Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues our Christmas series in Matthew chapter 2.

We all have a backstory. Even villains have backstories that we can sympathize with. So how do we know what's good and what's bad?

The Christmas story is full of characters with their own backstories. When we look at the stories of Herod and the wise men, what can we learn from the choices that they made when it comes to Jesus?

Through reading their stories, one thing becomes clear: we are all sinners in need of forgiveness.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on December 15, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:45 Message: Understanding Herod and the Wise Men

04:24 Herod's Troubled Reign

15:01 The Wise Men and Their Journey

17:31 The Encounter with Jesus

21:19 The Prophecy of Daniel

28:15 Herod's Response to Jesus

31:02 Our Need for Forgiveness

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues a Christmas series. The Christmas story is familiar, but we'll start by reviewing the facts of the story. Through this experience, Mary and Joseph faced incredible challenges—traveling miles, living in uncertainty, and trusting God in the unknown. They held onto faith in His promise: that Jesus would save the world. Christmas calls us to do three things:

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on December 8, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

01:09 Message: Faith Through the Christmas Story

11:12 Reflections on God's Plan

29:42 Closing Prayer and Reflections

Worship Director Justin Jackson starts a Christmas series. Christmas isn't really about us - yet, somehow, it is. It's about God, who made it about us through Jesus. The story of Christmas is a daring rescue mission: God so loved the world that He sent His Son to save us, bringing hope, life, and a mission filled with eternal meaning. Let's learn about three incredible gifts Jesus brought us and the hope they offer us today.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on December 1, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:52 Message: Rediscovering the True Meaning of Christmas

07:26 The True Meaning of Christmas

10:12 The Gift of Hope

19:24 The Gift of New Life

26:07 The Gift of Kingdom Purpose

29:56 Conclusion and Reflection

Youth Pastor Gary Jones continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount. In the last Beatitude (Matthew 5:10-12), Jesus teaches us to rejoice when persecuted for righteousness' sake. It's a surprising call, but it comes with an incredible promise: the kingdom of heaven.

Today, we'll explore how to embrace suffering, welcome it as part of our faith journey, and respond not with bitterness but with joy and steadfastness.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 24, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:49 Message: Finding Joy in Persecution

03:38 Reading and Reflecting on the Beatitudes

11:14 The Reality of Persecution Today

19:55 Responding to Persecution

27:57 Invitation to Faith and Reflection

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues our series on the Sermon on the Mount.

Living in peace is truly something we all long for. But in this teaching, Jesus challenges our idea of what that looks like: Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

While we long for peace, our ideas of living peacefully often still fall short of what Jesus calls us to. Because Jesus entered into a world full of conflict, he has flipped the script on peace not being merely an avoidance of conflict, but something active.

What does it mean to actually make peace in our world?

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 17, 2024, at 8:00am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

01:43 Message: Blessed Are The Peacemakers

15:05 Understanding Peacemaking

25:38 The Call to Be Peacemakers

30:23 Reflection and Application

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount. A profound longing echoes throughout Scripture—the desire to see God. But what does it mean to truly see Him? To answer this, we begin not in Matthew, but in Exodus, where God's relationship with His people unfolds through moments of faith, failure, and redemption.

At one point, Moses asks to see God, but God says he can't see His face and live. But Jesus says something different, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Let's find out how these two seemingly contradictory statements are both true.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 10, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:58 Message: The Pure in Heart

03:29 Historical Context: From Abraham to Exodus

10:58 The Golden Calf Incident

19:05 The Paradox of Seeing God

22:33 Understanding a Pure Heart

33:20 Reflecting on Our Hearts

Worship Director Justin Jackson continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount.

Have you ever been caught doing something wrong? We want to be shown mercy, but, at the same time, we often crave justice for others... to the point that it can become vengeance!

But Jesus flips the script by declaring: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

Jesus challenges us not just to show mercy but to be merciful. It's a call to forgive, to act with compassion, and to reflect the mercy God showed us through the cross. This kind of mercy can break cycles of bitterness and reveal a better way to live—one that brings Heaven to earth.

What might it look like in your life to show mercy to someone who doesn't deserve it?

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 3, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

01:07 Message: Blessed Are the Merciful

06:07 Humanity's Problem with Sin and Justice

08:13 Jesus' Teachings: Flipping the Script

10:25 The Beatitude of Mercy

22:46 The Cross: The Source of Mercy

28:30 Living a Life Full of Mercy

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus makes a statement about obsession. He says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6). Jesus doesn't say blessed are those who have righteousness. The blessing is in the longing, in the obsession. That feels backward.

At the crux of Jesus' statement is the word righteousness. Let's find out how that will bring us satisfaction.

But first, we'll start with a testimony from two of our long-term missionary partners in Uganda and how they're seeingpeople hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on October 27, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:44 Testimony: Val & Waffle

06:07 Message: Hungering for Righteousness

12:38 Jesus' Teaching on Obsession

19:22 The Obsession with Being Right with God

27:37 The Call to Bring Rightness to the World

37:52 Reflecting on Our Search for Satisfaction

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount.

Power, strength, dominance - this is how we expect a king to rule. But Jesus flips the script when he says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

In a world ruled by force, Jesus points us to gentleness and humility as the true path to victory because we already know the ultimate outcome. Let's explore how meekness - far from weakness - is the way to real strength, freedom, and peace.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on October 20, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:54 Message: Discovering True Power through Meekness

04:45 Historical Context of Israel's Longing for a King

16:32 The Arrival of Jesus and His Radical Kingdom

21:03 Understanding Meekness

27:41 Trusting in Divine Justice

Associate Pastor Ron King continues a series on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reminds us that true discipleship isn't just about following rules but facing our brokenness and relying on God's grace.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Mourning isn't easy—it's about confronting pain, loss, and even our own sin. But through it, Jesus promises comfort, reminding us that even in our deepest sorrow, God is with us, leading us toward healing.

Right before the message, we have someone's testimony about mourning.

Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on October 13, 2024, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome

00:58 Testimony About Mourning

05:39 Message: Finding Comfort in Mourning

09:29 The Beatitudes: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

21:24 Jesus' Example of Mourning

25:51 Comfort in Mourning

32:49 Reflection and Prayer