October 23, 2011 at Dakota

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. (Ephesians 2:14-15)

I hope you will join me this Sunday morning for “Unity of the Body - Part 2” as we continue to work our way through the Book of Ephesians.

 (You may listen to Part 1 if you missed it by clicking here.) 

Having clearly defined the good news as “salvation by grace through faith and not by works so that no one can boast”; Paul now begins to explain what life looks like in light of this truth. In order to underscore the importance of unity in the Body of Christ, he reminds the gentile Ephesians of just how divided from the people of God they were before Christ.

Formerly they were divided by circumcision, meaning that they were strangers to the covenants and promises of God.

Formerly they were divided by hope - the gentiles did not share in the hope of Messiah, a hope which allowed the people of God to endure incredible hardship with the knowledge that history is headed somewhere, there is a Sovereign plan being worked out.

This Sunday morning we will continue along these lines as we once more dive into the Word of God.



Sunday September 18, 2011

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

We are a Christ centred Church coming togeather to worship the One who has paid the ultimate price to redeem us for Himself.

This morning we are looking at our gospel proclamation. Has the message of the church changed? Have men evolved beyond superstitious notions like sin and repentance? Has the mystery of the ages been re-hidden? Has the commanded way of salvation been modified, revoked, or expanded in any way?

Scripture for today’s sermon:

Acts 17:22-31; Genesis 18:18; Isaiah 49:6; Exodus 9:16-18; Acts 17:29; Acts 4:6-12; Acts 19:23-27; Acts 17:30; Ephesians 3:2-6; Romans 10:11-15; Acts 17:31; John 10:14-16; Acts 2:6-8

Bored at Church

Eliminate a team from play-off contention and attendance wanes.
Sell off all your stocks and following the markets becomes blasé.

It isn’t easy to stay engaged in things that have no real importance to them.


Once the team is eliminated it doesn’t really matter how slick the advertising promo is - they’re done - see ya next year!

 When it comes to finance - I don’t care if Poppy stands on her desk and sings the latest acquisition news, I have nothing invested, I’m not tuning in.

Here’s my point. There is a lot of talk these days about church being boring, especially to men. We need to find ways – we are told - to be more relevant, more engaging. Eerie warnings abound that the masses are beginning to find the “courage” to “leave church”, to exchange commitment to a local body of believers for chats about God over coffee or on the golf course. There’s a coming revolution don’t you know?

I think our quest for relevance is the problem – not the solution.

We have neutered the church by cutting out everything that might be found offensive.

There are no sinners anymore, only the horrible spectre of global injustice. There is no coming wrath, no judgement, no accounting for individual iniquity, only a call to “look for what God is doing” so we can join Him in His dream for humanity. It’s all so beautiful... one could even say Christianity is the search for beauty... but...here’s the thing though...

We don’t need a crucified savior for that – in fact what was Jesus doing up there on that cross anyway – didn’t he realize that the cure for the human condition is to switch to fair trade coffee and to drive hybrids? (yawn)

So then ... Let there be lights, motion backs, dance, drama and the arts. Bring on the professional singers, comedians, and occasional athlete testimonies, don’t forget the video announcements, secular music, and clowns in a Volkswagen - but, at the end of the day; if we are just another concerned citizens group trying to hold the attention of the crowd we are already irrelevant.

The only thing we have to offer is the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Christ died in my place on that hill – and that never gets old - or boring!


I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Gal. 2:21)