Looking at a definition of evangelism in light of what Paul called ‘The Ministry of Reconciliation' in II Corinthians 5:14-21.

This past Sunday we were reminded that it was because of Jesus' death on the cross that the curtain of the temple was torn in two - Matthew 27:51 and because of that"...we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body..." - Hebrews 10:19. 2 Corinthians 2:15 reminds us that now "we are to God the aroma of Christ". It's our responsibility as his people to be ‘the aroma of Christ' to those we live with every day, to percolate and permeate wherever we go.

Storm Bailey's used incidents in the life of David and teachings of Jesus and Paul to identify general Biblical principles about authority; these principles clarify the life of faith and the distinction between the kingdom of God and systems of the world.

Taken from Acts 4:32-5:11 sermon considered stewardship from the perspective of the New Testament church, where the liberating power of the gospel was reflected in the shared life of believers meeting one another's needs and furthering the mission of proclamation and transformation.

God calls us to place him at the center or hub of our lives, everything else is to be a "spoke". In our text, Haggai 1 the Israelites had stopped building the temple and had become complacent - they had unknowingly removed God from their center and placed building their own fancy houses as the priority. Haggai confronted the people and they listened and obeyed, beginning work again and finishing the temple. We were reminded that our own stewardship of what we've been given is also a matter of priority and dependence.

Based on Matthew 6:19-34, emphasized two foundational principles for thinking about stewardship: that our present life and property are not what is most important, and that Jesus calls us to a life of active dependence upon God. These ideas are--or can be--wildly liberating for us.

Last Sunday was Pastor Nystrom's last Sunday with us. The meditation was taken from Luke 24:13-35. Dick talked about how we all need to take time to really listen to what Jesus is saying to us. We do need to have a personal relationship with the Lord. He ended with an excerpt from St. Patrick's Breastplate - a long prayer: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

A sermon based on Joel 2:23-29. God is eager to pour out: His Refreshment - v. 23-24; His Redemption - v. 25-27; His Spirit on ALL people - v. 28-29 – with the emphasis on ALL. Our response: from Acts 2 and Joel 2 should be to: Call on the name of the Lord, bear the fruit of torn hearts, watch for the signs, and wait on the Lord with our ‘bucket'.

The title for the sermon happens to be the way our denomination explains what it means to be part of the denomination of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Pastor Nystrom went on to explain that at the heart of Pietism is a deep felt yearning for a personal relationship with God. The text for the day was Luke 11:1-13 in which Jesus teaches us how to be in conversation with our Father in heaven.

We looked at the life of Jephthah in Judges 11. We were reminded of the many turning points in Jephthah's life including the specific turning point of rejection and then later in his life success. The turning points in our lives and the decisions we make can affect us and others around us. Jephthah's example of faith can be an encouragement as we live our lives.