Pastor Jeff Kliewer

Against Fear

Fear gripped the heart of the King. News reached King Ahaz that the Northern Kingdom of Israel was in league with Syria to make war against Jerusalem. Israel was Judah's brother, but now they were attacking with the enemy. Isaiah reports that "the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Isaiah 7:2). Have you ever felt your heart shake like a leaf? Fear grips the heart when intimidating circumstances lay just over the horizon. Sometimes fear takes the strongest grip in a time a peace, because we have time [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2022-10-09T07:48:05-04:00September 8, 2022|

Maturity Is Suffering Well

This morning I sat across the table from a charismatic faith healer. He excitedly told a story of encountering a paraplegic in a park. As his story goes, back then, he was not yet mature in his belief that "it is always God's will to heal; healing in this life is promised in the atonement; we just need to grow in faith to be able to receive it." So, when he saw the man in the wheelchair, he couldn't muster the courage to approach. However, after passing the man several times as he strolled his laps around the park, [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2021-03-22T11:56:11-04:00March 18, 2021|

Thankful in 2020

The human frame was not made to live in constant crisis mode. Adrenaline can give a needed boost in the event of a crisis, but adrenaline is a toxin in the system if it pulses there for too long. Living in perpetual crisis mode is sure to produce anxiety problems and may even result in emotional or physical breakdown. Somehow I suspect the media isn’t worried about our wellbeing. They have news to sell, and nothing sells like a crisis. In 2020, they had four major ones for sale. Let’s consider these in a better light. Let’s ditch crisis [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2021-02-18T15:08:29-05:00November 30, 2020|

Stop Judging

Stop judging. Jesus taught that, so it’s really important to stop judging. Judge. Jesus said we should judge right after He said not to judge, so it's really important to judge. How can these things be? It turns out that the Lord means for us to stop judging “by mere appearances” and, instead, “judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). That makes sense. We’ll make wrong judgments if we jump to conclusions, but we’re going to need to make a lot of judgments just to exist in this world, so the real issue is our moral obligation to make right judgments. So, [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2019-07-19T20:46:51-04:00July 17, 2019|

Something is Stirring

Between the colonnades by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, the waters of the pool of Bethesda were quiet most of the time. Five roofs kept any rain from disturbing the water and walls kept the wind at bay. But from time to time, something stirred the water. Was there an angel sent by God to stir the water and heal the first person who entered the pool? Or was the stirring caused by some unknown but natural source? Was the hope of healing nothing more than superstition? We are not told. What we do know is that the pool of Bethesda had [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2019-02-07T14:05:34-05:00February 7, 2019|

The Religion of Social Justice

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, identifies his religion as Roman Catholicism, but Andrew Cuomo’s real religion is Social Justice. If his religion were Roman Catholicism, then he would sit on the three-legged stool of Scripture, Church Tradition, and the Pope’s Decrees and form his opinions from there. The sources of authority recognized by Roman Catholics would be authoritative to him. Protestants outright reject Rome's three-legged stool, finding it unstable because two of the three legs can’t bear weight. We say, “Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone.” But if Cuomo were truly Roman Catholic, he would fight passionately to uphold the tenets [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2019-02-01T16:57:10-05:00February 1, 2019|

The Red Tsunami

Mark Taylor captured the imaginations of many a believer in modern-day prophecy with his folksy down-to-earth style and his optimistic please-let-this-be-true political prophecies. Leading into the 2018 midterms, Taylor prophesied “a red tsunami”. Republicans would not only hold the House and Senate but would dominate the Democrats. Two days after the dust of the election has settled, what are we to make of the Taylor prophecies? When my kids demand my attention and then show me something ridiculous or silly, I like to watch and respond with a little deadpan humor, simply saying “not impressed” as I turn back to [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2018-11-08T12:37:51-05:00November 8, 2018|

The Gospel in 60 Seconds

A clear Gospel message, like the one Peter preached in Acts 2, includes 5 points. First, the Person of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is more than a mere man. He is God in flesh, the Son of God, the Messiah, the great and final Prophet, Priest, and King. Second, the work of Christ. Jesus died on a cross, was buried, and rose from the dead. In so doing, He exchanged His life for guilty sinners, taking away our sin, giving us His righteousness. Third, according to the Scriptures. All of this was prophesied ahead of time! Fourth, forgiveness of sin [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2018-06-06T10:36:17-04:00June 6, 2018|

Marx in Sheep’s Clothing

False teaching has entered the Church like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, masquerading as “Social Justice”, but bearing sharp teeth of division concealed behind puckered up lips. The wolf is intent to tear the Church apart, ripping and pulling wherever it can. It finds especially vulnerable tissue wherever worldly culture has Christians thinking wrongly. Those sensitive places will open up deadly wounds and sharp divides in the Church unless someone kicks the teeth out of the wolf. That’s what pastors need to do. Call us shepherds. This article is one pastor’s attempt to neutralize a wolf that has been [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2018-05-23T17:28:30-04:00May 23, 2018|

God’s Order In Our Families

I’ve yet to meet a parent who doesn’t say they want the best for their kids. In twelve years of inner-city mission work, we saw a thousand problems stem from one bad root—the breakdown of the family, yet even so, every parent we met would say they wanted the best for their kids. Suburban parents say the same. Go to a suburban soccer field on a Saturday in the Fall and you’ll see hundreds of involved parents, every one of which would say they want the best for their kids. Go anywhere in the world—Muslim countries, Hindu, wherever—and you’ll hear [...]

By Pastor Jeff Kliewer|2017-12-05T10:46:12-05:00November 21, 2017|

About Pastor Jeff Kliewer