Church of Christ at Alexandria

09/05/2026

Live Stream 09-06-2026

“What Some People Do with Rules”
Colossians 2:16-23

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“What Some People Do with Rules”

09/04/2026

The other day I read about a guy who lost his wife. People watched his house and reported him “canoodling” with a younger woman. Now I’m not one to prohibit a widower from dating and/or remarrying. Three days was maybe a bit quick. Three days! This guy lost his wife on August 10th and had a new woman by the 13th!

And by guy I mean eagle. Millions in America and around the world are fans of the Big Bear Valley eagle nest camera. Shadow and Jackie were mates for eight years. They hatched nine eaglets together. Jackie struggled and was treated. Her death was announced on August 10th. That very same day Kaydee, the new female, showed up at the nest. It was recently reported she was already rearranging the sticks.

While we’re talking about eagles. Do you know the fine for messing with eagles? The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d) lists the penalties at $100,000, imprisonment for one year, or both, for a first offense. And where I generically say “messing”, the act is far more detailed.

“The Act defines "take" as "pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, mo**st or disturb." Regulations further define "disturb" as “to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) injury to an eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior" (50 CFR 22.6)

Now I like eagles. I love to watch them soar. But do you see where we’re at? Again, I believe in stewardship and conversation, but have we inverted some of our priorities? When did an eaglet in an egg become more sacred than a baby in the womb?

Humans are scientifically classed as animals. Humans often behave like (and worse than) other animals. I’ll grant both of those points. Be that as it may, we are not the same as animals.

Genesis 1:27 & 28 often come up in these discussions. God created man, and only man, in His image. God told Adam and Eve to exercise dominion over the animals.

A statement I don’t hear as often in this conversation is “You are worth more than many sparrows.” Who said that? Jesus. (Matthew 10:31 and Luke 12:7) God does cares about birds. He provides for them. But eagles and people do not have the same value in His eyes.

Have you seen the news headlines lately? Have you heard about some of the things people are doing to other people? Lives are being taken criminally and casually. Next time you ask yourself, “How could a person ever…” remember how we have devalued human life.

09/01/2026

Wow!! That one was/is a lot! I’ve been basing my Tuesday devotions out of the selected text from our church’s 52 Key Sections of the Bible reading program. Once a week we read and wrestle with a notable passage of Scripture.

The section is usually about a chapter long, sometimes two. For a while we had some shorter Psalms. On rare occasions we have three chapters. This week we have four. And they are four very deep and challenging chapters—Romans 5-6-7-8! I looked back through some records. I have sixteen different sermons, entire sermons, that cover mere segments of these four chapters. And here we are looking at all four of them in one devotion.

I’m going to zoom way in, narrow it way down, and simply pull out two foundational statements. Read the last phrase of Romans 5:6, “Christ died for the ungodly.” Now down to the last phrase in Romans 5:8, “Christ died for us.”

Sure, there’s tons more teaching worthy of discussion in these chapters. There are complex questions and theological brain-twisters. There’s ample instruction here as to how we can respond to Christ’s sacrifice. (6:4 and other verses) There are favorite passages in here and preacher soap-box sections. We can all benefit greatly from teachings in all of these chapters.

If you’re only able to take one initial tidbit away at first reading, let it be the two phrases above: “Christ died for the ungodly.” “Christ died for us.” Christ died for me. Christ died for you.

My mind went to Ben Affleck’s character, AJ Frost, in that Armageddon meteor thriller with Bruce Willis. AJ’s an oil driller…in space. He’s driving a specialized military rig he’s had for about a week. He’s arguing with a Russian cosmonaut he's know for mere hours. They’re fussing about “roads” on a rogue planet-killing asteroid hurtling towards earth. AJ finally spits out something to the effect of “I don’t know Lev! I have no idea. All I see is this blinking dot on the screen and I’m trying to get us there!”

