Ivanhoe United Church Of Christ

Ivanhoe United Church Of Christ Ivanhoe UCC is a warm and friendly church who welcomes all who believe in God and the Christian way. Ivanhoe's Cash App tag is $IvanhoeUCC.

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05/17/2026

Ivanhoe Worship Service - May 17, 2026
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-13
Sermon: Next Steps
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We do not own the copyright to the music being played.

05/14/2026

He Lights the Way
Scripture -- Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness.
---Psalm 112:4 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: A missionary in Peru went to visit a group of believers one evening. She knew that the house where they were meeting was located on a cliff and the path would be treacherous. She took a taxi as far as it could go, and then she began the hazardous ascent to the house on foot. The night was dark and the way was very difficult. As she rounded a bend, she suddenly came upon several believers carrying bright lanterns. They had come out to light the way. Her fears were relieved, and she ascended the path easily.
In a similar way, God lights our path. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, He who is the Light of the world enters our lives and removes the darkness of our sin and despair. This light continues to comfort us through times of sorrow. In the midst of sadness, trouble, illness, or disappointment, the Lord brightens the way and encourages His children by giving hope.
This may come through a word of exhortation from a fellow believer. It may be the illumination of God's Word by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It may be the miraculous supply of a specific need. Whatever the case, God sends light when we are engulfed in darkness.
Jesus gives light in the darkest night! God sometimes puts us in the dark to show us that Jesus is the Light. --Dave Egner

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

04/29/2026

God Understands
Scripture -- He knows our frame. ---Psalm 103:14 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: In the early days of the automobile, a Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. The driver couldn't get it started no matter how hard he cranked or how much he tried to adjust the spark. Just then a chauffeured limousine pulled up behind him, and a wiry, energetic man stepped out from the back seat and offered his assistance. After looking under the hood and tinkering with something for a few moments, the stranger said, "Now try it!"
Immediately the engine leaped to life and purred like a kitten.
Extending his hand to the driver, the well-dressed man identified himself as Henry Ford. "I designed and built these cars," he said, "so I know what to do when something goes wrong."
In Psalm 139, David said that God, who created us and has planned our lives, understands us completely. He knows when we sit down and when we rise up, and He knows our thoughts even before they come into our minds. We can turn to Him with confidence when nothing seems to be going right. He knows the difficulty of our situation and exactly what we need because "His understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5).
How comforting to know that God understands! The One who made you is the One who can mend you.
--Henry G. Bosch
God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

04/20/2026

Honest Doubts
Scripture -- When they saw [Jesus], they worshipped Him; but some doubted. --Matthew 28:17 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: Our experience tells us that people do not return from the grave. At the heart of our desolation when death strikes is the awful certainty that in this life, we will not see our loved ones again. We attend funerals to honor their memory and grieve our loss, but we do not expect to be greeted at the door by the person who has died.
In light of this, it should not seem surprising that Jesus' disciples were reluctant to believe that He had risen from the dead. Following the testimony of the women who had seen an angel, an empty tomb, and Jesus Himself (Matt. 28:1-10), "the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted" (vv.16-17).
Among those who were closest to the Lord and had heard His remarkable teaching and witnessed His powerful miracles, some doubted that Jesus was actually alive again. But the honest doubts of the disciples soon turned to joy and hope as they embraced the reality of their risen Lord.
What do we doubt about Jesus today? Does our experience tell us that our past mistakes, present struggles, or future prospects can't be changed? With fresh memories of Easter, let's trust that He can do all things. One look to Calvary can dispel your doubts. --David McCasland

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

04/13/2026

The Tomb of Jesus
Scripture -- He is not here, but is risen! --Luke 24:6 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: In his documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, Simcha Jacobovici claims archaeological evidence that disproves the resurrection of Christ. He says that the words "Jesus son of Joseph" found on a burial container near Jerusalem refer to Jesus of Nazareth. He also claims to have identified Jesus' DNA.
How valid are these conclusions? The Israel Antiquities Authority calls them "nonsense." Other secular and religious scholars agree. Jesus and Joseph were common names in first century Judea. And Jacobovici needs DNA samples from Jesus to compare with the bones in the tomb. Obviously, that's impossible!
But there are strong arguments in favor of Jesus' resurrection. Most compelling is the fact that every disciple except John died a martyr's death. Central to their message was Jesus' resurrection (Acts 2:29-32). If Christ had not been raised from the dead, why did the disciples choose to die rather than deny it?
Assaults on our faith and on the Scriptures come and go. Don't be shaken by these baseless attacks. Two thousand years ago, the disciples were eyewitnesses to the real tomb of Jesus. The angels told them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!" (Luke 24:5-6). The resurrection is a fact of history that demands a response of faith. --Dennis Fisher

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

04/06/2026

Finding Jesus
Scripture -- Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to [them] and dine with [them], and [they] with Me. --Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: If I asked the question, "Where's Waldo?" you might recall those popular children's picture books from the 1980s. That little guy in the red-and-white-striped shirt and hat loved to hide in the pages amid a busy blur of images that made it nearly impossible to find him.
Thankfully, finding Jesus is a lot easier than finding Waldo, Jesus doesn't play hide-and-seek. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" (Rev. 3:20). You can find Him at the door of your heart--the core of your existence--waiting to come in. He doesn't just want to meet you at church, or to be kept at bay on the outer edges of your life. Rather, He longs to be in the center of your dreams, deliberations, and desires. He wants a real relationship with the real you.
And as wonderful as that is, I need to warn you that it may be a little unsettling. Your heart is no doubt harboring a few things that He will want to deal with. But there is nothing that is more valuable than intimacy with Him. Welcome Jesus in and He will clear out the clutter until the air is fragrant and fresh with the purity, power, and pleasure of His presence.
Who's knocking at your heart's door? It's Jesus! How wonderful is that! Jesus is standing at the door of your heart--welcome Him in! --Joe Stowell

