HOLD FAST - You Can Rest Easy - Pastor Marcus Assis

HOLD FAST - Don't Drift

Feeling Overwhelmed_ Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.

ADVENT - Small Town Savior - Candlelight Service | Pastor Felipe Assis

ADVENT - The Christmas Story We Skip - Pastor Marcus Assis

ADVENT - Behold The King - Pastor Felipe Assis

Matthew 1:18–25Episode 2 - December 7

INTRO – Every Yes Is Also a No I. The Struggle of “Yes” – When God’s Plan Makes No Sense (vv. 18–19)1. Joseph’s impossible bind2. The faith crisis: “Why would God do it this way?”3. Our struggle mirrors Joseph’s II. The Cost of “Yes” – What Your Yes Has to Say No To (v. 20)1. Saying yes means saying no to fear2. Saying yes means letting go of your script3. Christmas as God’s invasion4. Application III. The Blessing of “Yes” – What God Says Yes to When You Do (vv. 21–25)1. Adoption2. Presence3. Freedom4. Participation CONCLUSION – Jesus’ Yes Makes Yours Possible1. Joseph’s yes inspires; Jesus’ yes saves2. At the cross, Emmanuel is forsaken for our adoption3. The invitation today

Matthew 1:1–17Episode 1 - Nov. 30, 2025Big Idea: Jesus enters our story, bears our story, and rewrites our story.Family, Thanksgiving, and Our StoriesComing out of Thanksgiving, our family story is fresh:The joy: laughter, memories, being together.The pain: empty chairs, tension, things we don’t talk about.Most of us feel both gratitude and embarrassment about our families. We try to manage the image and hide the mess.When Matthew starts Jesus’ story, he doesn’t hide the mess—he puts it in the genealogy.The Family Tree You Wouldn’t Post on LinkedInMatthew 1 lists a very imperfect family tree.Ancient kings edited their lineage; Matthew keeps the scandals.He highlights 5 women with complicated stories: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “Uriah’s wife” (Bathsheba), and Mary.God is not afraid of a messy family line.1. Jesus Enters Our StoryJesus’ family story reflects the brokenness of ours.Tamar (mistreated, deceiver), Rahab (outsider with a past), Ruth (vulnerable foreigner), Bathsheba (caught in David’s sin), Mary (misunderstood).In our culture we often idolize the “perfect family” and hide flaws—perfect kids, perfect image, no cracks allowed.Many carry shame and family patterns (anger, distance, comparison), but Jesus steps into our real story, not the edited one.Before Jesus ever climbs the tree of Calvary, He carries our brokenness in His family tree.2. Jesus Bears Our StoryThe genealogy leads from Abraham → David → exile → Christ. The manger points to the cross.On the cross, Jesus bears:The guilt of those who have sinned.The wounds and shame of those who have been sinned against.Because He carries the full weight, we can:Carry our family’s burdens in prayer, love, forgiveness—Without trying to be our family’s Savior (that role belongs only to Him).3. Jesus Rewrites Our StoryJesus doesn’t just enter and bear the story—He rewrites it.God weaves scandal, pain, and failure into a story of grace that leads to Christ.Only Jesus writes a perfect story, but in Him we can start a new direction for our family line:“The addiction stops here.”“The emotional distance stops here.”“The idol of perfection stops here.”Christmas Hope:The birth of Jesus is God saying,“Your family’s past does not have to be your family’s future. A new story can start with Me—starting today.”Response:Trust Christ.Hand Him the “off-limits” parts of your family story.

Deuteronomy 34

Moses’ final chapter

Life doesn’t always go as we planned

God disrupts our illusions to set us free

We plan — but God holds the future

⭐ POINT 1 — A NEW PERSPECTIVE (vv. 1–4)

Moses sees the land but cannot enter

It feels unfair — but it’s God at work

The Law can lead to the border, but not bring us home

Moses reaches the limit of human righteousness

We enter not by merit, but by Christ

⭐ POINT 2 — GRACE IS MORE (vv. 5–7)

Moses dies “by the mouth of the LORD” — a kiss of God

God Himself buries Moses

Moses’ story ends not in loss, but in intimacy

Grace gives more than we imagine or deserve

⭐ POINT 3 — THE WAY HOME (vv. 8–12)

Joshua (Yehoshua) rises — “Yahweh saves”

Joshua = points to Jesus, the true and better Savior

Jesus finishes what Moses and the Law could not

Moses enters the land in glory at the Transfiguration

Jesus brings us where we could never go on our own

THE GOSPEL

Jesus lived the life we should have lived

Jesus died the death we should have died

Jesus leads us into the eternal Promised Land

CONCLUSION

Deuteronomy 34 isn’t about failure but fulfillment

Not human effort — divine grace

Not regret — God’s mercy

God's story goes on! Christ is our way forward!

If you forget how God brought you out, you won’t trust Him as He brings you in.1. The Need to Remember (vv. 1–4)Deuteronomy = “second law” – Moses’ final sermons to a new generation.Before God gives them a battle plan, He gives them a memory plan.We don’t just struggle with ignorance; we struggle with spiritual amnesia.“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”He is the same God (unchanging, faithful).He is the only God (above every idol and rival).2. The Way of Remembrance (vv. 5–9)“Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and might.”Loving God means letting His Word shape:Your heart – desires, thoughts, choices.Your home – teaching the next generation as you sit, walk, lie down, and rise.Your work and vision – your hands and your eyes.Your spaces – your house and your “gates” (public life).Faith is not just for Sundays; it’s for everyday life.3. The Power to Remember (vv. 20–24)When the next generation asks, “Why do we live this way?” God doesn’t start with rules, but with a story:“We were Pharaoh’s slaves… and the LORD brought us out…”Before the law was on their doorposts, the blood was on their doorposts.Our “way out” is the greater Exodus in Jesus:We were slaves to sin.God brought us out by the cross and resurrection.He brought us out to bring us into His family, His kingdom, His future.To the degree you remember your way out, the more power you will find to live out the way of remembrance.Ask God to help you remember who He is, what He’s done, and who you are in Christ—and to live in a way that helps the next generation never forget the way out.