In this short wrap-up from Pastor Kent Dresdow, the afterWord podcast closes out its first year of conversations and announces a summer break. Lord willing, a new season is planned to return in late summer or early fall. Kent looks back with gratitude over 52 episodes recorded with Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer and Executive Pastor Jeremy Pray, alongside staff interviews from across NorthCreek's ministries and visits from guests like Kevin Carson, Andrew Rogers, Brad Bigney, and Greg Gifford. If you haven't subscribed yet, now is a great time to do so, and the break is a fitting chance to revisit past episodes. Kent closes with a clear pastoral charge: a break from the podcast is not a break from Christ. Don't take a vacation from the Word, the church, or your walk with the Lord this summer.

How will you keep feeding on God's Word in seasons when the routine slows down? When your schedule loosens this summer, will your walk with Christ loosen with it? Are you committed to your local church even when travel and rest pull at your calendar? Is there a past afterWord episode you could revisit to strengthen what God is doing in you?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

Pastor Kent Dresdow and Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer continue their conversation on singleness in the Christian life, picking up where Part 1 left off. They address the remaining listener questions head-on: why singleness rarely surfaces explicitly in expository preaching (and why that's not a slight), whether contentment means surrendering the desire to be married, and how to hold unmet longing without despair. Rooted in Philippians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, they make the case that contentment is not a status — it's a learned posture in Christ. They close with a perspective that reframes the whole conversation: in eternity, marriage gives way to something greater, and every believer arrives at the same destination.Do you find yourself conflating contentment with resignation — as if accepting your circumstances means abandoning your desires? When an unmet longing surfaces, are you taking it to Christ, or are you looking for something else to fill it? If you're married, when did you last stop to seriously consider the unique gifts and struggles of the single brothers and sisters in your church?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

Pastor Kent Dresdow and Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer take up a listener question submitted at NorthCreek's Great Family Gathering — a layered, honest inquiry about the place of single adults in the church. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 7, they address whether singleness is treated as a holding pattern until marriage, how the church attempts to create genuine community for singles across all life stages, and why the vast majority of Scripture speaks to the Christian life in ways that apply regardless of marital status. The conversation is pastoral and candid, including honest reflection on where the church can do better and encouragement for those who feel unseen in a church culture that talks a lot about marriage.

Are you finding genuine community at your church, or does it feel like the programming is built around someone else's life stage? When you hear the word "singleness," do you instinctively frame it as a problem to be solved? Have you considered the ways Paul's commendation of singleness in 1 Corinthians 7 might reframe how you see your own season of life?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow sits down with Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer and Pastor Jeremy Pray to reflect on 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 — a passage that surfaced during a recent staff and elders retreat. Drawing on a message from Pastor Dave Harvey, the conversation centers on the "clay pot" image Paul uses to describe the relationship between ordinary human vessels and the surpassing power of God. The discussion unpacks what it means to "polish the pot" — the tendency to hide weakness, perform strength, and mistake outward polish for gospel effectiveness — and why Paul's logic runs exactly the opposite direction: the cracks in the pot are where the light gets out. The guys also work through verses 10–12 and the striking truth that death is at work in leaders so that life comes to the people they serve, before landing on verses 16–18 and the encouragement that the inner man is renewed even as the outer one fades.

Do you find yourself trying to minimize weakness rather than let God work through it? Are there places in your life — suffering, limitation, or slow seasons — that you're tempted to despise rather than trust? When you think about who God most glorifies, do you default to the prominent and active, or can you see His power at work in obscurity and frailty? And what would change if you genuinely believed that your places of death are producing life in the people around you?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

Pastor Kent Dresdow sits down with Adam Chiappelone, NorthCreek's Director of College and Singles, for a wide-ranging conversation about the church's ministry to young adults. Adam shares his own story — from a near-fatal fall at Yosemite that God used to arrest his attention, to his training at Talbot and Master's Seminary, to nearly two decades of shepherding college students and singles at NorthCreek. The conversation covers the structure and vision behind Interchange, Impact, and Kaleo, the challenges facing this generation (fragmented attention, weak spiritual disciplines, and the erosion of rest), and what it looks like to disciple young people toward real commitments — to Christ, to the local church, and to one another. Adam also shares the story behind Kērussō, NorthCreek's campus ministry at UC Berkeley, which grew from a conversation with three women and a commitment to simply open the Bible.

Do you have the kind of spiritual habits that could serve as a model to a younger believer who is watching your life? If you are in a season of singleness, are you using it as a season of purposeful growth rather than waiting for life to begin? When is the last time you genuinely unplugged long enough to sit with God and his Word without distraction? And for those further along — are you actively investing in the generation behind you, or leaving that work to someone else?

Welcome to NorthCreek Church!

In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.

Connect With Us:

Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM

Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Online Resources:

Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/

NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/

Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901

Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

Pastor Kent Dresdow, Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer, and Pastor Jeremy Pray return to the topic of Christian giving with a set of practical questions left over from Part 1. The conversation moves from biblical principles to everyday application — wrestling with where giving should be directed, how the local church functions as the primary channel for generosity, what role parachurch ministries play, how to care for the poor and those in immediate need, and how married couples should approach giving as a shared act of worship. Along the way, the pastors share honest observations about giving patterns in evangelical churches and offer pastoral encouragement to those just starting out.

