Sermons

Pastor Rob shared a message from Hebrews as we closed out 2025 with our PJ's and Pancakes Service. As we approach a new year, many of us feel the weight of stress, disappointments, and distractions that have accumulated over time. The book of Hebrews offers powerful guidance for finding a genuine reset that starts with God rather than our own efforts. Like the faithful heroes in Hebrews 11, we don't need to be perfect to follow God - we just need to be willing to trust Him. The key is laying aside the spiritual weight that slows us down and fixing our eyes on Jesus as we run the race of faith with endurance. This isn't about trying harder through willpower, but about trusting Jesus more deeply as He transforms us into new creations.

Pastor Dell shared a message from Luke 2 this Christmas Eve. Christmas carols often paint a sanitized picture of Jesus' birth, but the real story reveals costly obedience and faith amid hardship. Mary and Joseph faced social shame, dangerous travel, and life-threatening circumstances as they welcomed the Savior into a hostile world. God's peace doesn't mean the absence of struggle, but His presence with us through difficulties. Jesus entered the world through humility and vulnerability, showing that God works powerfully through weakness. This Christmas, we can find hope in knowing that Emmanuel - God with us - enters our messy circumstances just as He did theirs.

Pastor Dell concluded our Advent series by taking a look at Mary and how she responded to God’s call in Luke 1:39-56. Mary’s response to God's call teaches us how to react when divine answers arrive in our lives. At just 15 or 16 years old, Mary demonstrated that God can use anyone at any age to accomplish His purposes. When the Holy Spirit moves, He responds to faith and obedience - the two rails by which He operates. Mary's song of worship, the Magnificat, shows us that our first response should be praise rather than fear of circumstances. Her obedience didn't begin or end with Jesus' birth; she was already walking faithfully before the angel's visit and continued serving God throughout her life. The arrival of Jesus brought forgiveness for sinners, acceptance for the overlooked, and grace for those who need it most.

Pastor Dell walked through Matthew 1:18-25 as he looked at how God interrupts our plans and calls us to remain obedient to Him. Life rarely follows our carefully planned timeline, but what if these disruptions are actually divine appointments? Joseph's story reveals how God works through unexpected circumstances to accomplish His greater purpose. When an angel told Joseph not to fear taking Mary as his wife, Joseph faced a choice between his reputation and God's calling. His immediate obedience demonstrates that following God's direction, even when it costs us something, positions us to be part of His redemptive story. God often uses our greatest challenges to reveal His character through us, showing others the power of Christ at work in impossible circumstances.

Pastor Santiago looked at Mark 1:1-8 as he continued our Advent series. God's preparation for Christ's coming began in the Garden of Eden, not in Bethlehem. Through centuries of prophecy and promises, God orchestrated the perfect plan for salvation. John the Baptist served as the messenger who prepared hearts through his call to repentance, declaring that Jesus was more powerful than anyone could imagine. The familiar phrase 'peace on earth' is actually conditional - it comes to those with whom God is pleased. This peace isn't based on our perfection but on our relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and faith.

Pastor Dell started our Advent series by looking at the genealogy of Jesus. The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 reveals that God works through ordinary, flawed people to accomplish His redemptive plan. From Abraham to David to Mary, the family tree includes farmers, immigrants, kings, adulterers, and foreigners - all real people with real struggles. Even a curse on Jeconiah's lineage couldn't stop God's perfect plan, as Jesus became the legal son of Joseph while being the biological son of Mary. This Advent season reminds us that our broken stories don't disqualify us from God's grace. Instead, brokenness becomes the soil where God grows redemption, encouraging us to wait with genuine expectation rather than going through religious motions.

Pastor Dell finished 1 Corinthians 7 as he continued our series "A Church Worth Becoming". Life brings different seasons - both joyful and challenging - but God has a purpose for where you are right now. Every believer has a unique calling, whether in parenthood, the workplace, or serving others. The key is embracing your own calling rather than comparing it to others or constantly seeking change. Paul emphasizes remaining faithful in the situation where God has placed you, understanding that faithfulness shines brightest during difficult times. Whether married or single, each state offers unique opportunities to serve God, but our relationship with Him must always come first.

Guest speaker, Adam West, looked at God's vision for marriage found in 1 Corinthians 7:1-16, as we continued our series, "A Church Worth Becoming". Paul addresses the Corinthians' confusion about marriage, intimacy, and relationships in a sexually immoral culture. Physical intimacy within marriage is God's gift, not something shameful, and requires mutual care between spouses. Both marriage and singleness are valuable gifts from God, with neither being superior. Jesus taught that marriage should be permanent, reflecting Christ's relationship with the church. In mixed marriages where one spouse is an unbeliever, the Christian should remain committed and be a light to their family. Sin pollutes God's good gifts, and isolation from other believers makes us vulnerable to temptation.

Pastor Rob took a look at a well-known passage, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, as he continued our series "A Church Worth Becoming". True freedom in Christ isn't about doing whatever we want, but about being free to glorify God with our lives. The apostle Paul corrected the Corinthians who had twisted grace into a license for sin, reminding them that their bodies belong to Christ. As believers, we are temples of the Holy Spirit, purchased at the ultimate price of Jesus' life. This reality should transform how we live, moving us from asking how far we can go without crossing the line to asking whether our actions bring glory to God. Sexual purity matters because our bodies are joined to Christ, and we cannot separate our spiritual and physical lives. When we live as people who truly belong to God, we reveal His presence to a watching world.

Pastor Dell shared a message from 1 Corinthians 6 on how a mature church handles conflict. Paul addressed the Corinthian church's habit of taking disputes to secular courts instead of resolving conflicts biblically. He outlined Jesus' process from Matthew 18: go directly to the person, bring witnesses if needed, involve the church, and separate if necessary. A mature church handles conflict differently than the world, thinks with an eternal perspective, and lives out the gospel. Because believers are washed, sanctified, and justified through Christ, we should prioritize restoration over revenge and show love that proves our faith to the watching world.