All Episodes - Creekside Community Church
Living as God's People, United in God's Mission
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Thoughts On Our Live Stream
During Covid we created a live stream so that those that were unable to come to our corporate gatherings due to health concerns could still take part. It was an imperfect solution, but one that I regret not having done even before Covid. Many of you don’t know this, but in 2019 my mom spent 4 and a half months in the hospital before passing away and I know that had she been able to participate, even imperfectly, in our […]
Living with Wisdom in a Divided Age
I don’t think it’s news to anyone that our culture has become increasingly divisive and polarized in the past few years.  Some of you may have seen this article, and this accompanying graphic, that describes how the gap between the median voters in both political parties here in the United States has grown wider over the past several years.    The article spoke of the political implications of the divide, but that divide has had a much greater impact.  The […]
Sabbatical and the finish line
As you would expect, now that I’m back from Sabbatical I’ve been getting asked “How was it?” I’m guessing that most of you that have asked are hoping for more than just a superficial answer. Since it’s pretty impossible to distill the past months into a hallway conversation sound-byte I thought it would be helpful to write a short blog to everyone. Before I do, however, I need to say thank you for the time that I’ve had off. Several […]
Loving Our Neighbors Through Safe Families
Safe Families For Children exists to connect churches with a heart for their community with local families that are struggling. Many parents in our county do not have community and they live in isolation without support of family and friends. Since 2017, Creekside has been partnering with Safe Families to help local families who are experiencing a temporary crisis and helping parents get back on their feet before abuse or neglect occur. There are currently 19 people from Creekside who […]
Thoughts on the end of the World
2020 just doesn’t seem to let up. I don’t need to remind you of the details of the last six months, we are all living them! One young mom recently mentioned as she saw the redness of the smoke-filled sky one morning, “It was so eerie, I just started praying for the salvation of my children.” Others, half in jest, have commented about it being a sign of the end of the world—and in some ways it can feel that […]
Re-Gathering and Live-Stream Information
Our services will be moving to an outdoor location on August 9th at 10 am. If you would like to attend please pre-register by clicking here. Our live stream service can be found at https://creeksidemac.online.church/. We know that you may have questions regarding some of the safety precautions we’ve taken as we gather together as a church. Our goal is to meet or exceed all of the Governor’s guidelines for us as a church. For our indoor services we had previously released […]
May 31 Discussion Questions
If you’d like a printable version of these questions, please click here. The King and Mission Application Questions What stood out to you, was there anything that impacted your understanding of God, humanity, or yourself? Do you believe that Jesus gave up everything for you? If so, how are we to respond to him? Israel wanted to look like other nations rather than God. What are some ways that we want to look more like the world rather than God? How […]
May 24th teaching and worship
Please click here to see what our church is studying as we meet online every week!
2 Corinthians 13:1-10 Paul's closing remarks
To download a printable copy of these questions, please click here. Are there any truths that you saw, from either your own study or from the teaching video, that really stood out to you? For those of you that are feeling weak and incapable and weary, let those things drive you to Jesus. Hear his promise that his grace is sufficient for you, right now, today (2 Corinthians 12:9). What does it look like in your life to respond to that promise? Paul had two intentions […]
Restoring a "New Normal"
What have we learned? I think it would be nearly impossible for us to have our lives so dramatically disrupted and not learn some things about this world, ourselves, and what God calls us to as his people. We’ve learned about epidemiology (even if you don’t know what that word means, trust me, you’ve learned something about it). We’ve learned about how difficult some of the decisions our governing leaders have made and how important it is to be praying […]
April 26, Sunday Teaching
If you’d like to join us for what we are doing in place of our Sunday Gatherings, please click here! To join one of our Missional Communities so you can participate with others in learning God’s word and sharing burdens by praying with each other, please sign up here.  
