Sermon Title: The Table of Memory & Mystery
Scripture Reading:  Luke 22:14-20; John 6:53-58; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

In their final Passover together, Jesus infuses new meaning into the community meal of God’s people. He tells his disciples that the bread and cup of the table now represents his broken body and blood shed for the sins of the world. He commands us to remember him and the New Covenant each time we receive it. In The Table of Memory & Mystery, Pastor David helps us to see the real purpose of communion and the subversive nature of Christ's table.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
August 27 bulletin
small group discussion questions

Buried & Raised with Christ (8-20-17)

Guest Speaker:  Todd Allen
Sermon Title:  What Do These Stones Mean?
Scripture Reading:  Joshua 4:21-24

Dr. Todd Allen, an incoming prof at Messiah College, founded The Common Ground Project, a community based non-profit dedicated to promoting an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement.  For the past 16 years, in partnership with the PNC Foundation, Dr. Allen has led the “Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights” bus tour, an educational tour which visits many of the key southern sites of the Civil Rights Movement. Listen as Todd speaks to us about the struggle for justice that still continues to this day, in a message entitled, What Do These Stones Mean?

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
August 13 bulletin
responsive prayer for racial reconciliation
small group discussion questions

Sermon Title: The God Who Looks Like Jesus
Scripture Reading: Luke 9:51-56; John 14:5-9, Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus is what God is like and what God has always been like. But unfortunately, many people have allowed competing portraits of God to negatively shape their lives. Current brain research has found that distorted images and negative concepts of God lead us to unhealthy patterns of self-defeating behaviors and toxic relationships. In The God Who Looks Like Jesus, Pastor David challenges us to align our thoughts about God to reflect what has been fully revealed in Christ.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
August 6 bulletin
small group discussion questions

Sermon Title:  Living with Joy
Scripture Reading:  Matthew 6:19-34; John 10:10; 15:9-12; Philippians 4:6-8

Jesus said that he came to give us abundant life. He wants his joy to be complete in us. But what does that mean and how does that happen? And if Jesus offers us his life, why do many Christians continually live with fear, anxiety, and depression, instead of living with joy? In Living with Joy, Pastor David shares how we must discipline ourselves to abide in Christ and seek his Kingdom before everything else.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
July 30 bulletin
small group discussion questions

Sermon Title:  Dealing with Doubt
Scripture Reading:  John 11:16; 20:24-29; James 1:5-8; 2:14-17

There is a great misconception about faith that is fairly popular today. Many people think that their faith is only as strong as they are psychologically certain. Therefore, doubt becomes a threat to faith, even to our salvation. But is that really what the Bible teaches? Should we really just push aside our doubts and not ask questions. In Dealing with Doubt, Pastor David shares how doubt isn't the enemy of faith, but rather it's an opportunity to grow in our relationship with Christ.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
July 23 bulletin
small group discussion questions

Sermon Title: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Scripture Reading: Romans 7:14-25; Philippians 3:12-14; Hebrews 12:1-3

Following Jesus is hard. We often know what we should do, but we frequently find it difficult to actually do it. Sometimes it takes months or years to see the changes we know we should be seeing in our walk with Christ. Is that normal? Is the Christian life supposed to be this way? In A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Pastor David addresses the realities and rewards of pursuing Christ over the long-haul, and how our daily choices shape us for better or for worse. 

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
July 16 bulletin
small group discussion questions

Guest Speaker:  Doug Curry
Sermon Title:  Why Does Worship Need A Pastor?
Scripture Reading:  Psalm 78:70-72; Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 24:13-35

Most people understand that the church needs leadership. Gifted leaders are necessary for helping the church grow up into Christ, but not every leader is a pastor. Pastors are able to gently guide and shepherd people, ministering to their needs as disciples of Christ.

As a local congregation, we recognize our need not only to be led, but to be pastored through our engagement of worship and the arts. In Why Does Worship Need a Pastor?, Doug Curry shares about the purpose of worship and why it calls for a skilled shepherd to lead us.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
July 9 bulletin

Guest Speaker: Lynda Gephart
Sermon Title: Each One of You is a Part
Scripture Reading: Romans 12:3-5; I Corinthians 12:12-27

The body of Christ is made up of both younger and older people. We don’t have the same divisions that the Corinthian church had in Paul’s day, but age is one of the ways we’re divided today. Ministry to youth isn’t just for the youth pastor and a faithful few, but it’s for the whole church. In Each One of You is a Part, Lynda Gephart shares about the importance of youth ministry in the church today.

Worship Resources:
July 2 bulletin

Sermon Series: Train 'Em Up: Raising Children to Love Jesus & the Church
Sermon Title: They’re Watching You (3 of 3)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:1-6; Luke 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:5-7

According to Jesus, it’s a serious thing to cause children to stumble. What we say and teach is important, but more than that it’s how we live out our faith to our children that has the greatest impact. What do your actions and attitude teach them about God? In They’re Watching You (3 of 3), Pastor David shares how we must show them the God who looks like Jesus and the holy habits that build faith in him, so they too will join in on the building of the Kingdom of God.

Worship Resources:
sermon slides
June 25 bulletin
small group discussion questions