Coram Deo Church — Bremerton, WA

Big Ideas 1. Women and Jesus Twice in this text, Luke mentions that powerful and influential women were coming to faith in Jesus through the ministry of Paul. These simple details contradict many misrepresentations of the Gospel and Christian theology. First, the Gospel was attractive to both men and women, rich and poor. Second, these leading, influential, and financially independent women did no...

Today, the Church faces constant pressure to redefine loving our neighbors to fit with the world's definition. This tendency can undermine the Gospel. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss how redefining "sin" and "love" robs our neighbors of the truth of the Gospel: that Christ came to save us from our sin. When we do this, we compromise both the Gospel and the d...

In this episode of The Blitz, Pastor Jon explores the meaning of inalienable rights. He also explores how the biblical worldview forms their foundation. As SCOTUS prepares to hand down decisions on abortion and vaccine mandates, the issue of inalienable rights will be front and center.

Crucial to the witness of the Church in the world is maintaining the distinction between the Church and the world. In this episode of Bible Thoughts, Pastor Rusten takes a look at Paul's commands in 1 Corinthians 5:9–6:5, which are increasingly controversial in our world today.

Big Ideas 1. Slavery and freedom In this chapter, we are introduced to a nameless slave girl who was apparently owned by a group of people (Acts 16:19). She was also slave to a dark spirit that enabled her to tell fortunes, a lucrative business that generated a great deal of revenue for her owners. Consequently, she was a dual slave. After growing irritated, Paul rebuked the spirit that possessed...

Big Ideas 1. Timothy’s circumcision In this text we are introduced to Timothy, the son of a Jewish Christian mother and an unbelieving Greek father. Given the mission to deliver the verdict of the Jerusalem counsel to Jews living in other regions, Timothy was circumcised. At first glance this may seem out of line with Paul’s strong words against requiring circumcision of new believers in Galatians...

What does the Bible teach about angels? Why do the stories of Christ's birth have so many scenes with angels? In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider how the Bible talks about angels, their relation to the Old and New Covenants, and how they often inspired fear in those who encountered them.

Merry Christmas! At the fullness of time, Christ was born in Bethlehem. The coming of Jesus was the long-awaited fulfillment of the promise given at the beginning of the story in Eden. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider how the practices and traditions of Advent teach us to consider Jesus' long-awaited arrival so we can learn to wait in hope for his coming kin...

In this special Christmas edition of The Blitz, Pastor Jon examines what the creeds, confessions, and (more importantly) the Scriptures teach us about the identity of Jesus.

Merry Christmas! What exactly happened on that first Christmas? Was that baby that in the manger also God? Is Jesus also a human? Did the Old Testament anticipate this at all? In this Advent Episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the deity of Jesus, the incarnation, and how the Bible anticipates the astounding miracle of the Word made flesh.

To the Jew first, and then to the Gentile—we see that pattern throughout the book of Acts. The mission starts in the synagogues until Peter or Paul get kicked out. Then they preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten look at Acts 14 notice wild swings that Paul would experience in his missions. In this chapter, Paul and Barnabas bring the Gos...

The Gospels often say that Jesus fulfills prophecy, but we don't always understand how. For example, how does Jesus fulfill the prophecy "Out of Egypt I called my son" (Matthew 2:15)? In this episode of Bible Thoughts, Pastor Rusten considers how the birth of Jesus fulfills some of these prophecies and why that gives us good reason to celebrate this Christmas.

Have you ever noticed how different the sermons preached in the book of Acts are from the sermons you might hear today? Rather than being mere motivational boosts, the sermons in Acts focus on how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and they do so in a punchy, to-the-point way. In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider these sermons and the way they put tr...

In this episode of The Blitz, Pastor Jon addresses some common objections to the claim of virgin birth.

Within the Church, there are good kinds of unity and bad kinds of unity. There are good kinds of division and bad kinds of division. While the goal is that the Church be united in the same mind and the same judgment, this doesn't happen automatically. We must pursue proper unity and strive towards this goal. In this Episode of Bible Thoughts, Pastor Rusten takes a look at 1 Corinthians and conside...

Big Ideas 1. Debating doctrine Some people assume that doctrinal debates are useless or even harmful. Yet in this text, we see the importance of coming together to consider what the Bible says and working to pursue doctrinal accuracy and clarity. This is not at odds with peace. Rather, it is through doctrinal clarity that peace is cultivated, extended, and protected. 2. Moses and the mission of th...

King Herod killed James and continued to persecute Christians because it was politically advantageous. God later strikes him down. Shortly after this, we see the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Roman governor of Cyprus. Why does Acts emphasize kings and rulers? How is Sergius supposed to rule now that he is a Christian? In this Episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider the...

Big Ideas 1. A divided city A cycle of controversy seems to continually follow the missionary work of the Church in Acts. Missionaries are sent. The Gospel is preached. The city erupts in conflict and division. Christians are beat up and/or threatened. Repeat. These stories in Acts question many of the assumptions we have regarding mission, evangelism, and Church life. We must remember that Jesus...