Discovery Church Talks

This week was Discipleship Emphasis Sunday, which involves a Bible Project video and small group discussion, so there is no new talk to share. Please enjoy this old but still relevant talk from 2022, preached by Pastor Paul Sausser. Acts 8:26-40 Our society is highly polarized, especially with political differences. Humans are good at division. Philip and an Ethiopian, who are so different, connec...

Just as we need mediators in many parts of our lives, we need a spiritual mediator to be the go-between between us and God. In Old Testament times, God provided the High Priest. Now, Jesus is the only High Priest we need to mediate on our behalf before God. He is the only One who clicks all the boxes of what is needed in a spiritual mediator. Hebrews 6:20-7:5, 9-10, 20-27 Such a high priest t...

Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Fulfilling the requirements of every priest that ever existed, Jesus became the high priest (the one who offers the sacrifice), the altar (where the sacrifice is made), and the sacrifice (the actual offering) once and for all, for us. He is solid and stable, never moving, so on Him we can place our anchor. Hebrews 6:1a, 4-8, 12-20 Watch the full...

On Discipleship Emphasis Sundays, we have a shorter talk to make time to watch and discuss a video from The Bible Project. Watch this month's video here: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/priests-of-eden/ Adam and Eve, our first parents, were made in God’s image. As God’s image bearers, they represented God to all of creation, working and worshipping in the Garden, embodying God’s heavenly wi...

The role of the High Priest was to be the highest representative of God to His people, and God’s people to God. Because of this, the qualifications of the High Priest were high. Jesus fulfilled all the human qualifications of being a High Priest, but more than that, He was appointed as Father God. Hebrews 4:14-5:10 Watch the full service here: https://youtu.be/0s_7iBX0HWM Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Guest preacher Rev. Matthew Wright joins us for this 4th installment of our Snapshots of Greatness series. Hebrews 4:12-16 The word of God cuts us to the core and lays us bare before our judge. But in Jesus Christ we have a great high priest who has brought our humanity into heaven and represents us before the Father, so we may approach his throne in confidence. Watch the full service: https://you...

In Christ we have a calling to persevere against unbelief. Throughout Israel’s history, the repetitive behavioral pattern of chasing after other gods and forgetting the promises of God is a prominent theme. Through Christ, our hearts of stone can become hearts of flesh—being in communion with Him, and in community with others, to press against the hardening of heart and unbelief. Today's talk is b...

Rev. Peter Gordon shares the work of Jabez Ministries and inspires us to include people with disabilities in leadership and ministry. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 View the full service on our  YouTube channel . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All Christ has done for us took place because He became one of us to save from ourselves and transform us to be like Him. In Jesus, God is showing us what it is like to be fully human as Jesus wears our skin without our sin. Hebrews 2:9-18 Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/aHMeCD0VjAo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new year brings a new series: Snapshots of Greatness, in which we'll explore many names and characteristics of Jesus as told in the book of Hebrews. The Living Jesus is all we need to find fulfillment in our lives. Jesus is Father God’s full and final picture of what He wants to reveal about Himself to us. In these opening verses, 9 snapshots of Jesus are given to launch us into seeing His great...

The Bible is full of stories of men and women who had doubts and fears, yet trusted that God was bigger than those doubts and fears. Jesus’ final words were to a group of young men that doubted. Yet they obeyed and God used them to change the world. Will we trust God today in the midst of our own doubts and fears? Matthew 28:16-20 Ryan Waalkes is a long-time friend of Discovery (son-in-law of...

Christmas is here. We love  love stories , and so we might think on this day of the  love story  between Joseph and Mary. But this day is not about their story, but His  love story . Today is about God fulfilling promises to bring His love in His Son down to earth for us. Luke 2:1-20 Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/VRc2QUt2dkU Hosted on Acast. Se...

Christmas is about God’s salvation for us. Strip everything else away from Christmas but this truth, and it will still be a great Christmas. John’s birth tells what this child will do—announce God’s plan of salvation. Zechariah’s song, his response to God’s goodness, is praising our Lord and also proclaiming God’s salvation. The central message of Christmas is God’s great gift of new life through...

