Your smartphone camera has three main settings, and each one creates a completely different picture of the same reality—just like how we view life.

Portrait mode puts you at the center while everything else blurs into the background.

Zoom mode magnifies problems until they fill your entire screen and overwhelm your vision.

But wide-angle mode captures the full context, showing how even big challenges fit within a much larger picture.

This Sunday, we'll discover how twelve tribal leaders looked at the Promised Land using these same three "life camera settings." Ten leaders had their perspective stuck on zoom mode—giants filled every frame and God disappeared from view. Two leaders kept their cameras on wide-angle—they saw the same obstacles but kept God's promises in the picture. The difference in their photographs shaped the destiny of an entire nation, keeping an entire generation wandering in the wilderness instead of entering God's rest.

We face the same choice every day with every challenge we encounter:

Will we live in portrait mode, making ourselves the center of everything?

Will we zoom in on our problems until they dominate our vision?

Or will we widen the frame to see God's presence and promises alongside our difficulties?

Join us as we explore how perspective shapes reality, and discover how Jesus provides the clearest lens for viewing every situation we face.

Here is our Outline:

1. The Story: Grapes or Giants?

• One Mission (13:1–24)

• Two Reports (13:25–33)

• Terrible Consequences (14:1–10):

2. The Lesson: How You See Shapes What You Believe

• Fear makes obstacles look big and God look small.

• Faith makes obstacles look small and God look big.

3. The Christ Connection: The Faithful One Who Saw Clearly

• Jesus is the true and greater Joshua

Everyone knows what it feels like to carry a load that seems impossible. Teachers stretched beyond capacity, parents juggling endless demands, leaders trying to meet expectations that never end—sooner or later, the weight threatens to break us.

Moses knew that feeling.

In Numbers 11, pressed between the people’s complaints and God’s calling, he reached his breaking point: “This burden is too heavy for me to bear.”

But God did not abandon His weary servant.

Instead, He provided three gifts for the wilderness journey: shared leadership for overwhelming responsibility, His Spirit for unchangeable hearts, and His Word for unjust attacks.

Each of these provisions points beyond Moses to Christ, our ultimate Burden Bearer, who carries what we cannot.

Join us this Sunday as we find hope for our impossible burdens in Him.

The Burden Bearer: God’s Gifts for the Wilderness Journey

Numbers 11:10–12:16

Theme: When impossible burdens crush God’s servants, He provides three essential gifts—all fulfilled in Christ, our ultimate Burden Bearer.

1. The Unbearable Burden (11:10–15; 12:1–2)

The Impossible Demands

Gift 1: Shared leadership for overwhelming responsibility.

Jesus carries our heaviest loads and offers rest for our souls (Matt. 11:28–30).

The Contagion of Complaining: How Ingratitude Spreads Like a Virus

We live in an age of viral content—where one post, one meme, one complaint, can spread worldwide in minutes. But as we saw during COVID, some things spread even faster than cat videos: infections. Viruses move quietly from person to person until suddenly, the whole community is sick.

Complaining works the same way. It’s contagious.Just like a physical virus, ingratitude spreads quietly from person to person until suddenly an entire community is spiritually sick.

In Numbers 11, we witness a devastating spiritual autopsy—the nation of Israel, fresh from witnessing God's miracles and experiencing His daily provision of manna, literally died from a disease that started with just a few grumbling voices. What began as minor complaints about "hardships" became a wildfire of ingratitude that consumed a nation.

This Sunday, we're going to trace the deadly anatomy of how gratitude dies, examining the four progressive stages: infection (patient zero's complaints), inflammation (how it spreads through community), corruption (when our memories get rewritten), and terminal rejection (dismissing God's provision as inadequate).

But there's hope—understanding how ingratitude kills can help us recognize and treat it before it destroys our souls.

Join us as we discover how Christ, our true Manna, offers the ultimate cure for hearts that have forgotten how to be grateful. Because when we lose the ability to appreciate what God gives, we lose the ability to be satisfied by what we have.

Don't let ingratitude become your spiritual cause of death. Come discover the life-giving power of gratitude this Sunday.

