For this week’s advent theme, Pastor Scott focuses on the love of God. The message looks at the demonstration of God’s love through the voluntary death of Christ, as well as the manifestation of God’s love through the Holy Spirit in us, which enables us to love with His own love.
Advent 2021: Peace
Isaiah 27: 1 - 6
We all know the feeling of what it is to be in a world that feels like it’s in some way ordered but also have things that are completely in chaos. Youth director Chris Waugh looks at Isaiah 27 to give us three reasons for peace this Christmas: God’s destruction of the world’s chaos will be the most peace-giving experience imaginable, God communes with those who follow Him, and God’s harvest sets us free from the expectations we put on ourselves. This Christmas let’s be people who understand what our purpose is and have peace.
Advent 2021: Hope
Psalm 42: 5 - 6
We begin our Advent sermon series with the theme of “hope.” During this season, many of us hope for many things— a new Christmas sweater, a new iPad, new experiences, new relationships, etc., but these worldly hopes are not based on assurance.
Scriptural hope, on the other hand, is all about assurance because it is founded upon faith in Jesus the Messiah. While God’s hope looks forward to victorious life on earth, most importantly, Advent reminds us of the best promised hope— the return of Jesus in all His glory.
Standalone Sermons: Thankfulness
Philippians 4:8
Pastor Scott highlights different practices of gratitude that we can apply in confronting our natural habit to complain.
Proverbs: Trust First
Proverbs 3: 5 - 6
Assistant pastor John shares his story about how he’s been learning how to trust in the Lord in light of his diagnoses of muscular dystrophy and stage IV cancer.
Communion Sundays: Strengthening our Grip on the Anchor of our Souls
Hebrews 5:11 - 6:20
This message explores how Scripture teaches we are either growing and maturing in Christ or receding and drifting away from our Savior, that we are not static beings but in a dynamic process in which the Lord exhorts us to engage with His Word for growth and renewal.
Standalone Sermons: Just Keep Swimming
Acts 14: 1-7
Guest speaker Dexley Dorcely, assistant pastor of Faith Community Church in Providence, shares a message about staying faithful to the mission of preaching the gospel even when it gets hard.
Proverbs: Don't Hold Back
Proverbs 24:24-26
The message on this proverb spotlights the importance of speaking the truth to those who are “wicked.” It is a massive temptation for us, as Christians, to avoid speaking truthfully to people around us practicing wicked things. If we confront people about their sin, in most cases, it will not go well. And yet the passage offers a tremendous promise to us if we are faithful in the call to rebuke the wicked. Telling someone the truth about their sin is an act of tender love. Pray for courage to speak plainly. Ask God for a heart of compassion. Don’t hold back.
Communion Sundays: Simple Gospel
John 3: 16-18
To prepare us for communion, Pastor Scott unpacks one of the most popular Bible passages (John 3:16-18) to focus on God’s immense love and the power of belief in the gospel.
Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 1:7
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning…” As believers in Jesus many of us love to sing and talk about the love and grace and mercy of God. But how often do we really think about the ”fear” of the Lord? In this message, John doesn’t try to define this term but looks at the truly awesome and sometimes terrifying stories in Scripture where people encounter the real presence of God in His glory and holiness and how they reacted. By peering at these we recognize the significance of truly knowing God through understanding of the fear of the Lord.