Coram Deo Church — Bremerton, WA

Join us for this special Q&A episode of Sermon B-Sides. Pastor Jon & Pastor Rusten answer your submitted questions including questions regarding Calvinism, original sin, faith and cognitive disability, family discipleship, and the relationship of statistics to ethical judgments. If you have any questions you would like us to address in future Sermon B-Sides episodes, email pastor@coramdeochurch.or...

Big Ideas 1. The early Church was devoted to the teaching of the Apostles. The Apostles served a very unique and specific role within the early Church. One of the most important roles was that of establishing doctrine and theology. This did not mean that the Apostles created new theology out of nowhere. Rather, they worked to help the Church understand the life, work, teaching, death, and resurrec...

Ever wonder how it is possible that Judas, who witnessed Jesus and all that he did in person, could possibly have betrayed him? In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the fate of Judas and the warning contained in his story. Not only is the story of Judas a warning, according to Peter it was also written of in the Psalms. Which leads to another question, how did th...

A quick announcement for Sermon B-Sides about an upcoming "Ask Anything" Episode. Ask your questions at slido.com and enter the event code 'b-sides'. We look forward to getting your questions!

Big Ideas 1. The Holy Spirit empowered the Church to bear witness about Jesus. This text has proven to be confusing for many people, though it need not be. Jesus had commissioned the disciples to disciple the nations. This would require a special linguistic bridge. In this text, we read how the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to speak the languages (dialects) of the nations, though they themse...

The circumstances of 2020 and 2021 have been cause for pastors and the Church to ask questions that have not had to be considered in our lifetime. Are Christians bound to obey the civil authorities when they issue mandates to cease singing or gathering? What is the presence of the Church in the world supposed to look like? In this episode of Sermon B-sides, Pastor Jon & Pastor Rusten discuss the r...

Big Ideas 1. Prayer is vitally important for the life of the Church. Jesus was crucified and then rose on the third day just as he promised. He commissioned his Church to bear witness to the world regarding the Gospel. Then he ascended back to heaven. The disciples had personally witnessed all of this. What is the next thing we find them doing? Praying! Prayer was something they had learned to dev...

Coming out of 2020, one of the most volatile years many of us have experienced, we are all hungry for peace. Our politicians are promising peace, and yet we recall the words of Jeremiah when he said "They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace" and are reminded that so often those peddling peace are also those who historically have been the great...

Big Ideas 1. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are foundational to the book of Acts. The book of Acts includes numerous incredible stories. Thousands of people are converted to Christ. Sometimes people get healed. At other times Christians get beat up and thrown into prison. There are frequent riots incited by Gospel preaching. Churches get planted. But everything that occurs in Acts is a...

For Christians, joy is not accidental, superfluous, or a distraction. In this episode, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss how the joy and delight of the triune God was the context for the creation of all things, how our misery is due to our estrangement from him, and how the redemption Christ accomplished for us brings us into his joy. They also discuss how Christian fellowship and worship is an...

Big Ideas 1. Luke/Acts are based on eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life It is not uncommon for people to think of Christianity as a set of values or morals. While the Christian faith certainly profoundly affects the way in which a person thinks about values and morals, Christianity is not primarily about values or morals. Rather, Christianity is primarily concerned with the person and work of Jesus...

During this episode of B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the Advent theme of Love. Though our culture puts a high value on love, often our conception of love is contrary to that which Scripture teaches. In what ways does the love revealed by Christmas and the incarnation confront our understanding of love? Join us in this episode as we discuss the surprising love of God. If you have an...

During this episode of B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the Advent theme of "Hope." In what has been an incredibly disorienting year, hope has been in high demand. A pandemic, lockdowns, economic turmoil, and future uncertainty have all exposed our fragility. How does the hope of Christmas speak into this situation? What kind of hope and future does the Christian story proclaim to thi...

In this final episode on the Ten Words about the 10th commandment, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the tenth commandment: Does the 10th commandment prohibit desire or ambition? How does this commandment relate to the rest of the commandments? They discuss the way that coveting is discontentment with the beauty and wisdom of God as well as how this commandment relates to economics and idolatry...

Grab your favorite beverage and join us for Sermon B-sides. In this episode, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the 8th commandment: "Thou Shalt not Steal"... They discuss topics including the theology of personal property, economics and providence, as well al socialism and communism. We tackle questions like "Was the early church basically communist?" as well as discuss historic implications of...

Discussion Questions 1. How is Biblical hope different from wishful thinking? 2. What does the birth of Jesus reveal about God's heart towards us? 3. How will Jesus' future return be different from his first advent at Christmas? 4. How does the knowledge of Jesus' return give us objective hope in the present?

Grab your favorite beverage and join us for Sermon B-sides. In this episode, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten discuss the 6th and the 7th commandments and the way these are related to the sanctity of life, the gift of gender, and the joy of marriage and children. In this episode, we discuss how God created us to display him in our relationships and how both the sexual revolution and abortion are attac...

In this episode of B-sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider more questions from our God & Government According to the World lecture from October 27. Questions include subjects such as immigration, good governance vs. bad governance, Just War Theory, Christian participation in the military vs. turning the other cheek, honoring the civil-government vs. unlimited submission, Christians and the...

What does obedience to parents have to do with national security? What might doing the dishes have to do with God's mission in the world? How does God's institution of the family guard against snares that lead to slavery? Grab your favorite beverage and join us in this episode of Sermon B-sides as we discuss the implications of the fifth commandment and family discipleship. If you have any questio...