Many Christians testify that things like prayer, study of the Word and worship are not enjoyable. Despite not being their favorite thing to do many will do these things out of obligation because they know God wants them to. But does God get any pleasure from our begrudging service to Him? This message explores the wonderful promise of God to give us joy in His presence. We were created to know God and enjoy Him forever. God wants us to be happy. He promises to supply rivers of living water for our fulfillment. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us into green pastries and beside still waters. He doesn't force this joy upon us but warmly invites us to come to the waters and drink deeply of all He is.
God Is Love
One of the most effective ways the enemy weakens people and causes them to withdraw from God is through condemnation. Many of God's people struggle to believe that God loves them, likes them and really wants them. The Scriptures are abundant in declaring that God is passionate in His love for us. He has deep affections toward us. God's burning love extends to all people including the Church, those who have drifted away and every kind of sinner no matter how great their sin. God's love is like an ocean depth and cannot be quenched. At the end of this message Scott talks honestly about the need to pursue a genuine encounter of God's love that will transform the heart.
Knowing God
This is the first message in the "God Is" series, laying a foundation of what it means to know God. It's easy to think that knowing God equates with mere head knowledge but the Scriptures teach that the eyes of our hearts can be illuminated and we can experience who God is. This call to know God is not reserved for a select few but is open to all people. More than anything, this world needs men and women who know God intimately. Knowing God changes us and changes the world around us! Scott ends the talk with some practical insights on the way to know God and especially presses the importance of making the pursuit of God our one supreme passion in life. We exist to know God. This is a good message to ignite a fresh hunger and thirst.
Standalone Sermons: Our Glory
How does God regard our need to find significance, to feel valuable and confident? And what are we supposed to do with this need? Our guest missionary, Lorenna, discusses a story in the life of King David to find answers to these questions. Ultimately, it is Jesus’ death on the cross that unleashes the greatest confidence and the deepest humility we could ever experience.
Talents
Every human being created by God since Adam has been given life and breath and varying amounts of time, energy, gifting, opportunities and so on. Each person is responsible to do something to honor their Creator with what they've been given. God calls all people to Himself and each person chooses to respond in different ways. That's the point of the parable of the talents. What we do with what we've been given determines our end. This is a challenging message that aims to stir hearts toward greater stewardship and aims to awaken the person who presently is not truly serving God.
Standalone Sermons: Pastor Scott's Comments on Charlottesville
"What has been happening in recent days is absolutely appalling but not surprising. I think most of us are aware that racism is alive and well, not just in a small band of white supremacists, but in a significant portion of American society. I'm certain it has sunk into every human heart to some extent which is why we all need to constantly ask God to search our hearts. We should always be on the side of promoting justice and defending those who are being oppressed. It's our calling as followers of Jesus."
Unmerciful Servant
We live in an unforgiving world. We all experience things like hurt, betrayal, injustice and wrongs against us. Some have even been abused or raped or have been violently attacked to the point of injury. Others have lost loved ones because of the careless actions of others. Forgiveness is hard but Jesus presses us in this parable (Matt 18:21-35) to not only forgive but to abundantly pardon. The whole point of the parable is that in light of us, as children of God, being so graciously forgiven by God of the enormous debt of sin we could not pay, we should readily forgive our brothers and sisters their debts against us, which are small in comparison. Pastor Scott also talks about the consequences of harboring resentments against people. It's the equivalent of practicing willful sin and results on falling under the disciplining hand of God. Everything in this sermon is a persuasive reasoning to let go of any sort of unmerciful attitudes we have toward anyone no matter how great the offense may be.
Pharisee and Tax Collector
Perhaps the greatest widespread deception in people everywhere is the idea that being good is enough to get you into Heaven. Jesus tells a parable to address this very error of self-righteous pride in Luke 18. It contrasts two different kinds of people: one is a moral religious praying man who congratulates himself for how good he is, and the other is a reputed sinner who is utterly broken before God. Jesus makes the statement that the humble man crying out for mercy will walk away justified, whereas the self-righteous man will walk away not justified. This message preached by Pastor Scott is applicable to all who long to be more humble. This is an important message because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Lost Mission
Many of those who have grown up in the church have been encouraged to perform evangelism. But what does that mean? And where does that fall in the life of a follower of Christ? Drawing from the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, as well as the story of His interaction with Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke, it’s clear that Jesus' passion and greatest mission is "to seek and save the lost". In this message, Ren elder John Michaelson touches on the idea that evangelism is not just something some of us do, but a "normal" Christian discipline similar to prayer or bible study. More importantly, it is the ultimate mission of every follower of Jesus to share the Gospel message with those who have not believed in or heard it. In the second half of the message, John gives encouragement about being a living witness, as well as some practical ideas about how to share your faith.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
In this message, youth leader Chris Waugh preaches a message based around the parable of the wise and foolish builders. In this parable, the foolish man builds his house upon sand and it falls down during the storm. However, the wise man builds his house on a rock, and it remains strong against the winds and rain. Jesus uses these builders as a metaphor to show that a life that is not built upon the Word of God will not withstand the storms of life; only a life built upon the Word of God will last forever.