The New Wine

June 27th, 2021 – In today’s scripture, we are reminded that in Christ, we are a new being. The old self has died and for you to grow as a Christian, you must surrender to Christ all that you are, allowing him to create a new ‘you’ with the Holy Spirit embedded in your heart. To fully surrender, you must leave that old self behind and let it die so that the new can be filled with the purpose that God has for you and for your life. The old becomes an anchor and the new becomes as wings.

Matthew 9:14-17

Get in the Game

October 18th, 2020 – Are you sitting on the sidelines wanting to make a change in our world but are fearful of getting too involved. Think about the early followers of Christ. He knew those He called. They were not exactly religious men and women by the standards set forth by the leaders of their day. But when Christ called them, they came. Leaving their professions, leaving their families, and leaving the comfort of inaction. Or using the excuse that you are not good enough. You are not worthy of the calling. When God speaks, we must hear Him. It does not matter what our excuses are. God knows our strengths and weaknesses. If He calls you, He will strengthen what makes you weak and may ignore what you think is your best quality. He will use you as He determines. For your part, you must simply be ready to answer the call.

Matthew 4:18-22

Weathering the Storm

May 17th, 2020 – In today’s scripture, we see the popularity of Jesus has drawn such a crowd desiring to be near him, He finally had to order his disciples to get in their boat to take Him to the other side of the sea. We know that awaiting Christ on the other side of the water was a demon possessed men. More work to do. By this point, we are beginning to see that Jesus gave of himself so often, his humanness surfaces as a sense of weariness becomes apparent. His response to the scribe seems to indicate this and He uses the opportunity to illustrate the cost of discipleship. Then, as a storm raged during the trip across the sea,while Jesus attempted to a few moments of sleep, he still had to tend to the fear of those on the boat. As Pastor Jonathan points out, becoming a disciple of Jesus is not always easy. That there are times that following Jesus may actually be more than just a nightly prayer or attending Sunday morning worship. There may be times Christ is calling us to do more. As Pastor Jonathan asks, is this when we let distractions pull us away from following Christ more fully? Does work, school, and other activities become an excuse for not getting into the boat and following Christ, no matter what awaits you?

Matthew 8:18-27

Authority to Go Make Disciples

In today’s sermon, Pastor Jonathan references the ‘Great Commission’ as Matthew details in chapter 28 of his Gospel. Being one of the more important tenants of living a Christ filled life, how do we effectively preach the Message to those who may know of Jesus but may not have a relationship with Him in a manner that is life changing? Is it because we’re afraid? Are we afraid that maybe we don’t have the wisdom to properly preach the Message? Are we fearful of losing respect in our social circles because we are opening ourselves up to ridicule and attack? As Pastor Jonathan points out, we are given authority to do so through Christ who promises to give us what we need. If God is with us, what can stand against us?

Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 3:13-15

Glorious Day

April 12, 2020 – In today’s scripture we see that upon Jesus’s final breath on the cross, the temple curtain was torn in two and as Pastor Jonathan explains, this physically demonstrated that through Christ, we have no more boundaries between ourselves and God. And as believers are connected to one another through the body of Christ. This is especially important to remember now, more than ever, as due to a virus, we are forced out of our physical structure for worship. While being together and experiencing fellowship with one another in a single place can be uplifting, we don’t have to restrict our worship to a physical structure.

Matthew 27:50-54

Triumphal Entry

April 5th, 2020 – Today we celebrate two traditions of the church, the passover and Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Pastor Jonathan asks us to contrast the images the Jewish people had of their deliverer, their messiah, with that of the man who rides into town on a small donkey with people cheering Him by waving palms and laying their cloaks on the ground as he road into town. Jesus, will demonstrate all the things they least expected by coming into town not as a roaring lion but gentle and humble, the same way he carried out his ministry. And this is the example he leaves us, not of a sword bearing defeater of the enemies of the Israelites. But the conquerer of death through humility, servitude, and love.

Matthew 21:1-10, Luke 22:14-20