Could be you feel a bit like AJ on the asteroid as you read through Romans 5-8 in one sitting. I’ve pulled out the blinking dot on the screen from 5:6 and 5:8. Please do keep studying and digging and praying and asking. Just remember, if you ever start to feel like you’re losing your way in this section, circle back to the bedrock truth at the beginning. Jesus died for you and me and everyone else.

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08/28/2026

Live Stream 08-30-2026

“The Truth & Its Suppressors”
Romans 1

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“The Truth & Its Suppressors”

08/28/2026

What’s wrong with this picture? From a physics standpoint we know the girl weighs more than the phone. She should be on the down end. In the broader scope, the phone may be smiling, but it’s not the same as having a real person to teeter-totter with.

We grant that phones can be very helpful. Facetiming loved ones is wonderful. Texts can come at just the right time. But still nothing beats face-to-face with another human being.

The apostle Paul expresses this awareness in a quiet little verse tucked in amongst some other passages that garner a lot more discussion. Romans 1:12, “that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

Paul longs to see Christian brothers and sisters he’s never yet met. (vs. 11) He can hear the good report of their faithfulness (vs 8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”) and be encouraged by that. He can preach the gospel to them via letter, which is vitally important. But he still values that face-to-face.

Paul will come around to this same anticipation at the end of this long letter. 15:24, “I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Our wording there, “enjoyed your company”, is a loose way of translating a verb that means “to be filled full, to satisfy.” Have you ever been a bit nervous about how a visit with strangers might go? I have. Paul has high hopes and great confidence.

Never underestimate the power you have to encourage someone today. Maybe they know more about common interests than you do—makes no difference. Maybe you think the time you’ll spend together is too short or too mundane to matter—don’t underestimate!

We are more connected than ever. We are more isolated than ever. Your expression, your laugh, your hand on a slumping shoulder could do more today than you realize.

08/25/2026

I met my son and two good friends to play some pickle ball last night. We play in our own church parking lot. We were in full view of the cross on top of the steeple. The court is maybe 200-300 feet from my office where I sit and counsel people to be like Jesus. It’s even closer to the pulpit where I stand weekly to proclaim the good news of the gospel of peace. And I was the one of the four of us to lose my temper.

I hadn’t played in a while. I was making unforced errors. These were simple plays, easy hits, and I was missing them. As I walked over to pick up the paddle I had chucked into the barrier wall my teammate worked quickly to talk me down, “A lot of game still left to play.”

He was right. I would hope all three of them would attest to the fact that I got better from there and settled down. It didn’t escalate any further. But the fact remains I still don’t handle losing well. I have a temper and a quick fuse. That’s the truth. For me to color it any other way to would be a lie.

Romans 1 is packed with truth—and it talks about lies. It just so happens that our reading schedule for the year and our sermon series for the summer both have arrived at this exact same point at the exact same time. This is no accident. The same God who created the universe (Romans 1:20) has directed these two schedules to intersect. That’s the truth. Some will call it coincidence or chance, but that would be a lie.

There’s a lot towards the end of Romans 1 that addresses s*xuality. God’s prescribed boundaries for s*x to be only between a man and a woman are clear there. Some work diligently to redefine and reinterpret those confines today. The same arguments and choices were being put forth at the time of writing. 2,000 years of human history and Romans 1:25 still holds true, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”

Does it seem like things are getting worse today? The weather is terrible. People’s choices are mind-boggling. The way humans treat one another is abysmal. Romans 1:18 says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Both verses 26 and 28 say that God gives people over to endure the consequences of their own choices.

People still get mad at God. They want Him to approve and bless their every choice. They want to shake their fists at Him every time He allows them to suffer any painful consequence. They want to ignore the commands of Romans 1.

At the end of the day, you and I are not the final authorities, God is. You and I don’t make the rules, God does. That’s the truth. Anything other than that is a lie.

