Fellowshipmtz

John 1:29 What is the significance of the Messiah being likened to a lamb?  What does John mean to convey when he says the world's sin has been taken away? The first 5-7 minutes are missing  from the audio.  During those opening minutes John the Baptist was reintroduced to those listening.  What did John think he was announcing when he said what he did in verse 29?  It seems evident from the Gospe...

John 1:29-34 "Who is this John?" -- that's what the Pharisees in Jerusalem wanted to know, and so they dispatched a group of priests and Levites to find out!  John denies he is the Messiah (Christ) or Elijah, or "the Prophet."   So who is he then?  John calls himself the "voice crying out in the wilderness" as the prophet Isaiah foretold.

This sermon finishes exploring John's prologue. The text describes what it means for Jesus to be the source of eternal life and how he shines the light of salvation into spiritual darkness. We especially considered how God personally and visibly took up residence among his people in the form of Christ. 

We began the Gospel of John today. It is our plan to go through the entire book from beginning to end. In this sermon, we looked at how the Apostle John is a credible witness to the life of Christ. We also began to discuss Jesus as the Word in John's prologue and noted the purpose of this gospel is for us to know the Son of God alone provides true life. 

Luke 24:36-49 This is the third resurrection scene in Luke's gospel (chapter 24).  On Sunday evening Jesus *appears* to a larger group of followers who are gathered together in a locked room (for fear of the Jews).  He makes it clear He is not a mere ghostly presence.  He is very real -- and that is not without significance!

Psalm 118 Psalms 113-118 are commonly referred to as the (Egyptian) Hallel Psalms.  It is widely held that Israelites sang these psalms in conjunction with Israel's feasts, especially Passover and Tabernacles.  That being the case, these are probably the psalms Jesus sang with His disciples when they celebrated Passover together in the Upper Room.

Our church looked at Hebrews 1:4-14 in recognition of Lent for a second week in a row. The writer of Hebrews explains to us how Jesus is greater than the angels. The angelic host plays a major role in the Bible, but similar to humans, their greatest responsibility is to praise and glorify Christ. 

We are spending two weeks in Hebrews 1 to celebrate the worthiness of Christ during the season of Lent. Vv. 1-3 act as the introduction to this epistle in which the author argues that Christ is better than the Old Testament system. This sermon explores how Christ is greater than the prophets and has been exalted to the righthand of majesty on high as the eternally begotten Son of God. 

Genesis 12:1-9 We only "scratch the surface" of a passage of Scripture that runs particularly deep in Biblical theology and importance!  I am grateful to be able to draw on insights from the likes of Bruce Waltke, Christopher Wright, and Duane Garrett in an attempt to highlight the significance of the LORD's grace to Abram.

We took a break from Genesis this week in order to explore the Lord's Supper. The service encompassed a sermon, reading, and hymn about communion, as well the actual observance of the ordinance. The recording has both the sermon and the communion reading. The sermon explores (via Paul's instructions to the church at Corinth) how the Lord's Supper is a sign-gift established by Christ so the Church...

Interestingly the "toledah" in Genesis 11:27 (a word explained in the message) doesn't highlight Abram/Abraham, it highlights Abram's father, Terah!  Understanding what we can about this family prepares us for Abram's call in chapter 12.

The sin of mankind continues at the Tower of Babel. This display of man's arrogance brings about God's divine retribution as he disperses them and confuses their languages. Yet, our gracious God ultimately redeems Babel through Jesus Christ and the event of Pentecost. 

We are now at a point in Genesis to begin exploring God's plan to redeem the nations and make a people for himself. Genesis 10 details the individuals and nations who descend from the sons of Noah. Yet, the passage is more than a list of names. It serves a crucial part of God laying the foundation for the rest of the drama of redemption so he may ultimately establish his supreme kingdom. 

Genesis 9:18-29 Some years after the disembarking from the ark we have one final story regarding Noah: he's drunk and uncovered inside his tent.  Ham sees his father condition and (apparently) finds it amusing.  Further dishonoring his father, he goes out to tell his brothers.  All of this ends with Noah's stern pronouncement upon Ham's youngest son, Canaan, along with words associated with blessi...

Romans 13:8-14 The conclusion to last Sunday's message on "knowing the time."  This week's emphasis is on "waking up" to what God has saved us for!

Romans 13:11 reads: "Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." Correctly knowing the time requires knowledge of the "nowness" of salvation.  Or stated negatively, it is impossible to rightly know the time apart from rightly knowing the "nowness" of salvation. Today's message sets the backgroun...

Christians just celebrated Advent and now await the second coming of Christ. The Apostle Paul offers instructions to the church at Thessalonica as to how they must live faithfully and obediently until the day the Son of God comes back. We consider his exhortations for ourselves as a local church and discuss how they apply to us going into 2026. 

Zephaniah 1-3 This message combines two themes of Advent (Joy & Peace) since winter weather prohibited us from meeting on the third Sunday of Advent.  An informative & delightful overview of Biblical prophecy in general and of Zephaniah in particular.

Micah 7  This week's Advent theme is "Love" and to explore that we turn (again) to the minor prophet of Micah.  Micah concludes his prophetic letter by celebrating God's merciful character in "pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance."

We began our observation of Advent with the theme of hope. Micah 5:1-5 offers a word of encouragement to Israel in a time of sin and injustice. The titular prophet speaks of the coming Son of God who will bring hope to a broken and weary world. This passage allows us to see Christ as the perfect servant of God who restores sinners back to the Father and calls us to live under his reign as our prin...

God brought about a second creation event through the flood. Since God favors Noah, he enters into a covenant with him once his family leaves the ark. In this sermon, we explore how the covenant with Noah demonstrates that God loves to bless his people. 

Genesis 8 The chapter opens with such a wonderful declaration: "But God remembered Noah..."  

Genesis 7  Was Noah's Flood global or regional (as some scholars have advocated recently)?  Spoiler alert (and I won't leave you guessing as to my own persuasion): I don't think the details in chapter seven are at all ambiguous about the extent of the flood.

Genesis 6-9 Today we briefly "step back" from the slower verse-by-verse format in order to make observations pertaining to the "big picture" of this very important narrative, along with it's relationship to Christian baptism and the Lord's Supper.

We have now reached the flood narrative in Genesis. In this sermon, we look at God's instructions to Noah about building the ark. This passage is more than just a set of technical instructions. It shows us amazing and encouraging truths about God establishing his covenant, keeping his promises, preserving life, and providing us with a refuge in Christ.