Pastor Lonnie

Being a Light by Connecting to Others

In this series of five talks, Pastor Lonnie will embark on a journey of discovery, inspiration, and transformation. Being a Light in a Dark World will delve into the timeless truths of Scripture to uncover practical wisdom and guidance for navigating the complexities of our modern world. Through this series, we will explore the profound meaning of living with purpose and intentionality, even in the face of adversity. Despite our challenges, we can create a tangible impact in our communities, ...

Being a Light by Serving Others

Being a Light in a World of Doubt and Questions

This is the second message by Pastor Lonnie in his series on Being a Light in a Dark World

Be a Light in a Dark World

In this series of five talks, Pastor Lonnie will embark on a journey of discovery, inspiration, and transformation. Being a Light in a Dark World will delve into the timeless truths of Scripture to uncover practical wisdom and guidance for navigating the complexities of our modern world. Through this series, we will explore the profound meaning of living with purpose and intentionality, even in the face of adversity. Despite our challenges, we can create a tangible impact in our communities, ...

Supper’s Ready

This is a Holy Thursday communion message by Pastor Lonnie

Jesus’ Surprise Agenda

There is a city we tend to think of as within us. It is the city of our inherited patterns and ways of doing things. It is the dead weight of our habits, our unreflective living, and our assumption that life is the way we see it and nothing else. Here is a city within that cries for deliverance. Do we dare to enter this city as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday? Will we enter our inner city triumphally?

The Gospel According to You

We often associate the gospel with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But there's another gospel being written every day—one that doesn't come from parchment or ink but in our daily choices, the relationships we nurture, and how we navigate the world around us by our actions and words. There is a fifth gospel, and that is the gospel according to you. In this message, Pastor Lonnie will show how the gospel, according to you, is still being written and the significance of the gospel-inspired life w...

Love Wrapped in a Person

If there ever was a need to rediscover the wonder of Christmas, it is now. Many of the alarming situations of today’s culture were present in first-century Palestine. There was a hunger for hope then as there is today. To rediscover Christmas, we need to listen again to the principal players in the first Christmas drama. John the Baptist wants to prepare us for something better that is coming; Mary has a vision for her son, and Joseph must pay attention to a dream. The world changed because t...

Keeping the Spirit of Christmas Alive

If there ever was a need to rediscover the wonder of Christmas, it is now. Many of the alarming situations of today’s culture were present in first-century Palestine. There was a hunger for hope then as there is today. To rediscover Christmas, we need to listen again to the principal players in the first Christmas drama. John the Baptist wants to prepare us for something better that is coming; Mary has a vision for her son, and Joseph must pay attention to a dream. The world changed because t...

Follow the Dream

If there ever was a need to rediscover the wonder of Christmas, it is now. Many of the alarming situations of today’s culture were present in first-century Palestine. There was a hunger for hope then as there is today. To rediscover Christmas, we need to listen again to the principal players in the first Christmas drama. John the Baptist wants to prepare us for something better that is coming; Mary has a vision for her son, and Joseph must pay attention to a dream. The world changed because t...

Trust the Vision

If there ever was a need to rediscover the wonder of Christmas, it is now. Many of the alarming situations of today’s culture were present in first-century Palestine. There was a hunger for hope then as there is today. To rediscover Christmas, we need to listen again to the principal players in the first Christmas drama. John the Baptist wants to prepare us for something better that is coming; Mary has a vision for her son, and Joseph must pay attention to a dream. The world changed because t...

Are You Ready?

If there ever was a need to rediscover the wonder of Christmas, it is now. Many of the alarming situations of today’s culture were present in first-century Palestine. There was a hunger for hope then as there is today. To rediscover Christmas, we need to listen again to the principal players in the first Christmas drama. John the Baptist wants to prepare us for something better that is coming; Mary has a vision for her son, and Joseph must pay attention to a dream. The world changed because t...

A Thankful Spirit

A Thanksgiving Message by Pastor Lonnie

Living in the Timing and Will of God

In this message, Pastor Lonnie provides helpful insights on how we can discern the will of God for our lives.

