July 21, 2019 | John Bartlett | 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
Our faith should be something others see, impacting how we live, as we share the Gospel and make disciples.
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
July 14, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Jonah 4:1-4
For the past four weeks we have been looking at the book of Jonah in order to better understand God’s heart for those who are lost. This week we conclude our series by getting a very telling look into the heart of the reluctant prophet. After Jonah finally obeys the LORD by speaking out against Nineveh’s sin, the entire city repents of their evil ways and turns to worship God.
Seeing that this is certainly pleasing to the LORD and has brought Him tremendous glory, we would be right to think that a prophet of God would be excited to see this happen. However, we see in Jonah chapter four that this is not the case. The bitterness in Jonah’s heart has grown deep, and in many ways, it has blinded him to God’s ultimate plan as well as his own ultimate calling.
Have we unknowingly allowed these same roots to grow in our own hearts? Are we willing to ask ourselves what we desire more? That God's enemies are brought to judgement or that they would be miraculously saved (like we were), so that the Lord is glorified in their lives?
July 7, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Jonah 3
We are 4 weeks into our sermon series “For God so Loved Nineveh” where we have been getting a glimpse into God’s heart for those who don’t know Him, and what our response should be when He calls us to reach out. So far, we have seen God’s clear call to Jonah, telling him to go to Nineveh and call out against their sin as it has come before Him.
We saw Jonah’s hardened heart cause him to run in disobedience not wanting his enemies to receive God’s grace. We have seen God chase him, catch him, and finally, safely deliver him to shore.
This week we see God speak to Jonah a second time calling him to “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” This time things go quite a bit differently.
June 30, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Jonah 2:5-8
This week we continue in our sermon series “For God So Loved Nineveh,” as we walk through the book of Jonah. Throughout this series we have been discovering God’s heart for those who don’t know Him, and what our response should be when He calls us to reach out. This week we find Jonah having been tossed off of a boat in order to calm the raging sea and has now been swallowed up by a giant fish! It certainly looks as though things have gone from bad to worse.
Like Jonah we too can find ourselves in impossible situations. Sometimes these situations are a direct result of our own disobedience. But even in our rebellion, God's grace reaches us and the very trial we find ourselves in might be the tool God uses to rescue us.
June 23, 2019 | Kyle Brenon | Jonah 1:4, 1:8
This week we continue through the book of Jonah in our new sermon series “For God So Loved Nineveh.”
Last week we saw how God clearly spoke to Jonah, calling him to go to Nineveh and speak out against their sin. But instead he chose to turn his back on God, and in an attempt to flee from His presence he ran in the other direction.
Today we look at God’s response to Jonah’s rebellion, and Jonah’s continued bitterness towards God for extending grace to those Jonah considered unworthy. Even in the midst of his rebellion, God still worked His will in Jonah’s life. God sent a STORM OF GRACE that would eventually lead to the repentance of an entire city and a whole crew of grizzled sailors!
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?
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?
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.
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?
