Posts by Pastor Doug Hornok

How do we make moral and godly choices in a world marred by sin?...

Seven rules for a successful Christian marriage...

We often treat people wrongly because we judged them wrongly....

This past week, the prayers of millions were answered as the Supreme Court appears to be posed to over-turn an almost 50-year court ruling that legalized abortion....

The Asian hermit, Telemachus, lived in a remote village, tending his garden and spending much of his time in prayer. One day he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so he obeyed, setting out on foot...

Good friends are one of the greatest gifts of my life. In fact, friendships are one of the greatest gifts of God’s creation. God designed and created us to be in relationships. And no, I’m not talking about how many “friends” you have on Facebook!...

First, the fate of the planet is, ultimately, not in the hands of mankind. While humans are responsible for caring for the earth , we are not in control of the earth. Rather it belongs to the Creator Himself, who has made us His earthly stewards. The hubris of man on this issue is an absolute head popper!...

In the year 1943, Ruth Caye Jones, a pastor’s wife and self taught pianist in Pennsylvania and the mother of five, was distressed by the headlines of her Pittsburgh newspaper. She saw the World War II causality lists and she knew the Allies were making slow progress through the boot of Italy. Supplies were rationed at home, and everyone was living under incredible strain...

Suggestions to train up children with a righteous and godly foundation for life....

“Easter is our Super Bowl!” That’s not just hype but a fact. Easter Sunday is the most-attended church service of the year....

Do not be fooled by false teachers and fear mongers. The Bible is our source of truth....

Today, a moral schizophrenia afflicts our culture on the issue of abortion. The inconsistencies in our nation’s laws and people’s attitudes about the moral status of the unborn is beyond disheartening. Amazingly many people still seem unable to see the contradictions....

One of the regular elements of our worship at Midvalley is the public reading of scripture. Sadly, that is something that has fallen on hard times for many churches. Many neglect it all together....

What would happen if every person you had interactions with the past 3 months were to show up in church and you found them sitting in “your section” or another part of the auditorium?...

The sudden unexpected death of someone we love is among the most difficult things in life. The mind wrestles with so many unanswerable questions, chief among them why? Why did things happen the way they did and when they did? There are simply no easy answers....

There are a myriad of answers to the simple question:"Why was Jesus born?" "Why did He come to earth?"The secondary reasons for his coming are:to present God to humanity;to teach truth; to fulfill law; to offer His kingdom; to teach those who did not understand about God;to reveal love; to bring peace; to heal the sick and more. But the one primary purpose for Jesus com...

At the time the Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, half of the population of the Roman Empire - about sixty million people- were slaves. Many of them had been taken as prisoners of war by the Roman legions. Some were taken away out of their own countries, while others were kept captive within their own lands. Some slaves were highly educated, literate men a...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. Few things are more controversial among Christians than the sovereignty of God. The issue is simply this: Is God truly sovereign (in control and supreme) over everything, including calamity, natural disasters, death, and demons, or is his sovereign control restricted to those things we typically r...

There are numerous passages in the Bible dealing with widows. God has a special concern for them, along with orphans and others in difficult circumstances. Many passages lay down laws to protect widows. God is described as their protector and judge: "A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows is God in His holy habitation" (Ps. 68:5). "The Lord protects the s...

If you've ever done any boating, you know how essential it is to stay on course. If you steer just a few degrees off the desired course, you can wind up far from where you wanted to go. I read once of a shipwreck that happened because a sailor broke off the small tip of his knife blade while he was cleaning the ship's compass. He didn't remove it, and that little bit of...

When engineerswant to take down an old skyscraper they put explosives at strategic places in the foundation. When they set it off, the building implodes. It is not surprising that Satan relentlessly tries to blow up the foundation of our faith, which is the Word of God. His very first temptation challenged Eve (Gen. 3:1), "Indeed, has God said ?" He has attempted to bring...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. Joel Eidsness is the pastor of Walnut Hill community Church in Bethel, Connecticut.He decided to take his seven year old daughter on an unusual date.They visited the town dump. Backing his Oldsmobile up against the mound of refuse, he placed his daughter on the roof, and with pencil and paper, they...

