Nelsonville Assembly

The Advent Season provides many opportunities for worship to the person who is looking for them. In this second week of the season, Pastor Isaiah preaches from Psalm 95 about how real worship requires a connection of head and heart to be genuine and truly pleasing to God.

As we enter into another Advent Season, we have before us a season of opportunities. In the midst of all the decorations, traditions, food, and gifts God is calling us to find this to be a spiritually helpful season of reflection, worship, spiritual growth, and rest.

Standing before Emporer Charles V in 1521, Martin Luther spoke incrediable words of Christian conviction. He was a man who understood the power and authority of the Word of God and knew that Scripture Alone must hold the highest place in the Christian life. In the last week of this series, Pastor Isaiah shares more of Luther's story and how his commitment to the Word of God led to the greatest gift the Reformation passed down - the Word of God accessible once again in the common language.

Reflecting on the Reformation era, the Latin phrase "Soli Deo Gloria" is often used to describe the heart of what the recovery of the true Gospel and biblical theology produces practically in people. This phrase in English is translated "To the Glory of God Alone" and as Pastor Isaiah preaches in this message, that should be the heart of every true Christian in every era, including ours today!

In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned to stand before the Emperor at the Diet of Worms. As he prepared to go there, Luther looked to Daniel 3 and the God who saved the three Israelite men from a tyrant there to draw strength for himself. The same God who delivered them was the same God he served in 1521... and the same God Christians serve today in 2021.

On October 31st, 1517, unbeknown to him, the call for debate and discussion around the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church by Martin Luther would lead to world-changing events. With the nailing of the 95 Thesis, a flame was lit in the darkness - a flame that is entrusted to Protestants today as heirs of this great Gospel message and work.

Looking back to church history reveals many stories of God's incredible work throughout the ages that can inspire and build up the faith of Christians today. The events that sparked the Protestant Reformation are particularly inspiring to those of us who stands as heirs of those events today. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah introduces us to Martin Luther and the text which changed not only his life, but all of history when it was again rightly understood.

Last Sunday, we were honored to have Dr. Gary Denbow preach to our church family from the Word of God and challenge us with the call to "Come Up Here!" Christians must be seeking to grow and be changed by God each week when we gather, and each day as we personally live in light of our salvation, desiring to draw closer and closer to the transforming presence of God Himself.

In the final week of this series, we reach the pinnacle of the One Another Commands by looking at the "capstone statement" that is most often repeated in these commands: Love One Another. Pastor Isaiah unpacks what this short, but weighty command really means by pulling together the things heard in this series and concluding with the challenging words spoken through the Apostle John at the very end of his ministry.

After hearing an update from the Dailey Family, our missionaries to the Republic of Georgia, Pastor Isaiah continues in our series by unpacking what it looks like corporately to obey the command of Christ to grow. The hard work of growing in our relationships with one another is clearly seen when we examine the "do not" commands and hear God's warnings about the danger and destruction that sin produces. These things lead a true believer to see the need for repentance and God's grace day by day.