Post-Easter reflections
Creekside, I hope that you all had a great weekend reflecting on the resurrection of our Lord! In the Bible reading yesterday we read the closing chapter of the gospel of John. In it there is a painfully honest interaction between Jesus and Peter. Peter, after discovering that loving Jesus would cost him his life (John 21:18-19) was called by the Lord to follow him anyway. He immediately responded by looking at John and asking what would happen to him. The […]
COVID-19 Update 03-19-2020
It’s been a busy couple of days as we’ve been considering how to best function as a church community in light of all of the challenges that COVID-19 has created! The virus and the subsequent upending of all of the normal rhythms of life, the constant bombardment of information on it, and being forced to sit and wait to see what unfolds can definitely create an environment where it is easy for worry and anxiety to spread. This morning I was […]
COVID-19 Update March 13, 2020 11:40 AM
COVID-19 Update 2 March 13, 2020 Yesterday I sent out a notification stating that we would plan on continuing our Sunday services unless the situation or Governor Brown’s directions changed. Late last night she had a press conference and ordered all of the K-12 schools in the state to close until April 1. Her willingness on Wednesday to keep the schools open was one of the factors that was considered in continuing to have our services on Sunday. With her […]
Creekside and COVID-19
I’ve been getting several questions about Creekside’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak so I thought I should send out a quick message to bring everyone up to speed with what we are asking Creekside people to do: 1. Doing your part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is an important way that we can love our neighbors and seek the welfare of our city. The World Health Organization and John’s Hopkins University are two sites that I’ve found have helpful […]
Volunteer Spotlight | Jackie Leonard
In what way do you serve at Creekside? I serve in Nursery 2 and Pre-K Sunday School, and I have also had the opportunity to help Sean and Leanne with some administrative tasks. I work with scheduling the Safety Team, I order the quarterly materials for the Sunday School classes, and I update the Sunday School rosters and track attendance. I help with some maintenance in the Breeze system, too: reviewing and approving new newsletter or directory submissions and entering […]
A Closer Look at Creekside Electives
Here you are, another day at this job with this boss and these co-workers. Your boss is just a complete idiot. He undervalues your contributions and somehow thinks your co-worker is a dream. Don’t they see how incompetent they are? You’re the one who is always doing all the extra work and never seeming to get the credit you deserve. It seems like you can never get ahead in this job when you deserve so much more. Or, maybe you […]
A Closer Look at Creekside Electives
Theology. The word itself sounds academic. Though there are a few people who are theologians vocationally, all Christians are called to be theologians. Theology is the Church’s ongoing discussion about God’s gracious work and revelation to us. All of us are called to this reflection. Our theology impacts not only how we see the world, but how we live in the world. It isn’t just one belief among many. It is a sort of master belief that impacts the way […]
A Closer Look at Creekside Electives
As Jesus prays to the Father in John 17, he teaches us some things about who we are. He speaks of how he has given to us God’s word which is both a source of joy and conflict as we live here in this world (John 17:13-14). He speaks of how we are set apart and no longer “of the world” (John 17:16-17). He also speaks of our mission, that we aren’t to isolate ourselves from the world, instead stating […]
Safe Families for Children
Life is unpredictable. We never know what God has in store for us. We all face crisis moments. There are times where it may feel like our families are barely holding together. Maybe it’s a prolonged season of depression. Maybe it’s the loss of a family member. Maybe it’s an illness or a loss of a job. These crisis moments force us to reach out for help. We call our parents and have them watch our kids for the weekend. […]
6 Things To Remember This Voting Season
It’s no secret that American politics have become more and more polarized, sensationalized, and adversarial over the past few presidential election cycles. With the mid-term elections fully upon us, things don’t seem to be improving. I find it easy for us to drift between two extremes. We often become disenchanted and disengage, or we fight for change and get caught up in the inflammatory debate that seems so normal around us. The early church was no stranger to the […]
Volunteer Spotlight | Jenn Stocks
In what way do you serve at Creekside? I work in the sound booth, either on the sound board or on projection. I’ve always loved music, and specifically our worship leaders’ music, but I do not have the talent to be a performer. A few years ago, I discovered that the teams usually rehearsed prior to service on Sunday mornings so I began coming early and helping set up the ballroom (back when we were still over there). This way, […]
An Interview with Daniel Nelms
Creekside has a commitment to see churches planted here in the United States and around the world. That commitment has led us into long relationship with Redeemer in New Jersey and they have been a personal encouragement and challenge to us as elders here at Creekside. Early on, our heart for church planting moved us to provide the health insurance for Eric and his family during the first couple of years of their church plant. It’s pretty exciting to see […]
The Symptoms of Our Heart’s Condition
Sunday, July 22 @ 4pm – Fever of 100.2 F. No significant change in mood or behavior. Slightly fussy. Maybe teething. Monday, July 23 @ 7:30am – No fever. Overall happy and normal behavior. Monday, July 23 @ 1:30pm – Woke up from afternoon nap with dry cough. Has raspy voice. No fever. Monday, July 23 @ 7:45pm – Trouble sleeping. Dry, barking cough. No fever. Still has raspy voice. Seems uncomfortable. It was at this […]
Why Our Funnel Hearts Need Galatians
Every night, we do battle with our two young boys about how bedtime works and what our expectations for their behavior is. It’s baffling, actually, how quickly it seems that Atticus, our 4-year-old, can forget what is and what isn’t acceptable behavior after he’s been tucked in. I’m amazed at how he seems to think that pushing the mattress off his bed to make a giant slide might be okay even though the night before we made it very clear […]
New Building Update
Click here to hear the latest presentation by the elders and see some preliminary space-use plans. Ever since the beginning of the church, God’s people have gathered in public spaces. In the book of Acts, the church in Jerusalem met in the Temple near what was known as Solomon’s Portico (Acts 2:46 and Acts 5:12). We also see that the church in Ephesus met publicly in what was known as the “School of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9-10). The life of […]
Why Sing?
