Jonah: For God So Loved Nineveh

Jonah: For God So Loved Nineveh

June 16, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Jonah 1:1-3

When we think of outreach all sorts of things can come to our minds. What do we mean by “outreach"? What does it actually look like? What am I supposed to do about it? We can easily be overwhelmed, and if we are honest sometimes, we are quick to come up with reasons why it's just not for us. 

There are all sorts of things that might prevent us from sharing the gospel. Sometimes though, as we will see in our new series, the biggest obstacle is our own calloused heart. Jonah was a prophet called by God to speak the truth to the people of Nineveh. But his own anger towards them was greater than his love for the Lord… What about us? Do we have a root of bitterness growing in our hearts preventing us from reaching out to those who need Jesus!? What grace does God give for them and for us?


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"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Six

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"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Six

June 9, 2019 | Jim Day

This week we will complete our sermon series, “Embrace the Weirdness,” where we have been looking at the fact that sometimes God calls us to do things that are out of the ordinary. In truth, simple obedience to scripture causes the world around us to take notice. Obedience to God in the world’s eyes is just plain weird! As expected, when we follow Christ, we are going to stick out. 

This week we zero in on the early church as God started it in Jerusalem. Throughout the life of the church, the Holy Spirit has been the key to spreading the gospel. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” But what does this mean?

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Five

"Embrace the Weirdness" - Week Five

June 2, 2019 | Kyle Brenon

This week we near the end of our 6-week sermon series “Embrace the Weirdness,” where we have been looking at the fact that sometimes God calls us to do things that are out of the ordinary. In truth, simple obedience to scripture causes the world around us to take notice. Obedience to God in the world’s eyes is just plain weird! As expected, when we follow Christ, we are going to stick out.

This week we move out of the book of Acts into 1 Corinthians where Paul calls us to something really WEIRD! Starting in 12:12 we see that as believers in Christ we are called to unity. Though we may come from different backgrounds, different cultures, even given different spiritual gifts (though by the same Spirit!), we are all called to be unified in Christ. Unity in our culture right now isn’t just rare… it’s pretty weird.

Paul follows this up with perhaps the weirdest thing yet… in Ch. 13 we are told to LOVE one another. If you spend any time watching or reading the news each day, I think you would agree that one of the weirdest things we are called to do is love each other. To truly, selflessly love one another is completely foreign to this world. In fact, it can’t be done in our own strength, but only through the working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who believe. 

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"A Life of Irony vs. A Life of Integrity"

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"A Life of Irony vs. A Life of Integrity"

May 26, 2019| Charles Causey | Psalm 15:1-5

This week, we are probing into a crucial aspect of intimacy with God: living a life of integrity.

The world would make us think we can live any way we want and still be able to call upon God to deliver us from all of our troubles. There is some truth to this—God is faithful when we are faithless, and He is always capable to hear and heal us in our time of need. However, this kind of philosophy misses out on a huge blessing of the Christian life, that of daily intimacy with Him.  Is there a current disconnect in the life you present to others and your true secret life?

"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.