God is building His people upon Christ, the Cornerstone, into a spiritual house that can endure the storms of life and bring glory to Him.
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2:4-5)

Setting our hope on the grace of God and Jesus' return leads us to obedience to God's commands and active participation in His kingdom. In 1 Peter, the apostle sets out to make us ready to live obedient lives for Christ. “Therefore… set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children… as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (vv. 13-16).

Pastor Patrick continues our new series Stand Firm: A Study in I Peter. We can stand firm in the face of suffering because of the glory and the permanence of what is yet to come. Christians possess an imperishable inheritance, an indescribably joy, and indestructible hope. “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

We live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to the Christian faith. Far from being an anomaly, this has been the experience of most of God’s people since the time of Christ. In fact, Peter writes to Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor to remind them that all Christians have been called to suffer just as Christ has suffered for us. The letter of I Peter is a call to stand firm in our faith and to rejoice in who we are in Christ.

God's gospel is not only recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The good news is throughout the Bible and told in fascinating ways.

Each year we encourage you to find one place to connect and one place to serve. To do that effectively, Jesus says there is an obstacle to overcome to “hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:20)

In this short hymn, the Lord invites all nations to praise Him because of his great love and faithfulness. “Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!”

In Psalm 116, the Psalmist celebrates what the Lord has done for him – "For you have delivered my soul from death..." – and declares what he will do for the Lord – "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord."

Psalm 115 comes with a warning– idolatry is a literal dead end. It also comes with a witness– trusting in God leads to life.

Pastor Dave returns as we continue our summer Psalms series with the sermon “Accept No Substitutes” from Psalm 113. The exalted, humble, redeeming God commands praise from everyone, everywhere. “Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!” (vv. 2-3).