Who’s Who

Stewardship message by Pastor Lonnie based on Mark 12:41-44

Getting Along in a Broken World

Things are broken, but there is a way to peace. Jesus led the way by modeling peacemaking. Peacemaking is not a passive characteristic. The language Jesus uses is active. In this message from Pastor Lonnie, you will explore Jesus' method of making peace and four insights into getting along in a broken world that longs for lasting peace.

The Disciple in Action

Disciple-making is the mission of Jesus for the church. It involves establishing and equipping persons to enter into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus. Disciple-making doesn’t just happen because a church exists and people show up. It is a deliberate process.

The Stages of Discipleship

Disciple-making is the mission of Jesus for the church. It involves establishing and equipping persons to enter into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus. Disciple-making doesn’t just happen because a church exists and people show up. It is a deliberate process. These messages by Pastor Lonnie will serve as a springboard as Fox River begins a congregation-wide review of our ministry and organization and how it could be more effective ahead.

The Mission of the Church

Disciple-making is the mission of Jesus for the church. It involves establishing and equipping persons to enter into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus. Disciple-making doesn’t just happen because a church exists and people show up. It is a deliberate process. These messages by Pastor Lonnie will serve as a springboard as Fox River begins a congregation-wide review of our ministry and organization and how it could be more effective ahead.

A Song We Learn In Sunday School

In this message, Pastor Lonnie takes a popular children’s Sunday school song and applies it to the feet, hands, heart, mouth, and determination of Jesus. The message explores where Jesus went with his feet, how he used his hands to serve others, and how he used his mouth to speak about the presence of the peace of God.

Powerful Contradictions - Navigating The Hues Of Gray

Not all decisions in life are easy. In this concluding message from his series on Powerful Contradictions, Pastor Lonnie shares some practical self-reflective questions to help you discern your path when confronted with a gray area of complicated decision-making.

Powerful Contradictions - Give And You Will Receive

In this message, Pastor Lonnie dives into the principle Jesus taught, Give and you will receive. It is a reminder that we are interconnected and that our actions have far-reaching consequences. In giving, we open ourselves up to receive the blessings of a more abundant life and a more profound sense of purpose.

Powerful Contradictions - Lose Your Life And Find It

In this message from his series on Powerful Contradictions, Pastor Lonnie shows how Jesus is making a case that by letting go of self-centered desires and attachments and submitting to God’s higher purpose, there can be a deeper and more meaningful life experience.

Powerful Contradictions - The Last Will be First

This is the second message in the series by Pastor Lonnie on Powerful Contradictions. In this message, Pastor Lonnie explores an understanding of fairness from the teaching of Jesus from the parable of the workers in the vineyard and the effect of the lavish love of God on justice. Powerful contradictions often invite critical thinking and introspection, challenging us to explore complex issues and make difficult decisions. Acknowledging and navigating these contradictions through the lens o...

Powerful Contradictions - To Lead Is To Serve

In this message, Pastor Lonnie discusses how powerful contradictions often invite critical thinking and introspection, challenging us to explore complex issues and make difficult decisions. Acknowledging and navigating these contradictions through the lens of the Christian faith can lead to growth, learning, and more nuanced perspectives.

What Do You Expect?

In this message, pastor Lonnie discusses the significance of expecting great things from God while we attempt great things for God. God is given room to work when we give ourselves to a humanly impossible cause.

The Gracious Love of God

Pastor Lonnie continues his message series on Living Our Faith in this sermon about the gracious love of God we encounter through the actions and message of Jesus.

Connected - Knowing Who Jesus Is

In this message, Pastor Lonnie shows how God’s power will not save you from tough times but how God’s power can get you through it.

A Good Sermon

In this message, Pastor Lonnie will show how scripture doesn't just want to be understood. It longs to be put into action. We deceive ourselves into thinking we have done the faith when we merely listen, reflect, ponder, and agree. According to the Bible, belief must be embodied and enacted to be real. The world is quite right in judging the gospel's truth based on the sort of lives the gospel can produce. Do our lives reflect the God whom we praise on Sunday morning? Your life can, and tha...

