll all be better off.

So, my question today is: How can we help a group succeed? We’ll see today that there are two gifts that we can give to our groups: the gift of stability, and the gift of correction.