Are you and your spouse making giving decisions together, or has it quietly become one person's domain? If you've been a Christian for several years, have you ever honestly evaluated whether your giving has grown — or stalled? When someone in your church has a financial need, do you see that as the church's job to handle, or as an opportunity for you personally?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow, Executive Pastor Matt Rehrer, and Pastor Jeremy Pray open a conversation that rarely gets a full hearing: what does Scripture actually say about Christian giving? Beginning with the admission that the topic often goes unaddressed, the three work through key passages including 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 8–9, Philippians 4:10–20, and a brief visit to Malachi 3 — tracing the biblical vision of giving not as a financial obligation but as an act of worship. The discussion covers the tithe, the distinction between Old Covenant law and New Covenant generosity, how to think about giving under financial pressure, and why Scripture consistently frames the giving of the local church as something warm and deeply personal before the Lord.

Do you think of your giving as an act of worship, or does it mostly feel like a line item? If you're in debt or under financial pressure, have you ever talked with a pastor or elder about how to navigate giving faithfully rather than stopping altogether? When the offering plate passes, what is it doing to your heart — and what would it look like to let that moment be a genuine prayer of trust?Welcome to NorthCreek Church!In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.Connect With Us:Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Online Resources:Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/ NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/ Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901 Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow is joined by Executive Pastors Matt Rehrer and Jeremy Pray to discuss the "third W" of the church's mission: walking in love. After several intense deep dives into topics like fear and idolatry, the team explores the practical philosophy of how believers move from being a face in a crowd to being an integral part of the body of Christ.

The conversation centers on the biblical necessity of being known and exercising the "one-another" commands of Scripture. Drawing from the patterns of the early church in Acts 4 and the exhortation in Hebrews 3 to encourage one another daily, the pastors explain why intentional community is mission-critical for every believer to avoid being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They break down the specific NorthCreek philosophy of utilizing both "Life Stage" groups for stability and "Community Groups" for depth, arguing that being involved in both helps mitigate the common pitfalls of isolation or shallow fellowship.

Beyond small groups, the pastors discuss the vital role of service and the importance of intergenerational relationships, highlighting Titus 2 as a model for growth. Whether you are navigating a busy season of life or looking to deepen your commitment to the local church, this episode provides a pastoral roadmap for moving into the life-giving rhythms of the communion of saints.

Welcome to NorthCreek Church!

In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.

Connect With Us:

Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM

Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Online Resources:

Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/

NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/

Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901

Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

In this second part of a two-episode conversation, Pastor Kent Dresdow continues his discussion with Executive Pastors Matt Rehrer and Jeremy Pray on the intersection of fear, faith, and the recurring temptation of idolatry. Picking up from their study of Isaiah 43 and 44, the pastors explore the nature of fear, distinguishing between physiological reactions to crisis and the spiritual responses that reveal where we place our ultimate trust.

A central theme of this episode is the relationship between "sinful fear"—defined as a paralyzing distrust of God—and the "factory of idols" within the human heart. The conversation moves from the literal household idols of ancient Israel to the modern-day "techniques" and "comforts" we run to for refuge, such as social media, financial security, or the approval of others. Drawing from pastoral experience and the writings of John Flavel, the hosts provide practical diagnostic questions to help believers identify where a good desire has become an "ultimate thing".

This episode emphasizes the sufficiency of Scripture in confronting the "blindness" of our own hearts. By looking to God’s character as revealed in the text, believers are encouraged to move from a "closed-fisted" demand for control to an "open-handed" trust in God’s providence. Whether you are struggling with "spinning and toiling" thoughts at night or seeking to steward your life for God’s glory, this discussion offers grounded, biblical wisdom for finding true security in the Lord.

Welcome to NorthCreek Church!

In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.

Connect With Us:

Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM

Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Online Resources:

Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/

NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/

Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901

Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"

In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow is joined by Executive Pastors Matt Rehrer and Jeremy Pray to reflect on a recent sermon from Isaiah 43:1–7. Nearly one year into the podcast, the conversation centers on why this specific passage—preached as the "next up" in a long-running expository series—struck such a profound chord with the congregation. The hosts explore how the sovereign timing of God’s Word meets the specific anxieties of his people, whether they are facing global instability or personal trials like illness and relational brokenness.

The discussion highlights the vital importance of expository preaching, where the Lord sets the agenda for the church rather than the pastor. By walking through the text, the pastors show how God anchors his command to "fear not" in his own identity as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. They examine the depth of God’s covenant language, noting how he calls his people by name and regards them as "precious" and "glorious". This is not merely a motivational sentiment but a positional reality for the believer, grounded in the redemptive work of Christ.

Drawing connections to Romans 8:28 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, Kent, Matt, and Jeremy explain how the sufficiency of Scripture provides a unique remedy for fear that the world cannot offer. Whether you are a "suffering saint" needing comfort or a "sinning saint" laboring for sanctification, this episode offers a pastoral look at how resting in God’s presence and providence transforms our response to a fearful world. This conversation serves as a reminder that because we belong to Him, we do not lose heart.

Welcome to NorthCreek Church!

In glad reliance on the Holy Spirit and Scripture, we exist for the glory of Christ, to make disciples who worship God, walk in love, and witness to the world.

Connect With Us:

Sunday Services: 9:00AM & 10:45AM

Address: 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Online Resources:

Main Website: https://www.northcreek.org/

NorthCreek Academy (TK-8): https://ncapschool.org/

Sermon Archive: https://northcreek.churchcenter.com/channels/19901

Church App: Download the Church Center App and search for "NorthCreek Church"