Fellowshipmtz

In John 4, Jesus walks into Samaria and meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. As their conversation commences, they will dialogue about living water, true worship, and spiritual food. This sermon covers their introduction to each other, as well as Christ being the living water as the first subject of their conversation. 

The goal of the Christian life is for Christ to increase and for us to decrease. While talking to his disciples, John the Baptist explains what this concept means and why Christ deserves all the glory from his people 

John 3:16-21 God is entirely motivated by love in giving His "one and only" Son, but as it turns out, the world isn't interested in any provision for salvation.  What now?

John 3:9-15 Nicodemus (and the Pharisees) don't understand "earthly things."  They don't receive "their" testimony; they don't believe.  What will Jesus do now?  Jesus pulls a telling (and compelling) example of the basis (foundation) of new birth from Numbers 21 for Nicodemus's consideration...

John 3:1-9 Nicodemus comes to Jesus with what he understands to be true.  Jesus "answers" with information Nicodemus does not understand -- "unless one is born again [from above] he cannot see (or enter) the kingdom of God!"

Psalm110 Our church's own Dylan Ackley returns to the pulpit to teach/preach Psalm 110 (the Old Testament passage quoted more often than any other in the New Testament).  The "LORD" (God the Father) welcomes King David's "Lord" (Jesus, the Son of God) to "sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool."  Rich theology with important applications!

Jesus leaves Cana and continues on to Jerusalem for Passover. There, he finds the merchants and coin dealers conducting business in the temple which leads to Jesus clearing out the establishment and prophesying about his own resurrection. His actions and proclamation lead us to consider the right attitude of worship following Jesus' example, as well as the eternal hope he offers us as the truer an...

The prologue of John claims Jesus is the Word. Jesus will prove his identity through seven signs in his public ministry. The first occurs in today's passage at the wedding in Cana. Jesus turns water into wine so we explore what this says about both his character and his death.   

John 1:35-51 In John's gospel, Jesus's first spoken words are: "What are you seeking?"  That question is as relevant today for moderns as it was in the first century!

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...