"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Four (Acts 19:18-20)

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Four (Acts 19:18-20)

May 19, 2019| Kyle Brenon | Acts 19:18-20

This week we continue in our sermon series “Embrace the Weirdness!” For the past three weeks we have been exploring the fact that God often calls us to do things that are not “normal” in the world’s eyes. To surrender to Him in ways that the world just can’t understand, and sacrifice in ways that don't make sense in their eyes. We have not been called to be “normal,” and we are not expected to think the way the world does. If we are truly following Jesus, it is inevitable that we will stand out like a sore thumb. In Acts 18 -19 we follow Paul through Corinth, Antioch and Ephesus where a complicated mix of culture, theology and politics plays out in front of him (Hard to relate to that right?!) and it all comes together in Ephesus when a riot breaks out. 

This week we look at two very different responses from those who come face to face with the truth of who Jesus really is. Some reject Him, unable to hear the truth because they hold so tightly to their own kingdom. Yet others hear and believe! They are willing to surrender EVERYTHING in order to embrace Jesus as their savior. Their response is pretty weird!

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Three (Acts 14:19-20)

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Three (Acts 14:19-20)

May 12, 2019| Kyle Brenon | Acts 14:19-20

This week we are continuing in our new sermon series, “Embracing the Weirdness.” For the past two weeks, we have been drawing our attention to the fact that obedience to God is… well, pretty WEIRD.  

We have seen that we are often willing to follow God in the things that keep us from standing out, but when our obedience to Him makes us look weird, we tend to draw the line. Even convincing ourselves that God would never ask us to do anything that would make us look weird, let alone actually BE weird. Oh, but He does!!!

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Two (Acts 16:25-28)

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Two (Acts 16:25-28)

May 5, 2019| Kyle Brenon | Acts 16:25-28

This week we continue with week 2 of our new sermon series, “Embrace the Weirdness!” When we surrender our lives to Christ, we give up the rights to self. Not just some of our rights to self, but all of them. This means everything we do, from the day we first trust Him to the day we see Him face to face, should be done for His kingdom and for His glory. We have been bought at a price!

More often than we realize, God calls us to do things that defy conventional wisdom. Things that appear to be counterproductive to our own comfort, our own plans, and even our self-preservation. 

In Acts chapter 16 we see an incredible example of this as Paul and Silas choose to allow God to use them to reach the very jailer that held them captive. Rather than walking free, they gave up their right to themselves so Christ might be glorified through them. 

Is our desire for obedience and for the kingdom of God to increase, greater than our desire for self? What true freedom Paul and Silas must have known to make such a bold move!

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week One (Acts 5:12-42)

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week One (Acts 5:12-42)

April 28, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Acts 5:27-29; Acts 5:41-42

Do you ever feel like you just don’t fit in? I know that is an unfair question. If we are being honest, every one of us has to answer “yes.” At some point in our lives all of us feel like we don’t belong. By nature, we have a pretty strong desire to be part of the “group.” Who doesn’t want to be accepted? This in itself is not a problem, but it becomes a problem when our desire to fit in outweighs our desire to be obedient to God! 

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"The Final Word"

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"The Final Word"

April 21, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Matthew 28:2-6

There is no single event in all of history that is more significant than Jesus having been raised from the dead.  On good Friday, the savior of the world was crucified. He had been arrested the night before and crucified that morning. While He hung on the cross, at about the 6th hour, a darkness fell over the land…  He was arrested under darkness, He died in darkness, and He was buried in darkness. 

From that Friday night until Sunday morning, the disciples could still feel the darkness as they feared this was surely the end. What would it mean for them now? Where would they go, and what would they do? They waited in stunned silence for something they had missed.

 Then came Sunday morning…  HE IS RISEN!

Last Words: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"

Last Words: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"

April 14, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Luke 23:44-47, Psalm 31:5

This week we conclude our 7-week sermon series “Last Words” as we take a look at the final words of Jesus from the cross. After all the prophecies relating to His death had been fulfilled, knowing that the time had come, quoting Psalm 31, Jesus calls out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

At about the same time something remarkable happens…
The earth began to shake, strong enough to split rocks right down the middle. Not only this but the curtain that hung in the temple symbolizing the vast separation between God and man was torn in half. TORN IN HALF!

This was not just another day, and this was not just another crucifixion. And as Jesus cried out His final words, many of those watching would realize, He was not just another man… but surely He was the Son of God!

Luke 23:44-47
“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”

Psalm 31:5
Into your hands I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

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Last Words: "It is Finished"

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Last Words: "It is Finished"

April 7, 2019 | Dave Keener

This week we continue with week 6 of our sermon series “Last Words.”

John 19:29-30

“A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Hebrews 1:3

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...”

Last Words: "I Thirst."

Last Words: "I Thirst."

March 31 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Psalm 22:1

“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” Psalm 69:21

This week we continue with week 5 of our sermon series “Last Words” as we take a closer look at the final 7 sayings of Jesus from the cross. In John 19:28, after the sins of the world had been placed on His shoulders, and after crying out to the Father in torment knowing that He had turned away from Him, “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’” 

There is a lot to be said about these two simple words, and a lot for us to consider. Jesus suffered from a real, deep physical thirst. One that was brought about through the suffering of the punishment that we deserved. Jesus also suffered in that moment, from a true, deep spiritual thirst. One He had never experienced before. He suffered this on our behalf as well, so that we would never have to.

John 19:28-30

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Psalm 22:15

“my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.”

Last Words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Last Words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

March 24 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Psalm 22:1

This week we continue in our sermon series “Last Words” as we look at the final seven sayings of Christ from the cross. In His last moments, as darkness fell over the land, Jesus cries out to His Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This truly is an earth-shattering moment! Jesus is not merely quoting from Psalm 22, but He is proclaiming the fulfillment of this prophetic Psalm. He is confirming a divine transaction. The evidence that our sin had indeed been placed on His shoulders. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” By God’s grace let us hold tightly to this truth, knowing that in Christ we have been reconciled, presented holy and blameless before him! (Colossians 1:22)

Last Words: "Woman, behold, your son."

Last Words: "Woman, behold, your son."

March 17, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | John 19:25-27, Matthew 12:46-50

This week we continue our sermon series “Last Words” as we look at the final seven sayings of Jesus from the cross. In His final hours as He suffered and died, Jesus looked to His mother Mary with compassion and to His disciple John with a calling and a responsibility. 

In that moment, with the sin of the world resting on His shoulders, Jesus wanted to ensure that His mother would be well taken care of after He was gone. Not only this, but He wanted John to know that it was now his responsibility to care for her, as they are truly family. Christ’s words to His mother and to John reveal to us some powerful truths. Not only does Jesus care deeply about our specific needs but the tie that connects us as believers runs much stronger than we might think.