Word & Message
The word of God is the nourishment our souls need for human flourishing. Our sermons make the biblical text relevant to our lives, with careful consideration for the genre and historical and cultural context in which it was written. Rather than hearing from one preacher, we cultivate a team of preachers so we can learn from multiple teaching voices. In the end, each message is the result of the creative collaboration of our staff team.
December 18, 2022: Katy Reigart
REJOICE! REJOICE! THE SAVIOR COMES! | 4 OF 5, Mary’s Song
Sermon Description:
After Gabriel appeared to Mary, she knew she was going to bear the Messiah, but she still had to wait through Jesus' childhood, teen years, and young adulthood to see how it would all play out. Today, we know how it played out - with Jesus dying on a cross and rising again, defeating sin and shame and death. But we are still waiting for the day when Jesus will come again.
This week, we look to Mary's Song as an encouragement in our waiting for the final fulfillment of God's promises. And consider how we can actively participate in helping to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.
Scripture Passages: Isaiah 22:22; Luke 1:46-55
December 11, 2022: Brynn Harrington
REJOICE! REJOICE! THE SAVIOR COMES! | 3 OF 5, Simeon
Sermon Description:
How do you wait? Do you wait wondering IF God will act? Or do you wait wondering WHEN God will act?
This week, Pastor Brynn joins us from Anchor Bay Church, and walks with us through Simeon's story of waiting with expectation, as we consider how we might stay connected to the promises of God in the midst of our waiting.
Scripture Passages: Isaiah 11:1;10, Luke 2:25-35
December 4, 2022: Marcus Privitt
REJOICE! REJOICE! THE SAVIOR COMES! | 2 OF 5, The Morning Light from Heaven
Sermon Description:
As we continue to wait during this season of Advent, it's easy to grow tired of waiting, and begin to despair. To lose all hope. Hope of joy, hope of love, hope that God's promises will be fulfilled.
This week, we follow Zechariah's journey from hope to despair and back again. And consider how we can begin to surrender our despair to the Hope that has already come to dwell among us.
Scripture Passages: Isaiah 9:2, Luke 1:67-79
November 27, 2022: Matt Webel
REJOICE! REJOICE! THE SAVIOR COMES! | 1 OF 5, Emmanuel
Sermon Description:
Our lives are full of waiting. Waiting to hear about a job, waiting to get married, waiting for our health to improve, waiting for the world to feel less chaotic, waiting for justice to come.
In this season of Advent, we are reminded that our lives are filled with seasons of waiting. And yet, as we wait, we can find hope in the promise that God has come in human form. The form of a baby - Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Scripture Passages: Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-38
November 20, 2022: Matt Webel
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 8 OF 8, Is God Angry at Us?
Sermon Description:
In our passage this week, John the Baptist and his disciples are continuing to baptize people in the name of Jesus, when Jesus shows up down the river to begin baptizing as well.
When John's disciples begin to worry about what this means for John and his ministry, John responds to their concerns with a lesson in theology by reaffirming his unity with Jesus, and Jesus' unity with the Father.
Scripture Passages: John 3:22-36
November 13, 2022: Marcus Privitt
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 7 OF 8, Turner vs. Spatula
Sermon Description:
Have you ever been so convinced that you were right about something that you couldn't wait to tell someone else why they're wrong? Even if it meant possibly damaging your relationship with a friend or a family member?
This week, we journey into Samaria with Jesus as he encounters a woman at a well, and invites us to consider people over our positions.
Scripture Passages: John 4:4-18
October 30, 2022: Brynn Harrington
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 6 OF 8, The Temple Stunt
Sermon Description:
It's not hard to look around and think that the church today has lost its roots. From frequent scandals to countless people who have been hurt by the church, it would make sense to picture Jesus coming in to flip tables in the church today.
But Jesus doesn't just want to see the church return to its roots - he wants to flip the tables in each of us too. This week, Pastor Brynn from Anchor Bay Church joins us, and helps us to consider the ways Jesus is inviting us into a life marked by transformation, restoration, forgiveness, and love.
Scripture Passages: John 2:13-22
October 23, 2022: Matt Webel
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 5 OF 8, What Gets in the Way
Sermon Description:
Change isn't easy. Oftentimes, we get stuck in a rut, and something keeps us from resisting change, even if it's a good change.
This week, we consider what might have kept Nicodemus in a rut and made it difficult for him, and for us, to make a change to follow Jesus.
Scripture Passages: John 3:1-17
October 16, 2022: Katy Reigart
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 4 OF 8, Water Into Wine
Sermon Description:
Are there moments in your life when you’ve felt like a failure? Or been overwhelmed with shame or humiliation?
This week, we continue our series through the Gospel of John as Jesus attends a wedding, and steps in to turn a young couple's shame into joy.
Scripture Passages: John 2:1-12
October 9, 2022: Matt Webel
Come, See, Stay: Following Jesus in The Gospel of John | 3 OF 8, “Stay”
Sermon Description:
Why do people decide to follow Jesus? What do they experience that convinces them to stay?
In this third sermon in our series on the Gospel of John, we look at these first encounters and what made Simon and Nathanael decide to stay with Jesus for rest of their lives.
Scripture Passages: John 1:35-51
December 24, 2022: Matt Webel
REJOICE! REJOICE! THE SAVIOR COMES! | 5 OF 5, “Peaced” Together
Sermon Description:
Have you ever felt like life is a puzzle you just couldn’t solve? Or maybe like the box was given to you with some of the pieces missing? And even if our personal lives aren’t missing too many pieces, it only takes a few notifications, a few twitter feeds, a few breaking news flashes to see that the world we live in is a very broken, incomplete, fragmented version of what we know in our hearts it could be.
This Christmas Eve, we wrap up our sermon series rejoicing in the peace that Jesus brings. His birth doesn’t just shepherd in the kind of peace that comes from the end of a fight, or the peace of a silent night - he brings a peace that restores brokenness to wholeness. A peace that takes our old puzzle pieces and transform them into even better ones. Rejoice, rejoice, the Savior comes!
Scripture Passages: Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 2:6-20