God wants you to come to him in order to receive a reward.

The reward is most actualized when you give it away.

Jesus says that whoever finds their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for his sake will find it.
That can sound like Jesus is asking us to give up joy in order to do our duty. But what if the opposite is true?

In this sermon from Matthew 10:34–39, we look at Jesus’ call to total devotion and why following him is not about choosing duty instead of pleasure. Our problem is not that we want joy too much—it’s that we are too easily satisfied with things that were never meant to be our life.

Family, relationships, comfort, success, money, reputation, and dreams can all be good gifts from God. But gifts make terrible gods.

Jesus does not call us away from joy. He calls us away from joys that are too small.

So the question is:
What are you afraid to lose because you believe that thing is your life?
Jesus invites us to let go of every false life we cling to and discover the real thing in him.

What are you afraid of?

In Matthew 10:26–33, Jesus has already warned his disciples that following him may cost them their reputation, their relationships, their freedom—even their lives. And then he says something surprising:

“Do not be afraid.”

Jesus reminds us that people are not God. God alone holds our lives and our eternity in his hands. And when we turn toward the God we are called to fear, we discover a Father who sees every sparrow, knows every hair on our heads, and has revealed his goodness to us in the crucified and risen Jesus.

Fear God so that you’ll never have anything to fear.

The fear of the Lord teaches us that God is God and we are not. But his perfect love casts out fear. So whatever you are afraid of—people, your future, your family, your health, failure, even death—you can place it in the hands of the Father who already holds you.

In Matthew 10:16–20, Jesus tells his disciples to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” as they go out on his mission, because he wants them to be ready to face opposition in full devotion to him.

But why would a message of grace, hope, reconciliation, and eternal life face opposition at all?
Because the free gift of Jesus claims our total allegiance.

In this sermon, we look at the danger of divided devotion through the story of Benedict Arnold, and then at Paul and Silas in Philippi as an example of what it looks like to submit every right, identity, comfort, and loyalty to the mission of Jesus.

Wisdom knows that human hearts can be divided.

Innocence keeps returning to the One true Lord.

When devotion to Jesus challenges the other things people cling to, opposition may come. Our calling is not to become defensive, tribal, or fearful—but to remain faithful witnesses, trusting the Holy Spirit to give us what we need to represent Jesus.

Scripture: Matthew 10:16–20; Acts 16

As followers of Jesus we go like we went.

We step out of our comfort zones to go and see the needs of others.

We bring a holistic Gospel serving the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.

We proclaim the Kingdom of heaven on earth.

In Matthew 10:1–8, Jesus sends his disciples out with authority to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. But the mission is not a chance to prove how spiritual or impressive they are. Everything they carry has first been freely given by Jesus.
This sermon explores the contrast between the disciples in Matthew 10 and the people in Matthew 7 who point to their mighty works as proof that they deserve the Kingdom. The difference is not merely what they do, but the posture of their hearts.
The Kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit—those who come to the Father empty-handed, find their identity in his love, and then freely share what they have received.
Takeaways:
Find your identity in God’s love. Freely you received. Freely give. Scripture: Matthew 10:1–8
Series: Bear Witness — The Mission Discourse

In Matthew 9:32–34, Jesus sets a man free and restores his voice. The crowd sees the goodness of God at work, but the Pharisees look at the same miracle and call it evil.

How can people see something so clearly good and still reject it?

Jesus teaches us that the greatest opposition to the kingdom is often a matter of the heart: we can become so committed to our pride, comfort, fear, or desires that we suppress what we know is true and love the darkness more than the light.

In this final message from Round 3 of Bear With Me, we consider what it means to join Jesus in bringing healing and wholeness into the world, while responding to opposition without losing our mercy or love.

Two invitations:
You love the light by stepping into the light.
You can respond to opposition with mercy and love.

Jesus did not come merely to give us a “not-guilty badge” or a ticket out of hell. He came to conquer death and fill us with resurrection life.

In Matthew 9:18–26, Jesus raises a dead girl and restores a woman who had suffered for twelve years. These intertwined miracles give us a snapshot of the Kingdom of Heaven: death gives way to life, suffering gives way to healing, and isolation gives way to restored community.

Because Jesus has defeated sin and death, we have life to hold onto—and life to share. We are invited both to receive healing through the body of Christ and to carry the life of Jesus into places still marked by death, suffering, division, and despair.

What if the good news of Jesus is even better than forgiveness?
In this message from Matthew 9:1–8, Pastor Nick explores the deeper, cosmic problem Jesus came to overcome: humanity’s bondage to sin, death, and the powers of darkness. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus does more than change our legal status. He cleanses creation from death, reconciles us to God, and fills his people with the Spirit of resurrection life.
We are not merely forgiven people waiting for heaven. We are the living presence of Christ in the world, called to walk in his victory and become agents of life, healing, and reconciliation.

In Matthew 9:1–17, Jesus heals a paralytic, calls Matthew from the tax booth, eats with tax collectors and sinners, describes himself as the Physician for the sick, and teaches that new wine needs new wineskins.

This message from our Bear With Me — Round 2 series focuses on one simple truth:
What Jesus says goes.
Jesus is Lord over the storm.

Jesus is Lord over the powers.

And Jesus is Lord over sin.

So when Jesus says, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven,” that word is true. You are not defined by shame, fear, failure, or performance. You are forgiven, free, adopted, and loved in Christ.

And... a forgiven life needs new wineskins. We cannot keep pouring the new wine of Jesus’ mercy into old patterns of shame, duty, fear, hiding, and judgment. Jesus invites us to live a new kind of life shaped by conviction, joy, hope, mercy, honesty, and healing.
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