The Simpleton Blog

Click here for the WORD Doc.. Click here for the PDF.. Life OVER God - 09.25.2022 Numbers 20:1-13 Today we are diving in to part two of our sermon series called WITH, based on Skye Jethani’s book. Every week we are looking at a different way to approach God, ways that a lot of us have used in the past – and we’re going to look to see if something is missing. Like I said last week, this series is designed for people who love Jesus, but you’ve always had a suspicion that there

Click HERE for the Word Doc.. Click HERE for the PDF.. Life Under God – 09.18.2022 [John 9:13-22] I am so excited about this sermon series. This is the first time I’ve ever done a biblical sermon series based on an external book that I read. This book is called “With”, written by Skye Jethani. I first read it back in April, DURING holy week. Which, as you know, is literally the busiest week of the year for pastors. Prepping for Maundy Thursday, prepping for the Good Friday st

Pastor’s Bookshelf - Welcome to my bookshelf! Each month I will discuss a recent book that I’ve finished. *disclaimer; I don’t always have time to sit and read physical books, but I do quite a bit of my reading through audiobooks these days.* This month I’d like to talk about With By Skye Jethani Previously I had reviewed Skye’s book “What If Jesus Was Serious?” and I mentioned that I had read my first Skye Jethani book DURING Holy Week, and even though it was the busiest

Updates From Upstairs This is the section of our newsletter where I (Pastor JJ) will try to keep you informed on some of the denominational kerfuffles going on at the district and global levels. These are very important conversations, but do not necessarily affect the day-to-day work of church life. Before the pandemic, we had a vision statement as a church that was “Eyes Up, Flushing.” It was a message that came from the story of Peter walking on the water with Jesus. When h

Newsletter – September, 2022 Greetings from the desk of the Pastor! Another summer has come and gone – it’s hard to believe. To be honest, this summer has been unusually stormy – both physically and emotionally, but as things draw to a close I am extremely excited about the upcoming fall schedule and I have a few things I want to make sure you know about! First, LABOR DAY! We are continuing the 10am worship schedule that we used for the month of August for ONE extra Sunday –

Newsletter – July, 2022 Greetings from the desk of the Pastor! As many of you know, every July I celebrate the anniversary of my arrival in Flushing as your pastor. I have officially completed my FOURTH year as your pastor and am now entering my fifth year. It may not seem like that long, but as a young pastor - this is the longest I have been in a single church as a leader. I cannot express how grateful I am for this incredible community and how wonderful you all have been

Updates From Upstairs This is the section of our newsletter where I (Pastor JJ) will try to keep you informed on some of the denominational kerfuffles going on at the district and global levels. These are very important conversations, but do not necessarily affect the day-to-day work of church life. Here are a few main points to recap the conversation so far: -As a denomination, we are voting on denominational policies, we are NOT voting on whether or not we love one anothe

Pastor’s Bookshelf - Welcome to my bookshelf! Each month I will discuss a recent book that I’ve finished. *disclaimer; I don’t always have time to sit and read physical books, but I do quite a bit of my reading through audiobooks these days.* This month I’d like to talk about What If Jesus Was Serious? By Skye Jethani This is a FANTASTIC and challenging text! Skye Jethani is a former pastor, and contributor to Christianity today who is now an author and successful podcaste

Click here for the WORD Doc.. Click here for the PDF.. We’ve Got To Get Rid Of This Guy – 09.04.2022 [Acts 23] Margaret Storm Jameson, an English author, once said, “The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle…Work at your work. Play at your play. Shed your tears. Enjoy your laughter. Now is the time of your life.” She was talking about how we all spend too much time living in the past – feeling regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done.

Click here for the Word Doc.. Click here for the PDF.. Jerusalem Or Bust – 08.21.2022 [Acts 21] Jean Nidetch was a 214 pound homemaker who was desperate to lose weight. She went to the New York City Department of Health, where she was given a diet devised by Dr Norman Jolliffe. Two months later, discouraged about the 50 plus pounds she still had to go, she invited six overweight friends home to share the diet and talk about how to stay on it. 28 years later, in the modern wor

Click here for the Word Doc.. Click here for the PDF.. Better Than A Bribe – 09.11.2022 [Acts 24] In today’s sermon we are finishing up our time in the book of Acts, and in this chapter we deal with a bunch of lawyers – and so I wasn’t sure if I should start this sermon with a lawyer joke or a story. And as I was thinking about it, I realized – you know who would make the greatest lawyers on the face of the earth? Toddlers! My children are the greatest negotiators mankind has