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

03/23/2026

Got Thirst?
Scripture -- There is none upon earth that I desire besides You. --Psalm 73:25 (NKJV)
Faith Challenge: Health experts tell us we should drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. It may reduce the risk of heart attack, give our skin a healthy glow, and help us lose weight. We should drink even more water during exercise or if we live in a hot or dry climate. Even if we're not thirsty, we ought to drink water anyway.
Our thirst for God is even more beneficial. When we're spiritually dry, we long to hear from Him through His Word, and we search for even a drop of knowledge about Him. When we're exercising our faith in a new way, we want to be close to Him and receive His strength. Our thirst for God may increase when we see the sinfulness of people around us or when we gain a new awareness of our own sin and need for Him.
Spiritual thirst is a metaphor used throughout Scripture. Asaph thirsted for answers in his questioning psalm. When he saw the wicked prospering, he cried out to God to understand why (Psalm 73:16). He found the Lord to be his strength and realized that he desired nothing but Him (vv.25-26).
If we're spiritually thirsty, we can follow Asaph's example and draw near to God (v.28). He will satisfy us yet give us a deeper thirst for Himself. We'll learn to desire Him above all else. A thirst for God can be satisfied only by Christ, the Living Water. --Anne Cetas

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

03/16/2026

Look Back
Scripture -- For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as we did when we first became Christians, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. --Hebrews 3:14 (Living Bible)
Faith Challenge: What was wrong with the ancient Israelites? Why did they have such trouble trusting God? In Hebrews 3, we're reminded that they heard God's promise yet refused to believe. I think I know why---we have the same problem today.
God provided for the people on their desert march. They would be satisfied and happy for a while, but then a new crisis would arise. They would stare ahead at their wall of trouble, become frightened and lose faith.
Before Moses went up the mountain to get instructions from God, the Israelites had recently defeated the Amalekites. Things were going fine. But when Moses stayed on the mountain too long, the people panicked.
Instead of looking back and recalling that God could be trusted, they looked ahead and saw nothing but the possibility of a leaderless future. So, they sought to create "gods that shall go before us" (Exodus 32:1). Their trust was blocked by a fear of the future when it could've been solidified with a simple look back at God's deliverance. Likewise, our obstacles appear huge. We need to look back and reassure ourselves by recalling what God has already done on our behalf. That backward look can give us forward confidence. Fear hinders faith, but trust kindles confidence. --Dave Branon

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

02/28/2026

A Lesson from The Oak Tree
Scripture -- Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Faith Challenge: Have you ever noticed that in winter some oak trees retain their crisp, dry leaves long after the maples, the elms, and the walnuts have become bare skeletons? Even the strong winter winds and the early spring rains do not completely strip the oak branches of all their old leaves. But as springtime progresses, warmer winds blow and something wonderful begins to happen. Tiny buds start appearing at the tips of the twigs, and the dried remnants of the preceding season fall off. New life replaces the old.
At times, old habits cling to our lives with the same tenacity as those oak leaves. Even the winds of adversity do not remove all the lifeless leftovers of our fallen human nature.
But Christ, who dwells in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is at work. His life within us continually seeks to push off the old habits--renewing us when we confess our sins, steadying us when we falter, and strengthening us to do His will.
When every effort to cast off an old sinful habit ends in failure, remember the mighty oak. Thank God for His Spirit who lives in you. Keep saying yes to His gentle urging to be kind, loving, compassionate, honest, and faithful. Those "lifeless old leaves" will eventually drop off. To get rid of a bad habit, start a good one---trust God. --Dennis De Haan

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

02/09/2026

Jordan's Idea
Scripture -- 2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, . . . for instruction in righteousness.
Faith Challenge: One spring day, Jordan began asking questions about Jesus' resurrection as his mom was taking him to preschool. Realizing he thought Jesus was rising from the dead for the first time this Easter, she tried to correct him. She pulled the car over and told him all about Jesus' death and resurrection. She concluded, "Jesus rose from the dead a long time ago, and now He wants to live in our hearts." But Jordan still didn't understand.
Unsure how she could make it any clearer, she said, "How about if we stop by the bookstore? I saw some books about Easter when I was there last week. We'll get one and read through it together." With a wisdom beyond his years, Jordan responded, "Can't we just read the Bible?"
Jordan's idea was right. Commentaries and books about the Bible are helpful tools. But they should never be used as a substitute for God's revelation of Himself---His Word. No other book has been given to us "by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). As author Eugene Peterson says, "God's voice [is] speaking to us, inviting, promising, blessing, confronting, commanding, healing."
Let's follow Jordan's idea and go first to the ultimate source of truth--the Bible. Go to the Bible for your protection, correction, and direction. --Anne Cetas

God's Shalom and blessings,
Pastor James Fuller

Address

6512 Woodson Road
Raytown, MO
64133

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 9am - 2pm
Sunday 9am - 12pm

Telephone

+18163535683

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