Category: From The Desk of Pastor Gene

Knock, Knock You may be disappointed but I don’t have a knock, knock joke to share. Although, I do have a vegetable joke but I’m not going to share it because it’s corny. Well then, moving on. Instead of a knock, knock joke, I want to remind us that Jesus is knocking on the door of...

  Self-control—there is more to it than you might think Benjamin Franklin once said, “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.” A good example of self-control...

Living the Life People across the globe are in search of a better life. Some, including a variety of religious leaders, make empty promises of a better life. However, our view of a better life is primarily based on economics, education, recreation and health. Yes, of course, these things have a significant value and importance,...

  As our leadership team was immersed in our monthly meeting discussing some of our strengths and weaknesses, one of our leaders said, in short, “we can get hung up on the problems but we need to have faith.” That grabbed me. I thought about how to apply faith to our circumstances before I went to...

  You’ve likely heard, many times for that matter, that gospel means “good news.” In short, the gospel, or good news, is the message of God’s saving work in Christ. RO 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew...

“So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household,”  Eph 2:19 (HCSB) What It Means To Be A Member The difference between “attenders” and “members” can be summed up in one word: COMMITMENT Heartland Church recognizes the need for a formal membership. We ask you to commit to...

Cherry on Top Cheri and I enjoy spending time with our grandchildren. The moments are precious. The experience is always fresh, energetic and adventurous. On one such occasion, we took the 5 eldest of the grandchildren to Peachwave in the Omaha area to get ice cream. The way the system works is you choose the...

The 10 things we need to know about love from 1 John How much do you think you know about love? How would you define love? Do you consistently show love in your relationships? Are you available to demonstrate God’s love toward others? Let’s dive into a discussion about love by defining what it is. Why? It...

  It changes our perspective, attitude, thoughts and actions toward one another What changes our perspective, attitude, thoughts and actions toward one another? The fact that we are created in the image of God. GEN 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he...

Moving from Watching to BeingOur culture is full of opportunities to be entertained. For example, we can go to the movie theater and sit and watch from reclining seats. We can sit on the couch and watch a favorite show on television. We can even watch movies on an iPad or our favorite smartphone in...