Mountain City Church

In the third message of the Lessons from the Garden series, Pastor Ron looks at why we experience scarcity in our work and finances, and points back to Eden for the answer. Work was part of God’s design before the fall. The fall made it harder but didn’t create it, and we work for God, not for people. Using the law of sowing and reaping, he shows that we reap what we plant and that the harvest belongs to God. He gives three things to sow: diligence and wise stewardship, honor for God (including the tithe, which he ties back to the one tree in the garden and the fear of the Lord), and purpose. Purpose means working for God’s kingdom, living with margin, and helping the people God puts in our lives. The message closes with a call to “consider your ways” and a question: what could God do through what He has entrusted to you?

In this Wednesday night message, the pastor says worship is the starting point of our relationship with God and of discipleship. We were made by God and for God, and worship simply means knowing and loving Him back. He walks through four elements of worship

Pastor Ron kicks off a new series, Lessons from the Garden, by taking us back to Genesis 1-2 and asking whether we’ve forgotten God’s original design for our lives. He builds the message on two lessons. First, everything belongs to God: our lives, families, abilities, possessions, and even our breath. We are stewards, not owners, and that understanding begins with the fear of the Lord. Second, you were made for more. Because we are created in God’s image (eternal, physical, and given a soul with free will), we are called to reflect His character through the three assignments He gave Adam: family, work, and dominion (governing well). Even though we choose poorly, God still loves us and has made a way to restore us, and Pastor Ron closes with a call for men, women, and kids to live as image bearers for God’s glory.

Pastor Ron continues the Wednesday night Bible class in Exodus. Jethro advises Moses to share the load by appointing leaders who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate bribes. Pastor Ron ties this to Deuteronomy 1, where the people choose their own leaders, and to how a nation is only as strong as the men who lead their homes. He follows Jethro’s family through Numbers, Judges, and the story of Jael to show that God works through people outside our circle.

At Mount Sinai, God calls Israel his treasured possession and a kingdom of priests. Pastor Ron connects this to Deuteronomy 32, the “apple of his eye” imagery, and the church being grafted in. He sees the third day, the thunder and lightning, and the mountain's holiness as pictures of the resurrection and Pentecost. He closes with the first two commandments, explaining that they existed before the law and are reinforced in the New Testament, and warns against letting anything take God’s place, including money, kids, and AI.

Pastor Ron continues the Exodus study in Exodus 16–18. He starts with Israel’s grumbling over the Sabbath and the manna. He then connects the manna to Jesus as the true Bread of Life in John 6, which is God giving Himself and not just provision. Israel quarrels again over water at Massah and Meribah, and the wilderness journey becomes a picture of our own lives. The battle with Amalek, with Moses’ hands held up, leads into a walk through Scripture on who Amalek was and why God judged them. The night ends with Jethro’s visit in Exodus 18 and a video on a theory about Jethro, the Kenites, and the faith preserved outside Egypt.

Picking up after the Red Sea crossing, Pastor Ron walks verse by verse through Israel’s response to God. They sing in worship, then complain three days later when the water is bitter, and again six weeks in when they run out of food. He argues that after 430 years in Egypt, Israel is being reintroduced to God, so we should read their struggles with sympathy. Worship is a declaration of who God is, not a performance, and he encourages everyone, men especially, to sing out and to “write your own song” about what God has done in their lives. God leads His people to places of testing (Marah) and places of refreshing (Elim), and maturity means responding well in both. Complaining against a spouse, boss, or pastor is really grumbling against the Lord. The manna teaches daily reliance on God (“give us this day our daily bread”), trust over fear and hoarding, and the first mention of the Sabbath. God’s love is open to anyone, but it calls for obedience that flows from the heart, not works-based salvation. The message closes with Ecclesiastes: to fear God and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man.

Guest speaker Dr. William Federer of American Minute, joined briefly by his son Michael, gives a history-driven message on the life of Muhammad, the origins of the Quran, and the spread of Islam. He compares Muhammad and Jesus, and contrasts a religion of works (Cain) with grace through the Lamb (Abel). The message ends with a salvation prayer. Pastor Ron then closes with a call for the church to wake up, be salt, light, and love, stand for righteousness, and pray for Anchorage and the nation.

Israel leaves Egypt, and the Passover statutes, the consecration of the firstborn, and the pillar of cloud and fire set the pattern for a people who must remember what God has done. Pastor Ron walks through the exodus from Exodus 12:40 through the crossing of the Red Sea. He shows how Israel is trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea, and how they complain and say they would rather be slaves than free. God answers by telling them to be still, trust that He will fight for them, and take a step of faith toward the water. The message closes with a challenge: when you’re backed against the wall, the choice isn’t fight or flight. It’s faith.

Opinions on Israel run high and the cultural noise is loud, so this message steps back and asks what Scripture says. It works through five questions: Who is Israel? What happened to Israel? Is God done with Israel? What's going to happen to Israel? What's happening in Israel right now? It then closes with how we should respond. The message traces God's covenants with Israel (Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New), explains how Israel's disobedience led to exile, and shows from the Old Testament and Paul's letters that God's promises to Israel are still standing. It ends with a Christian response to Israel: bless rather than curse, see Israel as set apart by God, and pray for Israel's salvation.

The message picks up in Exodus 10 and moves through the last plagues: locusts, three days of darkness, and the death of the firstborn. Along the way it shows how Pharaoh’s heart hardens each time he is confronted and refuses to repent. God then establishes the Passover and the first month of the Jewish calendar. The lamb without blemish, the blood on the doorposts, eating the whole lamb, and being dressed and ready to go all become pictures of salvation in Christ. The pastor ties these to obedience and faith, the danger of picking and choosing which parts of Christ to accept, and the urgency of going out to share the gospel. The message ends with Israel’s departure from Egypt, with the Egyptians urging them out and giving them silver, gold, and clothing.