THE CHAPEL at Pasadena Podcast

In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores Paul's powerful image of the gospel as a priceless treasure carried in fragile jars of clay. Through 2 Corinthians 4, we see how God's glory shines through ordinary, imperfect people—not because of their own strength, but through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Though suffering, weakness, and death remain part of this life, the gospel offers...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores Paul's contrast between the old and new covenants in 2 Corinthians 3, revealing how the glory of God is more fully displayed through Jesus Christ. While the law exposes our sin and condemnation, the gospel reveals God's mercy, grace, and the freedom found through His Spirit. Through Christ, the veil is removed, allowing us to behold God's glory...

In this Vision Sunday sermon, Pastor Steven reflects on Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and His declaration that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” The enormous needs around us can seem overwhelming, but Jesus calls His church to see people as He sees them—with compassion—and to pray for more laborers. That prayer also becomes a call to go: to bring the grace and truth of Jesus...

Episode Title: The Aroma of Christ Podcast Description: In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores Paul’s picture of the church as the “aroma of Christ”—carrying the truth and grace of the gospel into the world. Through Christ’s sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness, we see how the gospel can carry the fragrance of both death and life, calling us to reflect Jesus through sincere truth, radical grace,...

In this sermon, Pastor Dave explores Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 and what it teaches us about being a community on mission. Through a new kind of water, worship, work, and welcome, Jesus crosses barriers to offer life and belonging to someone who would normally have been considered an outsider. His example challenges us to practice true hospitality by making room in our liv...

In this opening sermon through 2 Corinthians, Pastor Steven introduces Paul’s deeply personal letter to a church marked by both reconciliation and lingering division. Through Paul’s suffering, sincerity, and love for the Corinthians, we see a vision of ministry rooted not in our own strength, but in God’s grace. At the heart of that ministry are two gifts: the promises of God, which find their “Ye...

In this final sermon through 1 Samuel, Pastor Steven follows David into one of the darkest moments of his life. Returning to Ziklag to find the city destroyed, his family taken captive, and even his own men turning against him, David is overwhelmed with distress. Yet rather than allowing fear to drive him away from God, David “strengthened himself in the Lord.” His response shows us what it means...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven follows Saul into the final and tragic chapter of his reign. Overwhelmed by fear and unable to hear from God, Saul turns to the necromancer of Endor in a desperate search for assurance, setting the stage for his final defeat. His story reveals the danger of allowing fear to master us and offers a contrast between fear-driven disobedience and trust in God. Ultimately,...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven follows David through his final confrontation with Saul and into the land of the Philistines. After years of exile, David has learned that trusting God means more than waiting for deliverance—it means obeying Him even when obedience involves risk, uncertainty, or damage to his own reputation. David’s willingness to entrust his life and future to God ultimately points...

In this sermon, Pastor Dave explores Mary’s extravagant act of generosity toward Jesus and what it reveals about a community shaped by the gospel. Through the contrast between Mary and Judas, we see that true generosity gives freely without expecting anything in return and flows from recognizing the generosity we have first received from God. As a community on mission, we are called to make genero...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores the story of David, Nabal, and Abigail, where a moment of anger nearly leads David down a path of vengeance and bloodshed. Through Abigail’s courage and wisdom, God reminds David of the kind of king he is called to be—one who lays down the sword, entrusts justice to the Lord, and responds to evil with faith rather than vengeance. Her intervention ultimately p...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven follows David through the wilderness as his trust in God is tested by fear, betrayal, and the relentless pursuit of Saul. When David is finally given the opportunity to end his suffering by taking Saul’s life, he instead chooses obedience and entrusts himself to God. Through David’s example, this message explores what it means to trust God when He seems distant—choosi...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven follows David into exile as he flees from Saul, finding himself hungry, hunted, and dependent on God's provision. Yet it is in this season of weakness that a surprising kingdom begins to form, as the distressed, the indebted, and the bitter gather around God's anointed king. Through David's humiliation and the people he welcomes, this message points us...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven follows the growing divide between Saul and David as jealousy and fear turn Saul against the man God has chosen to be king. While Saul rejects David and seeks his destruction, Jonathan responds with love, loyalty, and sacrifice—even surrendering his own claim to the throne. Their contrasting responses point us toward Jesus, the true King who was rejected by His own ye...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores the familiar story of David and Goliath through the lens of faith and courage. While Saul and Goliath place their confidence in human strength, David faces the giant with a deeper confidence in the power and faithfulness of God. More than an underdog story, this passage reveals the kind of King David would become and points us to Jesus Christ, the greater She...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven introduces David, the king chosen not by the people but by God Himself. While Saul’s reign is marked by outward appearance and fading strength, David is selected because God sees what man cannot see—the heart. From the fields of Bethlehem to the courts of Saul, David emerges as a shepherd, musician, and servant through whom God begins preparing His people for a differ...

Join us this Sunday as Pastor Dave talks through John 8 and how a community on mission loves mercy. Loves it.

In this sermon, Pastor Steven examines Saul’s final failure as king in 1 Samuel 15 and the obedience that God desires from His people. Though Saul achieves military victory, his partial obedience reveals a deeper problem: a heart more concerned with appearances, personal judgment, and the approval of others than with trusting and obeying God’s word. As Samuel declares that “to obey is better than...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven contrasts the fear-driven leadership of Saul with the courageous faith of Jonathan during Israel’s conflict with the Philistines. As Saul struggles to trust God when circumstances turn against him, Jonathan moves forward in confidence, believing that “nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” Through their stories, we see the difference between relyi...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven introduces Saul, Israel’s first king, and explores the contrast between the leader the people desired and the leader God’s people truly needed. Chosen by God and empowered by His Spirit, Saul appears to have every natural qualification for the throne, yet subtle cracks in his character begin to emerge from the very start. As Saul’s story unfolds, we are challenged to...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven introduces Saul, Israel’s first king—a man who seemed to have everything the people were looking for. Chosen by God yet shaped by the desires of the nation, Saul’s rise reveals the difference between the king people want and the king they truly need. As Saul begins his reign with promise and success, the seeds of deeper struggles are already present, pointing us beyon...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven explores the pivotal transition from the era of the judges to the rise of Israel’s monarchy. Through Israel’s repentance at Mizpah, Samuel’s victory over the Philistines, and the raising of the Ebenezer stone, we see a God who remains faithful to His people despite their weakness and wandering. Yet as Israel demands a king “like the nations,” this message reveals both...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven walks through one of the darkest moments in Israel’s history—the defeat by the Philistines, the capture of the ark, and the death of Eli and his sons. As Israel treats the presence of God like a tool to control rather than a holy reality to worship, the story reveals both the depth of the nation’s spiritual decline and the danger of trying to use God for our own purpo...

In this sermon, Pastor Steven contrasts the corruption of Eli’s household with the quiet faithfulness of Samuel to show how God begins His work of renewal in seasons of spiritual decline. As the word of the Lord comes to the young Samuel in the silence of the night, we see that God is never absent from His people—even when His voice seems rare. Through Samuel’s call, this message explores how God...

In this message from John 11, Pastor Dave explores the story of Jesus raising Lazarus and what it means for the church to be a community that walks by faith together. Through the responses of the disciples, Martha, Mary, and the grieving crowd, this sermon shows how faith often involves following Jesus through uncertainty, bringing Him our grief and questions, and trusting Him even when His purpos...