MorningStar Community Church

10/02/2026

We have considered the first and second of six defenses that Paul made after having been arrested in Jerusalem: first, before the mob and, second, before the Sanhedrin. After the Roman army foiled a plot to assassinate Paul, thanks to Paul’s nephew becoming aware of the conspiracy and reporting it, Paul was escorted to Governor Felix in Caesarea.

We will consider Paul’s defense before Felix this Sunday. The Jews who hated Paul weren’t concerned with justice; they were only concerned with winning. To increase their chances of winning, they hired a lawyer to bring the accusations against Paul.

I hope you can join us this Sunday at 11:00am as we gather together to give God the worship He deserves and to look to His wonderful words of life.

09/18/2026

In the portion of the book of Acts that we are currently studying, the Apostle Paul is going through the fire, so to speak. His steadfastness in the midst of threats to his life is evidence of God’s working in and through him. Paul is a model to us in this way. He was more committed to the will of God than to his own comfort.

In his pursuit to discover why Paul was so hated by the Jerusalem mob, the Roman commander assembled the Sanhedrin, the group of Jewish scholars, leaders, and decision-makers. At the end of the day, the Roman commander still lacked an answer to his question. He was eventually forced to take Paul’s case on up the chain of command.

As always, there will be lessons for us as we reflect on God’s word. Thank you for being a part of the MorningStar family. I hope to see you this Sunday at 11:00am!

09/12/2026

This Sunday, we will look at the second part of the defense that Paul gave to the Jerusalem mob. As Paul finished his story by revealing what God had told him to do, the mob quickly switched from listening intently to demanding that he be killed.

We will find lessons about our responses to God, the nature of faith, and the meaning of baptism in this passage. I hope you can join us this Sunday at 11:00am!

09/05/2026

The Apostle Paul was ready and willing to endure whatever suffering God had in store for him. He did not allow suffering to come between him and the Lord; instead, it caused him to draw closer to the Lord in even greater dependence.

We will take two Sundays to consider the defense that Paul made before the mob in Jerusalem. In part one, Paul recounted how Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Jesus asked Saul a question, and Saul had two questions of his own, questions that are important for us to ask as well. I hope to see you at 11:00 this Sunday!

08/30/2026

This Sunday we will consider Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem and his arrest. Paul didn’t make himself a nuisance and try to get himself arrested; rather, he sought to be obedient to the Jewish customs. But those who opposed him were determined to arrest him for something, so they fabricated some charges and started a riot.

We will also celebrate the Lord’s Table this Sunday, followed by our monthly family feast! I hope to see you this Sunday at 11:00am!

08/29/2026

Thanks to everyone who came to the meal packing event at MorningStar Community Church this morning! More than 100 people worked together to pack 14,040 meals! These will be delivered to area shelters and food banks. Thanks to The Outreach Program in El Dorado for their work and to all the volunteers for doing a good deed!

08/26/2026

Update...we still need 30 volunteers to meet our goal of being able to put together 15,515 meals.

Morningstar Community Church (11010 E. Kellogg Drive) will host a meal packing event on Saturday, August 29, from 10am to noon. Meals will be distributed to local food banks and shelters through The Outreach Program (formerly Numana).

Anyone who would like to help is welcome! Our goal is to assemble 15,515 meals. We can do this but volunteers are needed. This is bigger than us. Can you spare a couple of hours to help those in need? Thanks in advance!

Click the link to sign up: https://m.signupgenius.com/...
https://youtu.be/A1S2bKCqWAM?is=8U9N89jckCBX_Sxz

Outreach meal packaging events are CSR in Action! For more informat...

08/22/2026

In the book of Acts, we see the Church moving from infancy to maturity. We learn that moving from infancy to maturity involves facing and overcoming various challenges to our faith, none of which are too big for God.

We will pick up the narrative in chapter 21 of Acts. Paul is on his way to Jerusalem and is ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead for him. Fellow believers and even a prophet attempted to stop him, but Paul was convinced that going to Jerusalem was the will of God for him, come what may.

We look forward to seeing you at 11:00am!

06/21/2026

Here are a couple of JEOPARDY! answers for you:

"The name of the young man who fell asleep while the Apostle Paul was speaking and fell to his death from a third-story window.” Or,

“The name of the young man who, after falling out of a third-story window, was raised from the dead by the Apostle Paul.”

The question is the same in both cases. We will discover the question to these answers this coming Sunday. (Hint: Acts 20:9)

We will also celebrate the Lord’s Table together, which is very fitting for a study of Acts 20:1-12. And, Happy Father’s Day! I hope to see you at 11:00am!

06/13/2026

The Apostle Paul was in Ephesus for approximately two years and three months on his third missionary journey. As his time in Ephesus drew to a close, a riot broke out in that city. The book of Acts gets messy again!

The Lord was having such an impact through Paul that it began to affect the income of those who created silver shrines for idol worship. Paul’s teachings became a kitchen table issue in Ephesus and some decided to become furious about it. We will draw four points of application from this confusing mess.

I hope to see you on Sunday at 11:00am!