Here is our outline:

I. STAGE 1: THE INFECTION - Patient Zero (v. 1)

A. The Initial Outbreak (v.1a)

B. God's Immediate Response (v. 1b)

II. STAGE 2: THE INFLAMMATION - The Rabble's Influence (v. 4)

A. The Spreaders of Disease (v.4a)

B. The Contagion Spreads (v. 4b)

III. STAGE 3: THE CORRUPTION - Memory Distortion (vv. 5-6)

A. A Distorted Past (v. 5)

B. A Devalued Present (v. 6)

IV. STAGE 4: THE TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS

A. The Terminal Condition (vv.18-20)

B. The Cravings that Kill (vv.31-35)

C. The Medical Report: Psalm 106:15

V. THE REMEDY: Recognizing and Treating Ingratitude

A. Early Detection: Symptoms to Watch For

Complaining about circumstances God is using for growth

Immediate isolation: Stop feeding on ungrateful voices and influences

Daily thanksgiving: Like vitamins, small doses of gratitude compound over time

THE ULTIMATE CURE: Christ, Our True Manna

A. Jesus as the Greater Manna

"I am the bread of life... This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (John 6:48-50)

B. The Cross: Gratitude's Victory Over Ingratitude

C. The Spirit: Our Gratitude Trainer

Have you ever had a moment of unprecedented success?

If so, how did you respond?

If not, how do you think you would respond?

Many of us would expect to have positive reactions when we accomplish a great task.

Not Jonah.

God used Jonah to deliver what was arguably the most effective sermon in world history at that point in time, yet he was angry. More than simply being angry, Jonah was angry at God. Why was he angry? Much of his anger is rooted in his background. Jonah loved Israel. He was a prophet of God who held a high position within the national ranks. Yet, God had chosen him to be the instrument of mercy to Israel's enemy. He could not fathom that God would be willing to extend mercy to a city that had been so ruthless to His people. However, upon receiving a call to go to Nineveh and call out against it, Jonah knew what God had in store. God was going to send a spiritual awakening to Nineveh.

Throughout the book, and culminating in chapter 4, the reluctant prophet slowly discovered that his ideas of God did line up with reality. Jonah's idea of God stemmed from his idolatrous desires. He wanted a God he could control, rather than submit to. He was offended when the Almighty stepped out of line by offering mercy to the wicked.

Jonah did not believe that God's actions were good. He could not see what God was doing in the grand scheme of things. By the end of the story, we discover that God's goal is repentance, not just from the city, but also from the prophet. Join us on Sunday as we examine Jonah's story of disobedience, reluctance, anger, disbelief, and redemption.

Here is our outline:

Why was Jonah angry at God?

Discussion Questions for Kids (K–5th grade)

Why was Jonah angry after Nineveh listened to God and turned from their sins?

Have you ever been upset when someone else got something good that you didn’t think they deserved?

2. God’s Mercy

What does it mean that God showed mercy to the people of Nineveh?

How does God show mercy to you when you do wrong things?

3. Jonah’s Perspective

God gave Jonah a plant for shade and then took it away. Why did God do that? (Hint: to teach Jonah a lesson about His care for people.)

What was God trying to show Jonah about His heart for all people?

4. Connecting to Us

Do you ever wish God would only love certain people and not others? Why do you think we sometimes feel that way?

How should knowing that God loves everyone — even our “enemies” — change how we treat others?

5. Pointing to Jesus

Jonah didn’t want to forgive his enemies, but what did Jesus do for His enemies? (He died for them — and for us!)

How can remembering Jesus’ love help us show mercy when we don’t feel like it?

For this Fall Kick Off, I have one question: Are you hungry? No, I mean really hungry?

No one here is really hungry, are they?

In Orange County, nearly half of our public school students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet many are still malnourished despite eating daily.

Their primary vegetable? French fries.

Their main fruit? Ketchup.

They're full but starving.

Tomorrow, we'll explore how this physical reality mirrors a spiritual crisis affecting many of us—we're consuming plenty of life's "empty calories" while remaining desperately undernourished where it matters most. From Psalm 36:5-9, we'll discover that our souls need specific spiritual "vitamins" that only God can provide, and we'll learn to diagnose our own spiritual deficiencies.

David offers us more than beautiful poetry about God's character—he gives us a prescription for spiritual health. We'll explore how God's steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and wisdom function like essential vitamins for our souls, and why the counterfeits we often rely on leave us spiritually weak and vulnerable. This isn't just another sermon about God's attributes; it's a diagnostic tool and treatment plan for the malnourished soul.

Come discover what your heart has been starving for and find the feast that God has prepared for those who take refuge in Him.