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08/22/2026

Live Stream 08-23-2026

“Canyons, Rivers & Mercy”
Philippians 3:12-14

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“Canyons, Rivers & Mercy”

08/14/2026

Live Stream 08-16-2026

"Glasses"

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“Glasses”

08/14/2026

Most of my tool batteries have charge level indicators. A couple do not. I like the feature. There is usually some sort of button somewhere you can press. Most have some series of lights that illuminate or blink to indicate how much charge remains. One light out of four? You have about 25% of your battery life left. This is very helpful when you want to be out working for a while and don’t want your battery to die mid-job, especially if you are a ways from the shop or other batteries.

Where is your charge level indicator? How do you know how much charge you have left?

We all run down. Elijah got tired. (1 Kings 19) Moses grew weary. (Numbers 11:14) Jesus Himself was at times low on energy. John 4—the conversation with the woman at the well. Verse 6, “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” John is using Jewish reckoning, so it’s about noon. Jesus’ low charge lights are already flashing for the day.

What happens when the charge levels drop so low you can’t keep working? Many a tool owner has squeezed and waited, squeezed and waited. Each pull of the trigger sucking another last little bit of juice from the battery. ‘Come on baby, just a few more turns and the job will be finished!’

It can be frustrating to be mid-project holding a tool that can no longer do the job. We all know how it feels to be counting on someone who walked away mid-effort or never even showed up to start. The only thing more frustrating than a battery dying half-way through is forgetting to charge it up the night before!

What tells you your batteries are running low? Can you hear yourself? Short words. Negative words. Internal words. ‘I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but what I’m thinking is….’

Who can you trust? Who’s the family member or coworker who knows how to read your indicators? And more than that, who are the ones you trust to tell you? “Hey, walk away.” “You’re just stripping screws.” “Time for you to recharge.”

Spiritually speaking, your calendar can always help. If you ever wake up and it’s Saturday, your spiritual power indicator could well be at about 15%. Daily devotions and prayer are definite power sources. Mid-week studies and music can be wonderful ways to recharge. Giving and serving energize, but few things can provide the Christian with a source to plug in and recharge like collective worship with the Church body. (Hebrews 10:25)

What’s your power percentage as you read? Do you need a fresh charge?

08/11/2026

It hasn’t been this dark on a Tuesday morning around here for a very long time. The eerie blackness outside my window earlier today had nothing to do with daylight savings time or smoke from any far-off fires. About an hour ago it was storm cloud black. Dumping rain black. Winds howling, lights flickering, “Is there a tornado heading this way?” black.

Is it dark where you are? Your darkness may not have anything to do with the weather. The person right next to you may be unaware, but it’s black where you live.

The darkest day in history was a Friday. We’re reading two pivotal chapters in John this week, 19 and 20. The bookend verses could not be more opposite.

John 19:1, “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.” (whipped with a device that had bits of bone and metal embedded in the ends to bring more pain) Chapter 19 opens in agony and it only gets worse for Jesus.

John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” If you’re not familiar with what transpires between these two verses, I’d encourage you to sit down right now and read the chapters. John 19 and 20 record the seminal event in all human history. Jesus is crucified on the cross. He dies for our sins in chapter 19. He rises from the grave to defeat sin and death in chapter 20. There are worlds more hope and light at the end of chapter 20 than there are at the beginning of 19.

Maybe you are stuck living in John 20:1—the verse right in the middle. It’s the first verse of the new hope chapter. Things will lighten up greatly very soon. But the events recorded in John 20:1 take place “while it was still dark”.

Sometimes we’re surrounded by so much chapter 19 darkness we give up thinking the light of chapter 20 will ever arrive. Many times we have to remind ourselves and even force ourselves to focus on the light of chapter 20 even while we’re still walking in the dark of chapter 19.

The sky has cleared as I’ve worked on this. I hope it’s getting lighter where you live as well. None of us can totally escape the darkness of chapter 19. Praise God for the Light of chapter 20. Whatever is darkening your world today can absolutely be overcome by the light of the gospel of the resurrected Savior!

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