Be sure to download this month’s FREE monthly sermon series through Sherwood’s online bookstore – What If There Were No Christmas.

This series includes three messages from Michael Catt about the birth of Jesus and why He came to earth.

To download the free series, click here. Once on the series page, please check the box next to “MP3” for each message, then click “Add to Cart” for each message. After adding the messages you want, click on the shopping cart icon in the upper right corner of the screen next to “Quick Links”. Choose the option “Checkout”. Follow the prompts through the check-out process.

If you create an account in the bookstore, it will keep track of all your purchases. So, for example, if you download these MP3s to a laptop and then lose your files or change computers, you can come back to your bookstore account and download the messages again! It’s free and easy!

In Matthew 21, we read of Jesus entering the temple and overturning the tables of the money changers. Remember the setting? Jesus is in Jerusalem – He has stepped into the Outer Court and is observing a flea market atmosphere. It’s like a Black Friday sale. The money changers have taken over the area and made a mockery of the purpose of the Outer Court.

When I was serving as a pastor in another state, we had a couple of stressful deacons meetings over the issue of selling products in the foyer. The biblically ignorant brethren took the Matthew passage and wanted to prohibit the sale of books or records in the church foyer. I’ve never seen so much self-righteous ignorance in play in my life. After the deacons voted to no longer allow anything to be sold in the foyer (camp signups, records from artists, books from speakers), I spent a month digging into this matter and discovered the truth of this passage. Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, our family returned from a twelve day trip to Italy. I used up a lot of Sky Miles and American Express points to plan a trip for our family to celebrate Terri’s 60th birthday. We packed in everything we could into those days while focusing on Rome, Florence, and Venice. Continue reading →

For the last 40 years, I’ve served as a youth pastor or pastor. I’ve preached over 100 youth camps, countless Disciple Now weekends, Sunday School and leadership Conferences, revivals, retreats, and conventions. In all of these situations, there is a common denominator. You have the people who “get it” and are all in; but, unfortunately, the majority just sit, soak, and sour. They receive the information presented while looking at their watches or checking their cell phones. They have little interest in changing their direction or making adjustments on their journey through this life.  Continue reading →

Honestly, it’s hard for me to watch presidential debates. In our past, the debates between Lincoln/Webster and Kennedy/Nixon had a huge impact on the election and the direction of the nation.

Today debates are more mud-slinging than setting a vision. The moderators seem to be trying to tame a lion. The rudeness of constant interruptions shows me someone didn’t get enough lessons on manners when they were growing up. The lack of definitive, specific plans for the economy, terrorism, and global threats is appalling. Continue reading →