Erin Church of the Nazarene

Pastor Daniel Medders reflects on Joseph’s reunion with his brothers after 22 years and the painful tension between justice, anger, love, and restoration. Joseph had the power to retaliate, but his story shows how God can use even terrible circumstances for good when people choose a faithful response. Medders connects Joseph’s struggle to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, reminding believers to begin...

Pastor Daniel Medders teaches from Genesis 39, focusing on Joseph’s refusal to sin with Potiphar’s wife after he had already been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. He shows that Joseph did not use his painful past, his position, or the idea that he “deserved” something as an excuse to do wrong. Medders challenges believers to remember that carrying the name of Christ calls them to a...

In this Easter message, Pastor Daniel Medders uses John 9 and the story of the man born blind to remind believers that they do not need every answer in order to speak faithfully about what Jesus has done. He connects the difficulty of a recent backpacking trip with the reality that following Christ is not always easy, and that questions or criticism can sometimes make believers feel inadequate. As...

Pastor Daniel Medders asks whether the church is truly living in uniquely bad times, acknowledging real challenges like persecution, declining membership, and fewer ministers, but warning against letting fear define the church’s outlook. He contrasts modern complaints about persecution with the suffering of Jesus, Stephen, Peter, and the early church, then uses an abundant fishing trip as an illus...

Pastor Daniel Medders uses a conversation about a cross-shaped porch light to make the point that Christians should not depend on symbols alone to show their faith. He says people should be able to recognize a follower of Jesus by the way that person lives, especially through the company they keep, the patience they show, and the way they respond in difficult moments. Using examples from Jesus’ li...

Student Pastor Jeremy Byler uses the idea of momentum to show that faith is meant to stay in motion, not drift into passivity or stagnation. He warns against comparing ourselves or our churches to others, reminding the congregation that even small faith in motion can have more impact than great potential sitting still. He encourages both individuals and churches to keep taking the next faithful st...

Pastor Daniel Medders begins by describing his tendency to learn things firsthand, which leads into a strongly critical comparison of Islam and Christianity before he turns to the biblical roots of Israel. He explains that Israel begins with Jacob, whose name is changed after wrestling with God, while also emphasizing that through Jesus the covenant is opened to all people rather than remaining ti...

Pastor Daniel Medders teaches from Genesis 24 by placing it in the larger story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, then focusing on Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for Isaac and on Rebekah being identified through her generosity, hospitality, and willingness to serve at the well. He argues that the chapter is more than a marriage story because it also foreshadows Christ and the church, with...

Pastor Daniel Medders explains that this annual update is meant to help the congregation understand where Erin Church of the Nazarene is, what God has been doing, and how the church should prepare for what comes next. He highlights signs of spiritual and congregational health, including 15 recorded professions of faith, 24 baptisms this year, strong participation in prayer and altar response, five...

Pastor Daniel Medders reflects on a past discussion about launching satellite church locations and says what troubled him most was that the conversation focused on logistics rather than on who would faithfully proclaim the Word of God. From there, he reminds the congregation that the church’s first purpose is to worship God, not to cater to personal preference, and he calls them to approach Script...

Pastor Daniel Medders teaches that asking questions is good, but our questions often reveal what we truly understand or misunderstand, using stories like tire chains and local water shortages to make the point. He then examines the Gospel accounts of James and John, and in Matthew their mother, likely Salome and possibly Jesus’ aunt, asking for seats of honor, warning that this reflects favoritism...

Pastor Daniel Medders greets the ECN family during the lingering winter ice event of 2026, noting that main roads are improving but back roads and the church property are still slick, and he encourages people that conditions should get better soon. He then teaches from Genesis 19 and the story of Lot’s wife, stressing that God’s clear commands are to be obeyed even when we do not understand the re...

Pastor Daniel Medders shares a short message during a January ice storm, noting the unsafe roads and describing the beauty and quiet of winter weather around his home. He recalls childhood stories of unexpectedly deep snow, including his parents’ anniversary trip to Gatlinburg and his own attempt to wade through snow in his grandfather’s garden. He reflects that difficulty can also create opportun...

