2025 September

Standing with Jesus

Standing with Jesus

This sermon is based on Philippians 2:5-12. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: What in the world convinced people back in the Roman world to abandon their beliefs and gods and come to Christ? After all, there were no immediate incentives—no promises of instant and lasting health; no promises of a life of exorbitant happiness; no promises of immediate and continued wealth and no promises of adoring popularity. There were, however, plenty of deterrents. In fact, anyone who became a Christ follower back then could expect a largely negative response from others. So, what in the world convinced them to make such a commitment? Surprisingly, it was the people in the church. And unsurprisingly, it is the same thing today. That’s what we want to explore in our new series which we are calling, “Stand Out.”

“So That”

“So That”

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Sometimes, reading the Bible is an adventure in missing the point. 2 Timothy 3 has been a favorite passage of mine for years, but my focus has always been on those first four words; “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Now, I can make a good argument for why the focus ought to be on those words. After all, the inspiration of Scripture is of critical importance, and scholars wrestle with the meaning of almost every word in this clause. But if that remains our sole focus, we will miss the whole point of the verse. See, the point of the verse is not found in the first four words, but rather on those two small words that appear almost in

Standing with Faith

Standing with Faith

This sermon is based on Romans 1:16-17. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: What in the world convinced people back in the Roman world to abandon their beliefs and gods and come to Christ? After all, there were no immediate incentives—no promises of instant and lasting health; no promises of a life of exorbitant happiness; no promises of immediate and continued wealth and no promises of adoring popularity. There were, however, plenty of deterrents. In fact, anyone who became a Christ follower back then could expect a largely negative response from others. So, what in the world convinced them to make such a commitment? Surprisingly, it was the people in the church. And unsurprisingly, it is the same thing today. That’s what we want to explore in our new series which we are calling, “Stand Out.”

“Follow Me”

“Follow Me”

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'” Matthew 16:24 One would never believe that defining what it means to be a disciple of Jesus could be so confusing. Jesus seems to make it very clear here in Matthew 16 (and twenty-one other times in the four gospels). It is comprised of denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following him. Here’s my problem. For most of my life, instead of emphasizing Jesus’ command to “follow me,” I stressed his invitation to “believe” in him. In other words, instead of focusing on living like Jesus, I centered on thinking properly about Jesus; and my discipleship became a matter of having right theology. And while I may never have admitted it, right thinking was more important to me than right living. Now, “believing” is important and understanding theology

Standing with Peace

Standing with Peace

This sermon is based on Romans 5:1-8. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: What in the world convinced people back in the Roman world to abandon their beliefs and gods and come to Christ? After all, there were no immediate incentives—no promises of instant and lasting health; no promises of a life of exorbitant happiness; no promises of immediate and continued wealth and no promises of adoring popularity. There were, however, plenty of deterrents. In fact, anyone who became a Christ follower back then could expect a largely negative response from others. So, what in the world convinced them to make such a commitment? Surprisingly, it was the people in the church. And unsurprisingly, it is the same thing today. That’s what we want to explore in our new series which we are calling, “Stand Out.”

Called to Stand Out

Called to Stand Out

This sermon begins our new teaching series and is based on Acts 4: 1-12. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: What in the world convinced people back in the Roman world to abandon their beliefs and gods and come to Christ? After all, there were no immediate incentives—no promises of instant and lasting health; no promises of a life of exorbitant happiness; no promises of immediate and continued wealth and no promises of adoring popularity. There were, however, plenty of deterrents. In fact, anyone who became a Christ follower back then could expect a largely negative response from others. So, what in the world convinced them to make such a commitment? Surprisingly, it was the people in the church. And unsurprisingly, it is the same thing today. That’s what we want to explore in our new series which we are calling,