the Vine

Guest preacher Malcolm Hamblett finishes his four-sermon series on the four Gospels' different emphases on aspects of Jesus' character, life, and ministry based on two challenging passages from John's Gospel. Jesus clearly proclaims His identity as being one with God and the true and prophesied Son of God – controversial in the time of His earthly ministry (and still hard to understand today) but essential to the purpose of His incarnation, ministry, and His perfect, redeeming sacrifice on our behalf.

A warm, witty, and meaningful sermon from guest preacher Jay Noll on distraction -- vs. focusing on the right things.

We were unfortunately not able to provide the planned livestream of our March 15, 2026 Sunday morning worship service. Here is the complete video recording of the service. Guest preacher Malcolm Hamblett's sermon uses Luke 19:1-10 to focus on Luke's depiction of Jesus as the Son of Man, emphasizing His dual nature: fully divine yet also fully human.

In this crisp message, guest preacher Malcom Hamblett uses Mark 10:35-45 to illustrate Jesus' radical inversion of two disiples' expectations  – and our own  – of leaders and servants.

Guest Preacher Kevin Van Brunt, President and CEO of Camp Sentinel, joined us to share a warm and encouraging message based on Psalms 34:1-8.

Guest preacher Dale Edwards shares a powerful message, taken from Luke 7, of the desperate but committed and faithful actions of a woman (some think it was Mary Magdalene) in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Her recognition of Jesus echoes the Hebrew tradition of the "kinsman redeemer" as seen in the Old Testament book of Ruth. Ruth and her kinsman redeemer Boaz were grandparents of King David and thus on the line to the woman's, and our, kinsman redeemer, Jesus.

It could be said that Jesus' message in Matthew 5:16-20 boils down to this: “Preach always – and, when you have to, use words.” Our guest preacher Spencer Bogle shares a fascinating sermon on the value and purpose of human life. Spencer is the director of a non-profit called the Water Project (https://thewaterproject.org). The organization partners with locally registered non-government organizations in Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone to provide reliable, safe water for rural communities, schools, and healthcare facilities.

Guest preacher Malcom Hamblett, whose ties to this congregation go way back, begins an occasional series of sermons focusing on the four Gospels' different emphases on the character of Jesus, the Son of God and the promised Messiah. Matthew, writing with a predominantly Jewish audience in mind, presents Jesus as King.

Rev. Dale Edwards joined us as our guest preacher on January 18, 2026, sharing a warm, witty, and profound sermon, "What World Do We Choose?" that addresses what being a Christian is all about.

"The work of the Holy Spirit is to animate our life in Christ!"

... and why did we choose an image taken from a Mumford and Sons video as the title slide for this message? Watch the video and see!

Thanks to our guest Pastor, Bob Wyand for sharing his message based on Psalm 72 with us. "Careful what you ask for" in prayer! We are willing to "give up"/offer up some things, but we need to be willing to offer up the deeper things as well.