Pastor Daniel Medders centers the message on Genesis 15, inviting listeners to picture Abram under a star-filled sky as God promises descendants too numerous to count. He reviews Genesis 12–14 to show Abram’s character forming over time, including Abram’s generosity toward Lot, Lot’s choice to settle near Sodom and the trouble that follows, and Abram’s rescue mission with 318 trained men. Medders...

Pastor Daniel Medders opens by celebrating ECN’s recent growth, clarifying a small attendance math mistake from the prior Sunday, and offering practical ways to support continued growth through inviting others, improving parking flow, and making room for families and those with mobility needs. He introduces the message, “A Tale of Two Gospels,” by preaching two short sermons from Matthew that sit...

Pastor Daniel Medders uses the story of Henry Molaison and the idea of “Henry’s mirror” to warn against living year after year without learning, then frames a 2026 challenge to grow in Christlikeness by learning how to handle opinions. He points to Moses as a model of steady leadership under criticism, Noah as an example of stubborn obedience while the culture spiraled, and David as a reminder tha...

Pastor Daniel Medders says he is encouraged by the growing number of people at ECN who are new to faith or returning to church, and he uses their questions to explain why it matters to ask, “Why do we do church the way we do.” He intentionally shifts the service into a more conversational format to mirror how he believes Jesus taught, then uses Christmas topics to explore how traditions formed, in...

Pastor Daniel Medders reflects on how Christmas and Advent can start to feel routine, and he urges the church to recover the season’s meaning by remembering Jesus as “Emmanuel, God with us.” Rather than reading the birth narratives, he walks through Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus, focusing on two disappointed disciples, possibly a husband and wife, who talk about their shattered hopes while Jesus w...

Pastor Daniel Medders asks listeners to think about their best Christmas memories, then uses his family stories to show that experiences and relationships tend to last longer in our minds than the gifts themselves. He connects that “golden years” nostalgia to faith and church life, warning that people often only recognize a great season after it has passed, and challenging ECN to realize they are...

Pastor Daniel Medders uses the Christmas season, with its travel, family tension, gift pressure, and financial strain, to introduce Philippians 4:4–7 as a passage about rejoicing, gentleness, and anxiety. He illustrates “rejoice in the Lord always” through personal stories, especially his mother in law Karen, who has endured both abandonment and widowhood yet remains deeply joyful, and through oth...

Pastor Daniel Medders begins by admitting his frustration that his mind remembers trivial facts, song lyrics, and useless information more easily than important things like people’s names, which leads him to ask what is truly worth knowing. He turns to Philippians 3:10 and explains that Paul, who was once obsessively focused on religious achievement, later counted those pursuits as rubbish compare...

Pastor Daniel Medders begins by reflecting on how people introduce themselves, noting that men often lead with jobs and hobbies while women often mention family and their role in the home, which reveals what they believe gives them value. He then turns to Philippians 3:1–9 and explains Paul’s command to rejoice despite suffering, along with his warning about “dogs” and “mutilators of the flesh,” p...

The sermon, preached by Pastor Daniel Medders, centers on Philippians 2:25–30 and the often overlooked figure of Epaphroditus, whose common Greek name contrasts with his uncommon faithfulness. Paul’s descriptions of him as a brother, co-worker, fellow soldier, messenger, and caretaker are unpacked to show deep relational loyalty, shared work for the gospel, spiritual struggle side by side, high pe...

Pastor Daniel Medders preaches from Philippians 2 about the mystery of the Trinity and the nature of Jesus as fully God and fully man, emphasizing that our inability to fully understand or explain God does not invalidate His existence. Using the analogy of looking through windows and doors, he explains that we only see partial but true glimpses of who God is, then focuses on Paul’s description of...

The sermon explores why following Jesus is hard, including walking the narrow path, dying to self, forgiving others, and discerning God’s will versus our own ideas, illustrated by Moses, David, Paul, and Gideon who felt inadequate or doubted amid hardship. Pastor Daniel Medders shares his 2014 calling to ECN, describing providential moments at camp and the YES Conference, confirmation through lead...