Join us for our annual Juneteenth worship, celebrating our freedom in Christ, our diverse membership in a diverse neighborhood, and our compelling mission in the city. You will hear an original poem by Ron Kelly, traditional spirituals, gospel music by the Distinctively Different Quartet, and a Bible study on living our freedom from Galatians 5.
This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 3:16-4:7 as we worship under the theme "The End of Self." As Paul helps shepherd a messy church in Corinth from a distance, he's eventually going to give them practical guidance on issues like sexuality, marriage, abuse of freedoms, lawsuits, worship, spiritual gifts, etc. But he's addressing the underlying issue first - i.e. PRIDE manifesting itself in self-righteousness. The church in Corinth needs to empty themselves of pride. They need a new percepti...
Sermon: Matthew 7:21-29 WHAT KIND OF LIFE ARE YOU BUILDING? I. The Sand of Self Will Let You Down II. The Rock of Christ Will Hold You Up...Forever
This week we will be studying 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 as we worship under the theme "The Counterintuitive Kingdom." The divisions that existed in the Corinthian Church, and our world, are the result of a failure to look properly at the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus says that we are ALL sinners that can be saved only by the grace of God. Any differences in intelligence, wealth, beauty, past indiscretions, or otherwise, from the best to the worst of us, are all negligible in the realm of salvat...
WE NEED THE SPIRIT'S HELP Based on Romans 8:18-27
NEW SERIES: Messy Christianity Summary: The Church in Corinth is considered by some to be Paul's "troubled child" of a church plant. They are saved by Jesus and gifted by the Spirit, just like any of the other churches he worked with, but they also seem to struggle to greater degrees with worldliness. They are great examples of being fully justified, but not yet fully sanctified. And it's MESSY. But Paul uses tremendous pastoral tact, clarity, & wisdom in guiding them. And particularly in a ...
Worship with us on this Pentecost Sunday! Pastor Jeske’s message “We Need The Spirit’s Control” is based on Romans 8:5-11.
This week we will be studying Acts 15:22-35 , and worshipping under the theme "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: Pentecost Implications ." This coming weekend is Pentecost - a week where we celebrate the fact that God the Holy Spirit does not elevate any one human culture above another, but his family boundaries stretch over all nations, languages, colors, and cultures. Based on the past week of social disharmony and tragedy, it's important for Christians to ask how we're currently doing at portraying a li...
LOOK FOR YOUR KING I. He's in Heaven, Ruling All Things for Us II. He's on Earth, Doing All Things through Us Based on Ephesians 1:16-23
This week we will be studying Acts 19:23-41 , and worshipping under the theme "THE RIOT IN EPHESUS: The Power and Weakness of Idols ." In this account, we actually don't hear any Christians speaking. We only see the secular society in Ephesus responding to Paul's preaching of Jesus & the Resurrection, speaking about how this world's gods can't compare. Paul's message incites a city-wide rebellion. From this we learn how passionately the world defends its false gods and what to expect when we...
Join us for worship for the sixth Sunday of Easter! Pastor Jeske’s message “The Resurrection Changes Everything” is based on I Thessalonians 4:13 -18.
This week Pastoral Assistant Ron Kelly will be lead us in a message from Ephesians 2:1-10. This text is essential in understanding the manner of salvation - by grace, not by works. That message runs counterintuitive to a flesh that encourages us to feel like we are the center of the universe. It runs counterintuitive to the spirit of a society that tells us we can do ("work") anything we put our minds to. The manner of the gospel is something this fallen world rages against. So we remind ourselv...
Mother’s Day is our theme for this morning, please join us in worship! Today’s message is titled “Adoptive Mothers are God’s Heroes Too” and is based on 2 Chronicles 22:10 -12.
This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS II: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." That's right we're bringing it back for a second straight week. I mentioned last week that Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. If you care about witnessing as a Christian in 2020, you must wrestle with Acts 17. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul m...
We focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd in our study this morning. Pastor Jeske’s message is based on John chapter 10 - “THE GOOD SHEPHERD REALLY DOES CARE FOR HIS SHEEP.”
This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS I: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find. The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a way tha...
Join Pastor Leyrer on this Third Sunday of Easter as we worship under the theme “He Lives in Our Hearts by His Word.” Today’s message is titled “What a Difference God’s Word Makes,” and is based on Acts 2:36-47.
This week we'll be studying Acts 16:23-34 under the worship theme of "THE JAILER AT PHILIPPI: How a pragmatist gets converted." Acts 16 is a chapter of conversions that are all unique. Timothy, Lydia, The Slaver Girl, and the Jailer are all VERY different people. The gospel works for all of them. And yet God's ministry to them through Paul (and others) is different from one situation to the next. It tells us something about God's personal discipleship plan for us. In particular, we're going to z...
For the past 3 years, after Easter, we've taken a look at the Book of Acts, which tells us what the Early Church did after Jesus ascended into heaven. This year we will do the same, moving from Acts 15 - Acts 19, covering incredibly valuable lessons from The Jerusalem Council, Paul's Mission Work in Macedonia, Paul's Sermon in Athens, and the Rioting in Ephesus. This week we'll be studying Acts 15:1-21 under the worship theme of "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: The Gospel is BOTH Non-Negotiable AND Extra...
Message from Easter Sunday, based on Luke 24: 13-35.
Pastor James Hein leads us in worship on this Maundy Thursday under the theme “A Union of Things Coming Together” based on Hebrews 10:19:25.
Pastor Jeske leads us in worship this morning as we observe Palm Sunday. Today’s message is titled “I Must Keep Going” and is based on Luke 13:31 -25.
This week we'll be studying John 12:20-33 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers LIFE THROUGH DEATH." Common sense would tell us the way to rise above the world would be to go up . But Jesus' Kingdom is upside-down to this world. In this lesson he'll provide an extraordinary analogy of a seed dying that gives us the secret to Kingdom expansion. The way to LIFE is actually through DEATH.
Pastor Hein explains why we and other churches keep baptismal fonts visible in their sanctuaries. We can take comfort not only in our own baptism but also the baptism of our Savior. Based on Romans 6:1-4.
Pastor Steinberg centers his message around the figure of Jesus that stands central not just in our sanctuary, but also in our lives.
This week we'll be studying John 12:1-1 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers THE ULTIMATE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY." Sometimes "zealot" or "fanatic" is used as a dirty word for religious practitioners. The reality, however, is that EVERYBODY worships someone/something, and worship, by its very essence, is extreme. So what does extreme Christian worship look like? We find a perfect example this week in Mary of Bethany.
Pastor Leyrer highlights the significance of the color purple during Lent.
From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life. This week we'll be studying John 11:17-27 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers SYMPATHY & HOPE." Jesus loves all people, but he also had some earthly friends that were his closest. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus fell into that category. So, when Jesus hears that Lazarus has fallen ill, and waits to visit him, his patience in th...
Pastor Kleist outlines the meaning of phrase INRI ( Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) or, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," which was fixed above Jesus' head during his crucifixion. Recorded on March 11, 2020.
From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life. This week we'll be studying John 10:1-15 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers GOOD SHEPHERDING." The only Bible text that I’m aware that is built into EVERY funeral service is Psalm 23 – the Good Shepherd Psalm (i.e. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want... …” There MUST be something about it that so powerfully resonates ...