Our Outline this week is long, but hopefully helpful:

I. THE DIAGNOSIS: Understanding Soul Malnutrition (Context from Psalm 36:1-4)

A. The Symptoms of Soul Malnutrition

Spiritual Anemia: Weak against temptation, slow to heal from wounds

1. Spiritual Undernutrition

2. Spiritual Micronutrient Deficiency

3. Empty Calorie Overload

II. THE CURE: God's Spiritual Vitamins for the Soul (Psalm 36:5-6)

A. Vitamin H: His Steadfast Love - The Heart Vitamin (v. 5a)

B. Vitamin F: His Faithfulness - The Stability Vitamin (v. 5b)

C. Vitamin R: His Righteousness - The Moral Vitamin (v. 6a)

D. Vitamin J: His Judgments - The Wisdom Vitamin (v. 6b)

III. THE PRESCRIPTION: Taking Your Daily Dose (Psalm 36:7-9)

A. Action: Come Here (vv. 7 & 9)

B. Satisfaction: Drink This (v. 8)

C. Recognition: Treasure It (v. 9)

THE APPLICATION: Your Daily Vitamin Regimen

A. Get a Spiritual Blood Test

Vitamin H Check: Am I quick to anger, slow to forgive, insecure in relationships?

B. Stop Taking Spiritual Counterfeits

Fake Vitamin H: Seeking unconditional love from relationships, social media validation, achievement

Morning Dose: Start each day absorbing God's character through His Word

Read asking: "What does this show me about God's hesed, emunah, tsedaqah, mishpatim?"

Feeling unloved? Dose of Vitamin H (hesed)

Kid's Questions:

1. What does it mean to be “full but still hungry”?

(Hint: Can your belly be full but your heart still feel empty?)

2. What are some of the “junk foods” we sometimes feed our souls?

(TV shows? Popular songs? Trying to be popular?)

3. What are the “spiritual vitamins” God gives us in Psalm 36?

(Can you name one? Like His love, faithfulness, or wisdom?)

⸻

💬 Talk with Your Family

4. When do you feel most hungry for God?

(Is it when you’re scared, sad, or bored?)

5. What can you do this week to feed your soul with God’s Word?

(Maybe read a Bible story, pray, or sing a worship song?)

This week, we are excited to hear from Patrick Martin!

Years ago, one of our children (who shall remain unnamed), was with my wife in Target, when he exclaimed with longing, “Mommy - I just want something that will make me happy!” While we “grown ups” are usually a bit more subtle - can’t we all relate?

We’re treasure hunters, spending our lives looking for *something*. And yet, like Bono hauntingly cried, we “still haven’t found what we’re looking for.”

This week, we’re looking at Matthew 13:44-46, sort of a “buy one get one” sort of parable, where Jesus uses two images to make one life-altering point about where true joy can be found.

Two Questions:

What do you want more than anything else?

If you got it, how long do you think it would make you happy?

Parables: Masterfully crafted stories that help us to apprehend the kingdom of God.

A hidden treasure.

Questions for Response:

Does this parable match how you’ve viewed Christianity up till now? Why or why not?

Have you ever gotten really excited about getting something, but it didn’t end up as good as you thought it would be?

This week, we are excited to hear from Adam Go!

That is the main question asked by the lawyer in the parable of the good Samaritan. The problem for the lawyer, however, is that Jesus never answered that question.

As we study this parable, we will come to understand the nature of the kingdom of God and what a transformed heart should be like.

Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37

I. Parables tell us about the kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is accessible to all people.

The kingdom is a thing of the heart

II. Eternal Life

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? 2 valid answers:

Love the Lord and love your neighbor (Luke 10:27)

Believe and receive (John 1:12)

Who helped the hurt man on the road?

What does it mean to be a “neighbor”?

Why didn’t the priest and Levite stop to help?

Finish Jesus’ command: “Go and ____ likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

Name one way you can be a good neighbor at school or home this week.

Memory Challenge: “Love the Lord your God … and your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27

This week, we are excited to hear again from our pastoral intern, Ben Woolbright!

However, there are sins that are more subtle. Sins that are more prone to being a blindspot, a growing cancer, unchecked and unnoticed. As a result, these sins can be more rampant in ourselves, and also in a given culture. In our current cultural context, one of the more notable subtle sins is the sin of greed.

