Oceanhills Covenant Church

Today Pastor Jon teaches on a topic that God put on his heart for our community- loneliness. We all experience it, but how can we use our loneliness to experience the love of Jesus Christ in a tangible way? Tune in and find out.

What would you do if you discovered the the thing you bought at the antique store for a couple bucks was actually worth millions?

This Easter, Pastor Jon reminds us that God has given us a life we never knew was available to us, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Need a reminder of why you're here on Earth and what you were made to do?

Tune in and be inspired!

On this Palm Sunday, we remember why Jesus started and finished his journey to the cross - to forgive us and to teach us to forgive. Pastor Jono teaches out of Matthew 18, in which Jesus tells a parable about the nature and the power of forgiveness.

“You can forgive. Forgiveness means refusing to make them pay for what they did. It is a form of suffering. You are absorbing the debt, taking the cost of it completely on yourself instead of taking it out of the other person. It hurts terribly. Many people would say it feels like a kind of death. Yes, but it is a death that leads to resurrection instead of the lifelong living death of bitterness and cynicism.” - Tim Keller

In Mark, chapter 10 we encounter a powerful story. Jesus meets what the gospel writer calls "a rich, young ruler," and tells him to sell everything he has and give his money to the poor. The man walks away from Jesus sad, and Jesus is sad too.

What do we make of this story for our place and time? Does Jesus wish for us to sell all our stuff too? As we near the end of our Lent-long series, we detox the items, people, or habits we treasure most.

DETOX Assignments

• Identify the one thing you treasure most- give it over to God

• Sell something you treasure worth more than $100 & give the money to the poor – beach cruiser, a old vintage truck, piece of jewelry, a sand wedge, a surfboard, that pair of sunglasses…

• Break off THAT relationship you know is dishonoring to God & compromising your character.

This week, out spiritual "detox" is from THINGS. DJ, our Director of Compassion, Mercy, and Justice takes us into Matthew 25:31​-46, where Jesus identifies himself with "the least of these."

How will you respond to the message today?

Feeding the hungry?

Giving water to the thirsty?

Clothing the naked?

Or, "visiting" the prisoner?

Look closely at the sermon slides and come to our in-person worship service at Community Covenant Church on 3/17, starting at 5:30PM. Be ready to do your "act of service" as a way of worshipping the God who gave his life for you. See you Wednesday!

In Luke 18, we meet a pharisee and a tax collector. The pharisee brags before God, while the tax collector bows and beats his chest in humility. Today, Pastor Jon applies this parable to the world we live in.

Jesus's warning is just as relevant now as it was in first-century Israel. Pride and comparison are enemies of the life lived with God. And we must detox from them before they kill us.

DETOX: Part 2 -Pastor Jon Ireland -2021-2-28 by Oceanhills Covenant Church

DETOX is a new series that will follow the season of Lent, up until Easter Sunday. Today, Pastor Jon teaches from the book of 2 Kings, pulling lessons from the story of Naaman that inform how we, too, can become transformed people by the work of God in our lives.

Feeling stuck? Feeling like you're playing around in the shallow end of faith? Coasting? God has more for you, and it starts with this message!

Will you choose the path of humility daily - laying down control... DOING what you don’t want to do?

Will you choose & invite someone THIS WEEK to walk alongside us - to be your DETOX partner?

In a special Valentine's Day Sunday Service, Pastor Jon and his wife, Nathalie, partner up to give a message for all people in all stages of any relationship!

Living in a climate of self-fulfillment and quick frustration, how can we be great lovers of all people? Drawing from over 30 years of marriage and from the truths of Scripture, the Irelands share some insight for making love go the long haul.

We live in a world of instant graitification. "If you want it, you deserve it," is something of a culutral mantra, especially here in Santa Barbara. What if much of God's work can only happen in our waiting, though?

Today, Pastor Jon teaches from one of the Bible's great verses, Isaiah 40:31, to present a different perspective than the one we're used to. Waiting is not a holding back of the good; waiting is good in and of itself. Why? Because God is in it!