Port Orchard Church of the Nazarene

This week, Pastor Jerry began a new series where we will be diving into a few commonly misunderstood scriptures. In the first part of this new series, Pastor Jerry took a look at a few of the big misreads, including the infamous Luke 17:36, or the 'Left Behind' scripture.

This week, we were joined by Pastor Ernest Roberts. After an introduction from Pastor Jerry, Ernest spoke about operating in a Godly compassion that moves us beyond reason, just like Jesus. Ernest reminds us that, while we're not finished yet, we are works in progress, continually being transformed into God's likeness as the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth.

How do we deal with two conflicting ideas of the same God when they come from the same book? If you were to compare the God of the Old Testament to Jesus, the perfect representation of the Father, there would be a few differences, to say the least. As it turns out, it very well could be mankind's interpretation of God, or it could be God meeting us where we're at. Pastor Jerry explores this idea in this week's message.

In 1 John 4, it says that God is love, and that there is no fear in love. Why, then, do we struggle to trust God with everything? Well, oftentimes, it's because we lose sight of who God is, or we lose sight of who we are. Pastor Jerry discusses this topic in this week's message.

It's interesting how sometimes, the same story can be seen two completely different ways depending on perspective. While you may have seen an episode of your favorite TV show that demonstrates this idea, it's even been seen in the Bible with the story of the Prodigal Son. You remember the story- the son comes home after squandering his inheritance, believing that a life as an employee of his father would be better than anything he deserves, and when he returns home, his father throws a party because his son, who was believed to be dead, has come home alive! This week, Pastor Jerry asks the question, “Where in our lives are we believing the wrong version of the story?”

This week, we were joined by John and Ruth Filler of Gateway Fellowship in Idaho. John explored the implications of the torn veil after Jesus' crucifixion. As John explains, we don't just get to take a peek around; we get full access to the kingdom of Heaven here on Earth! To find out more about John and Ruth, check out their website at http://www.thegatewayintl.org/

In this week's message, Dan Schiopu talks about the love and honor of God. When we talk about God's love for us, something that occasionally gets forgotten is the fact that God has put the same value on us that he has on Jesus. When we realize how much value and honor God has for us, it would only come naturally for us to value and honor one another the same way as well! Imagine what your community would look like!

This week, we were happy to welcome back Angelo Jeanpierre. He and his wife Hannah spoke about their lives, and how thankfulness has played a recurring role in them. In fact, as Angelo points out, being thankful is one of the most important things one could be!

Have you ever thought about how sometimes, there's more to the 'familiar' than we realize? For example, in Matthew 11:12, it says, "...the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it," according to the NIV translation. But what does 'violent' mean? Typically, the word 'violence' doesn't bring up any pleasent imagery, but what if it's more than people hurting people? As it turns out, Ghandi could be considered just as violent as a robotic Arnold Schwarzenegger; he did disrupt the caste system of India without throwing a single punch, after all! Pastor Jerry goes into this and more in this week's sermon.

If we get the gospel right, everything else will follow! When people grasp that God included them in Jesus’ death and resurrection and that has transformed everything about them, then everything changes. Beliefs, attitudes, expectations, behavior, relationships and an real sense of belonging.