In this week's passage, we find a man who interrupts Jesus' teaching of the disciples. Once he has Jesus' attention, he requests that Jesus force his brother's hand in dividing up their inheritance more than it already had been. This man makes the request in the name of justice, but Jesus could discern that the request was really made from a greedy heart.

Jesus shares a parable to communicate the foolishness of the request. In the parable, a rich man, entering a season of abundance, decided he was going to hoard up everything for himself. By choosing to hoard up his goods, this rich man entered a life of self-absorption. He chose to place his hope in all that he had. God declared him to be a fool. He wasn't a fool because he was rich, he was a fool because his hope was in the temporary!

Join us on Sunday as we unpack this parable and examine the foolishness of hoarding up treasures on earth!

Here is our outline:

Passage: Luke 12:13-21

v.16-17: The Rich Man’s Prosperity

v.18-19: The Rich Man’s Plan

v.20-21: The Rich Man’s Foolishness

Kids’ Bulletin Discussion Questions

Why did Jesus call the rich farmer a “fool”?

What does the word greed mean? (Give an example.)

Where did the farmer put his hope—in God or in his barns?

Finish this sentence: “Life is not about having lots of _____.” (Luke 12:15)

How can we be “rich toward God” this week? Name one way.

Memory Challenge: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” —Luke 12:34

This week, we are excited to hear from Ben Woolbright!

What is the hardest thing you've ever had to do? For some people, it may be a physical accomplishment like completing a marathon. For others, it could be enduring a difficult season where the brokenness of this fallen world is visible at every turn. However, if we're honest, one of the more difficult things that all of us will ever have to do in this life is to extend forgiveness.

We live in a society that has a distorted understanding of what true forgiveness entails. Should our forgiveness be conditional? Should our forgiveness be limited? To what degree are we to pursue justice?

In Matthew 18:21-35, we find a parable in which Jesus addresses questions about forgiveness. The moral of the story is very clear: Those who have been forgiven much are expected to forgive in return. By examining our broken relationships and hurtful encounters through the lens of the gospel, we can discover our true motive and the power to extend forgiveness.

Here is our outline:

V23-27: The King Forgives a Large Debt

The Creditor: A King

V28-30: The Forgiven Servant Demands Justice

The Creditor: The Forgiven Servant

(Let them name examples — this helps introduce the idea that forgiving someone is often one of those hard things.)

What did the king do when the servant begged for more time to pay back a HUGE amount of money?

Why do you think he did that?

How did that same servant treat someone who owed him just a little bit of money?

Was that fair? Why or why not?

How do you feel when someone forgives you?

(Let them connect emotionally to being shown mercy.)

Why do you think Jesus wants us to forgive others—even when it’s really hard?

Hint: What has Jesus done for us first?

Can you think of someone you might need to forgive? What would it look like to forgive them like the king forgave the servant?

🪧 Memory Verse (Optional)

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

This week, we are excited to hear from Dave Lindemulder!

He will teach on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard from Matthew 20, focusing on the nature of the kingdom that Jesus is bringing in.

Although you cannot see or touch a kingdom, they are real and important. Over time, they have come and gone; in our age, they seem less important and a bygone era.

But those that still exist use symbols and traditions to make the intangible understandable. Things like crown jewels, royal palaces, and royal guards provide visual representations of royal power and authority.

Jesus promised to usher in a new kingdom and used stories to illustrate how this kingdom would be unique. A dozen parables begin with the introduction, the kingdom of heaven is like.

Tomorrow, we will examine what a story about an unusual business model and some disgruntled day laborers can reveal about the unshakeable kingdom.

Discussion Questions for Kids / With Prompts for Parents

(Prompt them to recall the different times the workers were hired and how they were all paid the same.)

Was it fair that the workers who worked less got the same pay as the ones who worked all day? Why or why not?

(Encourage them to reflect on fairness and grace. You can say: “Jesus was showing us something special about God’s kingdom.”)

How is God like the vineyard owner in the story?

(Help them see God’s generosity, mercy, and grace. He gives more than we deserve.)

Have you ever been upset because someone got something you didn’t? How does this story help you understand how God sees things?

(Leads into a conversation about envy, comparison, and grace.)

What does this story teach us about how we are saved—by being good enough or by God’s kindness?

(Point them to the gospel truth: we don’t earn God’s love—he gives it freely.)