A fitting hymn for our celebration Sunday is Thomas Obediah Chisholm's hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness. Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching at the same school. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Me...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. Recently I read about a young lady named Amanda Coker, 24, who over the course of a year rode her bike the equivalentof almost four times around the Earth.From May 15, 2016, to May 14, 2017, Coker rode 86,500 miles; setting a Guinness World Record for most miles ridden in a year. The old record, se...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. In 1947, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was meeting with Happy Chandler, the president of the National League of professional baseball. Rickey was talking about doing the unthinkable: bringing up to the major leagues a black baseball player named Jackie Robinson. Most of the major-league ow...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. Last week I read the sad story of Cathy Boone who died in January 2020 in a warming shelter after living on the streets of the city of Astoria, contending with drug and mental health issues.Boone grew up in thePortland area and later moved to Astoria, where her mother lived after her parents had se...

This weekend we return to our sermon series, today will be our 18th sermon on "God's Blueprint for the Church." This Sunday's message is called "Portrait of a Good Servant." What does it mean to be a good servant, what are some of the qualifications, and expectations? William Carey was a shoe cobbler by trade before he went to India as a missionary. He kept a map of I...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. On September 9, 1839, a little boy was born into the Hatfield clan of West Virginia. His given name was William Anderson Hatfield.While still quite young he got a nickname from his own mother that perfectly described his sinister disposition and aggressive nature. She called himDevil Anse. The name...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to Sunday. Among the many glorious blessings and benefits that are ours as children of God by faith in His Son is "access" to the Father. This access to God is through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. It is readily ours whenever we need it. We need never set an appointment with God, hoping He might have t...

This Sunday as we celebrate Mother's Day and all over the Christian world preachers undoubtedly will be pointing to the mother we have come to call the "Proverbs 31 woman." What a lady! This wonder woman gets up before dawn and stays busy until the early hours of the next morning.While the woman in Proverbs 31 is a worthy example to emulate, she is not among those liste...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to theLord's Day. The other day I read a revealing news story about an exceptionally rare 15th century porcelain bowl made in China that somehow turned up at a Connecticut yard sale and sold for just $35. Later its value was determined and the bowl was auctionedoff for nearly $722,000. The article read: "The...

Today we continue with our sermon series "God's Blueprint for the Church." In our 10th message, Qualifications for an Elder - Part 1. We focus on God's design and the different roles within the church and who is eligible and what qualifications are required for the different ministries and areas of the church. The effectiveness of the church and the gospel of Jesus Ch...

Today we continue with our sermon series "God's Blueprint for the Church." Our 9th message, Who is in Charge? Elders! We focus on God's design and the different roles within the church and who is responsible for the different ministries and areas of the church. Ask the average American Christian, "Who's in charge of the church?" and most would answer, "The pastor is." A...

Dear Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to theLord's Day. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Fred Harvey was a name almost every American knew. He came from Britain to America and made his mark in the food industry. Working with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroads, he built a chain of restaurants across the great Southwest which becam...

Today we continue with our new sermon series "God's Blueprint for the Church." Our 7th message, The Role of Women in the Church- part 1 focuses on God's design and the differences between Men and Women, and how Godly women should conduct themselves not only in church but in society in general. Join us again and for the next few weeks as we continue to carefully study 1s...

Today we continue with our new sermon series "God's Blueprint for the Church." Our 6th message, Praying for The Lost focuses on our conduct and our need to pray for the lost and their salvation. Join us again and for the next few weeks as we continue to carefully study 1st Timothy a marvelous letter. As Paul begins to tell Timothy how to conduct oneself in the local chu...

Dear Members and Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to our service this coming Lord's Day! A few years back, two Atlanta radio personalities were fired for their on-air mocking of former Saints football player Steve Gleason who has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Gleason was a Saint's icon and even has a statue of his on-field heroics outside...

Dear Members and Friends, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to our service this coming Lord's Day! Last Monday Connie and I went shopping at Costco. As I followed with the shopping cart I noticed 4 young men wearing black pants, white shirts and dark ties and name tags identifying them as Elders of the LDS Church. I was hoping to talk with them and pur...

Dear Precious Saints of MBC, I trust you are doing well and looking forward to this coming Lord's day. People are coping with the current crisis in differing ways, most of which are only making matters worse. I have long held the belief that the best way to manage the anxiety and fears that arise from earthly chaos is by meditating on the peace and blessings ...