Avalon Church

We must be careful that we are not crusading for righteousness without compassion for the sinner

Join us as Pastor John Molloy leads us in finishing the God With Us series for Christmas 2020.

Christmas Eve Service for 2020 at Avalon Town Park

The wise men responded to God’s gift of Jesus with gifts of their own. In this message, Pastor Don discusses how we, too, should respond to God’s amazing gift.

God created a family that eventually rebelled and ran away. But God wanted us back and was willing to do everything necessary to make that happen... even incarnation.Series: God With Us, Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge, Scripture: John 1:14, John 1:1-5, John 1:9-13, Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWQhrS6vYcQ, Webpage: https://podcast.avalonchurch.org/sermons/god-with-us-skin-matters-part-3/, Discussion Questions: 2020-12-13_god-with-us-part-3_discussion-questions.pdf, Notes: 1. Tu es special2. "Incarnation"3. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." -John 1:14 (NIV)4. "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son," -John 1:14 (Msg)5. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." –John 1:1-5 (NIV)6. "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." –John 1:9-11 (NIV)7. "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." –John 1:12-13 (NIV)

Our story is often not what we want it to be, yet in the midst of our disappointment, weariness, and anxiety, God offers hope.

When Isaiah promised the birth of a savior for the people of Israel, they didn’t know how long it would take to get the gift which was revealed in Jesus. Like a child waiting for Christmas morning, the believer can be confident that in due time, what God gives will not disappoint. Series: God With Us, Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge, Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7, Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14, Psalms 72:10-11, Isaiah 9:1, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 35:5-6, Isaiah 53:3, Psalms 22:16-18, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 52:14, Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 53:9, Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P96gRsXHW7Y, Webpage: https://podcast.avalonchurch.org/sermons/god-with-us-prophets-version-of-the-story-part-1/, Discussion Questions: 2020-11-29_god-with-us_discussion-questions.pdf, Notes: 1. The Prophet Micah revealed: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. –Micah 5:2 (NLT)2. A prophet named Isaiah also prophesied about this future king: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. –Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)3. He will be so influential that: The western kings of Tarshish and other distant lands will bring him tribute. The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him gifts. 11 All kings will bow before him, and all nations will serve him. –Psalm 72:10-11 (NLT)4. Isaiah prophesied: Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles... will be filled with glory. –Isaiah 9:1 (NLT)5. Yet it was in Galilee that Isaiah said: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.–Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)6. But even more, when the King comes: And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! --Isaiah 35:5-6 (NLT)7. He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. –Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)8. He said: My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones (none are broken). My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. –Psalm 22:16-18 (NLT)9. Zechariah uses similar imagery describing what Messiah will be like when he is killed: “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son.–Zech 12:10 (NLT)10. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. –Isaiah 52:14 (NLT)11. But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. –Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)12. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. –Isaiah 53:9 (NLT)

A Thanksgiving Message for 2020

An interactive study of the practical applications of the teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount. This week Pastor John Molloy leads us in Matthew 7.Series: Midweek on a Mountain with Jesus, Speaker: Pastor John Molloy, Scripture: Matthew 7:7-29, Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4auZjwkmUxw, Webpage: https://podcast.avalonchurch.org/sermons/midweek-on-a-mountain-with-jesus-part-11/ 

God is not taken by surprise by the upside-down times like we are experiencing in 2020. On the contrary, he offers incredible hope and direction.