Honor Your Mother

This is the Mother's Day message from Pastor Lonnie on May 14, 2023.

From Generation to Generation

Teach Us To Pray

Serve Somebody

Serve Somebody was delivered on April 23, 2023

When We Doubt

Healthy doubt can be the beginning of great faith because doubting is not the same as unbelief. Doubt is uncertainty. It's that murky area between belief and unbelief where nothing is decided and nothing is committed to. In this message, Pastor Lonnie uplifts two important questions to ask when we doubt that can help settle the disruptions of doubt to a vibrant Christian faith.

Running to Easter

Easter is God's guarantee that the values of life worth preserving will be preserved and cannot be perversely destroyed. That life has the last word over death. Love is the victor over hate. Truth lives in place of falsehood. Tenderness lives in place of brutality. Good lives in place of evil. It was not a metaphor or some vague hope when Jesus said he was the resurrection and the life. It means that death has no power to take you from the arms of the Father. Whatever bad news you face. You h...

The City Within

On Palm Sunday, it becomes clear that when God enters our lives, he not only blesses, heals, teaches, and leads but also confronts and disturbs us. There is a city we tend to think of as within us. It is the city of our inherited patterns and ways of doing things. It is the dead weight of our habits, our unreflective living, and our assumption that life is the way we see it and nothing else. Here is a city within that cries for deliverance. Do we dare to enter this city as Jesus entered the...

God’s Wild Extravagance

During times of spiritual dryness, Pastor Lonnie shows why we must patiently rely on the promises of God and not on emotions to realize that God is taking us to a deeper level of maturity. In this message, you will learn how Job worked through times when God seemed absent, which took him to the extravagant gracious love of God.

Out Of The Boat

We can get stuck in life, and there comes a time when we must take action and leave the secure comfort of the familiar. For Peter, it meant trusting Jesus to get out of the boat and walk on water. The challenge of leaving the boat, with all its security and particular messiness, is terrifying. Still, if you don’t take the leap of faith, you will never experience walking on a surface never before imagined. In this message by Pastor Lonnie, you will get a grip on some truths to nudge you out of...

Voices That Shape The Story

God has taken an enormous risk entrusting the future church to us. In this message by Pastor Lonnie, we will learn that through the power of the Holy Spirit and with confidence in God's provisions, the church will not just survive but will prevail. The church's future is in our hands.

A New Song For A New Year

In this message, Pastor Lonnie shows how Psalm 96 encourages us to sing to the Lord a new song. When we sing a new song inspired by our walk following Jesus, our neighbors will see the Christian way of life that inspires faith and belief. The strength and conviction of our singing vertically will reverberate horizontally into the world.

Three Things We Can Learn From The Magi

Pastor Lonnie discusses things we can learn from the Magi and take into the new year.

The Christmas Message of Joy

The Christmas message is a message of great Joy from something that has happened. We cannot create this sacred joy but can only receive it as a gift.

Trusting God When We Are Hurt

How do you react when a wrong has been done to you? It is possible that this very trial could strengthen your faith. In this message from Pastor Lonnie, we learn how Joseph worked through the news of Mary’s pregnancy and trusted his future to God’s plan.

Mary and the Fearful Foursome

Message on Mary the mother of Jesus and the fears that confronted her

Conduit or Container - What Are You?

This stewardship message from Pastor Lonnie emphasizes how we need live in a cycle of receiving and giving to be healthy.

When We Are Thankful

Thanksgiving message by Pastor Lonnie

When We Give

A stewardship message

When We Pray

In this message, Pastor Lonnie outlines three factors in our prayer life that determine how our prayers are answered.

When We Live By Faith

Faith is not a possession; it is a decision. In this message, Pastor Lonnie shows how practical faith looks and where faith in Jesus can take you.

When God Seems Silent

Waiting when God seems silent is the most challenging work of hope. It is more than something we must do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of becoming what God wants us to be. In this message, Pastor Lonnie shows how what God does in us while we wait is as important as what we’re waiting for.