Greenhouse Sermons

We are all treasure hunters! But what is the treasure that you are seeking? What is the motivation of your heart? As we continue our School of Jesus series, a verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Oscar Roche shines the light on Matthew 6:19-24. In these words we're hearing, we must remember who is speaking! Jesus asks some hard questions. What are you consumed with seeking? What is the condition of your heart? The constant pursuit of wealth and possessions will never truly satisfy. Earthly things will face death, decay, and destruction. We can be a conduit of the Kingdom, treasure hunters who believe that what we give today will turn into great exploits. The Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is an invitation to greatness in God's kingdom!

There has always been so much more meant for our life, a true connection between God and His people. We can have access to the promises of God. Yet things may seem out of reach to us. There is a ladder that gives us access, and this ladder is fasting! As we continue our School of Jesus series, a verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, we welcome Ruth Patz to the pulpit. In Matthew 6:16-18, we see Jesus teaching a divine principle that brings rewards from our Father. When you fast... The question is not "if", but when. We should be doing much more fasting than we are.

When you pray, is it difficult, or are you excitedly expectant? Jesus said, "Don't be like the pharisees." As we continue our School of Jesus series, a verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Mike Patz opens Matthew 6:1-7. There is a key to being rewarded in your prayer life. Meet with God in the secret place! God has not left us as orphans, and He longs for us to be attached to Him. This happens in the place of prayer. When we use prayer for religion, we always come up empty. When we use prayer for relationship, it always leaves us full. Our desire is to be a body of people that wake up believing we are meeting with the God of the universe, because we are!

We welcome Pastor Joel Romelus to the pulpit, for a continuation of the School of Jesus series. In the Sermon on the Mount, we see a different realm of God's kingdom. In Matthew 5:43-48, the sobering words of Jesus challenge us to "love our enemies!" It's like a final exam; will you make a passing grade? God's plan is for love to be a bridge bringing peace, justice, and connection to our world. Loving our enemies means choosing to reject the us vs. them mentality. Embrace others the way Jesus has accepted you. Choose the way of love! 

Has someone ever really done you wrong? The Old Testament taught "... an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." In our School of Jesus series, we continue our verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, with Matthew 5:38-42. These verses are an expansion on "blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" from the Beatitudes. When we're offended and angry we will often make the wrong choice in responding to others. If the devil can stir up our rage, he's got us! Pastor Mike Patz admits that many times we may want to pass out the death sentence judgment for low-level crimes. But revenge is not justice. It is not the way of Jesus if it does not include the mercy of Jesus. Let's live a surprising life filled with mercy!

Everything sounds good until you hear the rest of the story. We have become very comfortable with lying. In the School of Jesus series, as we go word by word through the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Mike Patz unpacks the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:33-37. According to Jesus, deception is from the evil one. You were made in the image of God, and you will only thrive when you're moving in the nature of God. He is truth, goodness, kindness, and we must live like Him. Tell the truth, and the truth shall keep you free!

This message is sobering as we go word by word through the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Mike Patz continues our School of Jesus series by looking at the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:31-32, the issue of divorce and remarriage. Our world is filled with people who have been impacted by the brokenness of relationships. Marriage is hard! The statistics are stacked against couples staying together in holy matrimony. Jesus has authority over marriage, because Jesus is the Author of marriage. The question is, "does Jesus have authority over you?" When He says things that are hard to live with, can you accept them? So many of us want a lord we can control but not a Lord we must submit to.

What is lust and what did Jesus say about it? Pastor Mike Patz continues in the 'School of Jesus' sermon series by diving deep into Matthew 5:27-30 and makes the distinction between love and lust. Culture's ideas of sexuality and marriage contradict the teachings of Jesus.

We live in a society of outrage, so easily set off. Our society is polarized and very divided. Yet we are family! Greenhouse welcomes Pastor Malik Murray to the pulpit as we continue the School of Jesus series.  He challenges us with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:21-26. At this point in His ministry, Jesus has a huge following, and goes up on the mountain and begins to speak to the people. Jesus is doing exegesis on the Old Testament command "you shall not commit murder" saying, "you don't talk to your brother and sister like that!" He ups the anty! Christianity is not a bare minimum faith. Anger can be a slippery slope, and if you stay long in that place of anger it can disintegrate us. When we embrace our identity in God's family, anger loses its grip and reconciliation takes root.

There is a Pharisee inside each one of us! Pastor Mike Patz continues our School of Jesus series by challenging us with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:17-20. We regularly misunderstand His words of condemnation towards the pharisee. They are not necessarily the evil, wicked, and bad people we see in our minds. In the days of Jesus, the Pharisee was trained to know the law. Yet they missed the mark because their method was to just try harder to live up to the laws of God, cleaning up the outside and ignoring the filth on the inside. The deeper work that Jesus brought was to clean up the inside and then allow the transformation to move to the outside. The law can restrain the heart, but it will never transform the heart. Jesus is not creating new laws, He's creating new people!