God’s great plan of new life should be responded to by incredible joy—spontaneous joy. The ARRIVAL of Mary at Elizabeth’s place brings joy to their home. Jesus does that to people. Elizabeth is blessed by having this Child and being in a relationship to the mother of the Messiah. Mary breaks into ADORATION about her own happiness and the joy of new life this Child will bring to the world. Luke 1:3...

God fulfills His promises in miraculous ways that mystify us. When we are confronted with God’s miraculous and mysterious ways, we need to be obedient and accept God’s coming to us—first, in receiving His Christmas gift of a Savior, and second, with a willingness to be used in His service. Luke 1:26-38 Watch the full service on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/mGPFrWmDW_w Hosted on Acast. See...

God is not quiet in working His plan to bring salvation and joy through His people to the world. This is the time that God is at work behind the scenes with Zechariah and Elizabeth. The priest Zechariah was placed in a spot to bear the news that God is at work to bring His joy and redemption to humanity. Zechariah’s silence (after he questioned God) is a sign that God has spoken (what irony)—God i...

After humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden, God rescues humanity by focusing on one family to reach the world—Abraham’s family. Through Abraham’s line will come Jesus—the Messiah King. Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, recipient of that covenant, reaps what he sows, as his waywardness passes on to the next generation. Through it all, God shows that He uses imperfect people in His big plan to bless and r...

Thanksgiving is the day we focus on giving thanks to God. We bless Him for the many good things He has given us--can we also give thanks when we find ourselves in difficult times? Psalm 42 Watch the full service: https://youtu.be/WqqD57cBNCU Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When God give us direction of a direction—be it a moral choice, a command to obey, a place to live or work or go to school, or a new venture within the kingdom of God—when God gives direction of a specific direction to take, God accomplishes His purposes and God gives His blessing when we make that adjustment and choose to follow Him. Genesis 31:13; 35:1, 5-7 Watch the full service on our YouTube...

Genesis 32:22-32 Jacob wrestled and struggled during his life, first in the womb with Esau and later with God. His conniving was seeking something that only God can give, which God gives freely. God blesses Jacob, gives him a new identity, and through Jacob God’s blessing reaches out to the world through Jacob’s descendant—King Jesus.   Verse:  Then the man said, “Your name will no...

Genesis 28:10-22 At an insignificant place, Jacob encounters God directly in a dream. God promises to fulfill His covenantal promise to Abraham by working through Jacob, and, God promises to care for Jacob wherever he goes. Jacob is assured that he has God’s watchful eye and listening ear not only where he had the vision, which Jacob named  Bethel,  but wherever he would go.   Verse...

Genesis 25:29-34; 27:5-10 After humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden, God chose to rescue humanity by focusing on one family to reach the world—the family that would come through Abraham. Through Abraham’s line will come Jesus—the Messiah King. Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, has a role to play in this. He is a conniver who steals the family birthright that God already promised to him. Still, God is g...

This week begins a new series on the story of Jacob. Genesis 25:20-34 Genesis begins with humanity deciding to rebel against God through sin. God chooses to rescue and redeem fallen humanity by focusing on one family through whom He will bring hope and salvation—Abraham. Jacob, a grandson of Abraham, is part of that plan. An imperfect Jacob will reap what he sows, but his longing for God shows tha...

Luke 9:57-62 “To grow is to change.” The call of Jesus to follow Him demands change on our part. His call is more radical than we want it to be because the change He asks for takes control of our life out of our hands and completely into His hands. Key Verses:   As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have de...

This week's talk comes from guest preacher Rev. Laura Osborne, chaplain at West Michigan University. Colossians 3:1-11 Paul speaks positively of the Colossian Christians’ faith, love, and hope (1:4-5) and acknowledges that the Good News is bearing fruit and growing in them (1:6). However, Epaphras has apparently brought Paul news of serious problems at Colossae—problems with false teachings that s...