This is the second in a multi-part series on corporate worship here at Creekside. The first can be found here. Why Sing? Not long ago I heard Alistair Begg speak at Western Seminary and he opened his remarks talking about how American men don’t sing. He told of how in Great Britain men sing. They sing at soccer matches, they sing in the pubs, and when they come to faith they sing in the church. He then says, “American men […]
Why Corporate Worship?
I go to church for solid Bible teaching… I go to be moved to worship… I go because I hunger for community and relationship… Those are just a few of many reasons why people choose to spend their time in a church service every week. Have you ever wondered, or even caught yourself asking the question, “Why go to a church service when I can get those things other places?” I can listen to a better message online. I can […]
7 Reasons to Join a Missional Community
7 Reasons to Join a Missional Community We are really excited about our Missional Communities and are trusting that God will use them to equip us to be disciples who make disciples. Here are seven reasons why you should give serious thought to joining one of our communities: 1. To bring glory to God. In Ephesians 3, after Paul explaining the “mystery” of the church and his role in it (v. 3-9) he explains why it’s so important. He says […]
Martin Luther
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted what is known as the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. For those of us that affirm the truth of being made right with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, this event was the very “beachhead” in the battle to recover this great doctrine that had been lost and obscured for hundreds of years. Another important doctrine that was recovered during the reformation […]
And They'll Know We are Christians
It was rather perfect timing when Steve invited me to write a guest post for Creekside. Burk and I are just getting settled in Lebanon. We found a church, but due to the craziness of summer (camping trips, weekends visiting family, a 10k race this Sunday), we haven’t gone consistently, so having to meditate on the importance of the church reminded me of my responsibility in seeking to get to know people, something I desperately needed. We felt so at […]
The Pendulum – The danger of how we naturally tend to handle frustration and hurt
I’ve never blogged before, so I’m going to give it a try! These are just some thoughts I had as I was reading in Proverbs this morning. Hope it encourages you!   It is human nature it seems to swing on a pendulum when it comes to certain issues. I was reading in Proverbs chapter ten today and I came across this verse which describes one of these pendulum swings we (or at least I) often tend towards. “The one […]
Hawaiian Shirts and the Death of a Brother
On July 4th at about 8:15 a.m. our family received a call from my nephew that let us know that his father, and my brother, Mike, had passed away. Independence Day. In our American independence, we enjoy freedom bought for us by the sacrifices of others. On July 4th, 2012, my brother celebrated true Independence Day, a day made possible by the death of the One, Jesus Christ. On that day, Mike truly celebrated his independence from labor, hardship, struggle, sin […]
School is IN!!
  One of the last duties that I did in the office this week before my Sabbatical officially begins is to wire the money that was raised for the Nepal Scholarship Fund. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and was recently rated as one of the most difficult places to live in the world. As I begin my Sabbatical, I am encouraged to see God’s faithfulness in providing for this ministry. Through our partnership with Kishwaukee Bible […]
Secret Agents of Grace
It is often easy to not recognize the grace of God when it comes. In fact, sometimes it comes to us and we miss it altogether. I believe that at times it comes to us most powerfully when we are surprised by “Secret Agents”—people who serve and minister completely for the joy of serving God and not for the praise or recognition of men. One of the realities of what it means to be part of the people of God […]
Fasting–A hunger for God.
Yesterday in my message, I asked our church family to consider joining with us in fasting on Tuesdays the remainder of this month—skipping breakfast and lunch—out of a desire to really seek the wisdom of God for Creekside. I realize this morning, that I needed to say more, much more about fasting, and failed to do so. For that I apologize. Fasting is the practice of laying aside something (generally food) to seek God through focused and devoted prayer. We […]
The Table Project
I have been getting some questions about “The Table” and how it will be used as a tool for us as God’s people here at Creekside. True growth of any church, is in part, accomplished through the teaching of the Word of God. Yet, that teaching isn’t meant to just be accomplished in our corporate meetings, but is to reverberate or ripple throughout the church community as the truth is spoken in the context of daily life. Each and every […]
Welcome to our New Website
Thank you for checking out our new website. In many ways, the website of a church is the new front door where people check out what a church is all about before even showing up. Our old website definitely needed some updating and I am excited about the launch of this one. In addition to having all of the information that our old website had, you’ll see a radically updated look, new content (this blog for example), a better organized […]