First Assembly of God Freehold

10/03/21 When we're pushed to our limit, we have a choice to make. Will we choose the path of least resistance or will we have the courage to take a Stand? In Week 1, Pastor Jeff sets the stage for the story of Daniel, a young Jewish man who was exiled with his friends to a foreign, godless country. Whilst being recruited for the king's service and his identity stripped, Daniel resolved "not to de...

Pastor Matt & Pastor Todd discuss the "I'm In" sermon series, talking about how our faith doesn't need to be perfect for God to use us. We talk about the tension between recognizing we're imperfect, yet also recognizing the need holiness. We also ask: "Is it wrong to be friends with an agenda?"

09/26/21 | Today is Missions Sunday! We’re excited to have missionaries to Cambodia, Troy & Lisa Tabor with us this morning. Troy walks us through the story of Jonah, and challenges us: will we be like Jonah, begrudgingly answering the call, or willingly participate in what God is doing around the world? Give it a listen, and then walk in the calling God has for your life!

09/19/21 | You have a God-given purpose waiting to be discovered. You have people around you ready to encourage you. And you may not know it yet, but you have everything you need to chase your passion. We just have one question: Are you in? In Week 4, Pastor Jeff has one main point to remember: God has created us to pour not store! Jumping off from Jesus' words in Matthew 6:19-21, Pastor Jeff talk...

09/12/21 | You have a God-given purpose waiting to be discovered. You have people around you ready to encourage you. And you may not know it yet, but you have everything you need to chase your passion. We just have one question: Are you in? In Week 3, Pastor Matt talks about how whether or not you have a platform, each of us are influential, and Jesus calls us to use our influence for the gospel (...

09/05/21 | You have a God-given purpose waiting to be discovered. You have people around you ready to encourage you. And you may not know it yet, but you have everything you need to chase your passion. We just have one question: Are you in? In Week 2, Pastor Jeff talks about how all of us are invaluable to God, and also to one another. Each of us play a part in the Body of Christ; each of us have...

08/29/21 | You have a God-given purpose waiting to be discovered. You have people around you ready to encourage you. And you may not know it yet, but you have everything you need to chase your passion. We just have one question: Are you in? In Week 1, Pastor Jeff talks about how “I’m Invited.” Jesus invites people that others reject - and that’s the Good News of the Gospel! No matter who you are,...

Is God in control, or do we have free will? How do we navigate the tension of these two truths? Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal and Pastor Todd discuss this, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, and more as we unpack God's sovereignty based off of Pastor Jeff's message from the day before.

08/22/21 | Understanding the Sovereignty of God causes a deep humility, reverence, awe, and dependency on the Lord. No one came to know this more intimately than King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Full of pride and arrogance, he was humbled for seven years by God before being restored to his former glory as king. After reflecting on his unique experience, he came to proclaim God as the only one truly...

If God is omnipresent, then what do we mean when we pray that his presence would be with us? Pastor Matt & Pastor Todd discuss God's omnipresence, the comfort it brings, and the important conviction it brings as well. We also talk about how worship and prayer don't have to be relegated to one specific moment, but still emphasize the importance of having those times set aside. *Note: We [accide...

08/15/21 | Three attributes that are part of God's nature are his omniscience (all-knowing), his omnipotence (all-powerful), and his omnipresence (all-places). Reading from Psalm 139:7-12, Pastor Jeff talks about the comforting, and also convicting, power of God's omnipresence. He closes by giving us five ways that we can be Presence Driven: 1. Begin your day with intentionality 2. Turn your compl...

The Lord himself says, "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15). The Lord is holy, separate, set apart, from sin and the world. Peter, quoting from holy scripture, then instructions Christians to be different than those around them. Pastor Jeff highlights why many times, we seem to de-emphasize holiness in Christian circles, and then gives us some wise counsel on how to know right from wrong b...

Do you find yourself in need of hope today? There's such a wonderful hope that we have in the Lord, knowing that despite our circumstances, how we feel, or what we've done, God is still faithful towards us! Pastor Jeff gives context to the prophet Jeremiah's life and calling from God. Jeremiah finds himself in a place of despair, from both the world and from the fruit of his own life, but then he...

Happy Summer! It's been pretty busy for everyone at First Assembly, but the staff finally sit down to discuss our July sermon series called, "Emotions." With both Sawyer and Gianna interning this summer, they add their thoughts to the discussion as well, as Pastor Matt, Pastor Todd, and Pastor Bonnie break down into more detail some of the points from Sunday Sermons. Some things we discuss in more...

07/25/21 | Joy. Sadness. Anger. Compassion. God has given each of us the capacity to feel deeply. And when we can better process our powerful emotions, we can start to understand how He will use them for His good. How do I experience joy in my walk with God, even when I'm going through something difficult? Reading from Luke 15:11-32, Pastor Matt shows how when we know what brings Jesus joy, it ena...

07/18/21 | Joy. Sadness. Anger. Compassion. God has given each of us the capacity to feel deeply. And when we can better process our powerful emotions, we can start to understand how He will use them for His good. Jesus Himself needed anxiety relief. And when He despaired, He gave us the blueprint for how to deal with worry, stress, and fear (Mark 14:32-36). If you need anxiety relief, Pastor Bonn...

07/11/21 | Joy. Sadness. Anger. Compassion. God has given each of us the capacity to feel deeply. And when we can better process our powerful emotions, we can start to understand how He will use them for His good. Jesus felt many emotions—and anger was one of them. But there are a few things we can learn about why Jesus got angry, and what He chose to do when He felt strong emotions. Pastor Jamal...

07/04/21 | Joy. Sadness. Anger. Compassion. God has given each of us the capacity to feel deeply. And when we can better process our powerful emotions, we can start to understand how He will use them for His good. Where is God when you hurt? Sometimes we feel like God is old, cold, and in the sky. However, Pastor Matt reminds us that Jesus feels compassion for people who hurt. Looking at Jesus' re...

06/27/21 | What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It involves more than simply waving "hi" across the street or across the aisle. Being a good neighbor involves Loving Your Neighbor, Crossing Culture, Changing the Narrative, Coming to the Table, Creating Space to Engage Our Neighbors, Tenacious Friendships, and Living Differently. In this final week, Pastor Jeff says that our vertical love for G...

If your faith journey was a movie, who would be on the credits list at the end of the film? Pastor Matt, Pastor Todd & Sawyer Matthews discuss why sometimes it can be hard to be vulnerable and ask someone to help us, and also talk about who has been on their "credits list" for their faith journey. We also talk about the importance of listening, and how that is simply the baseline when it comes...

06/20/21 | What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It involves more than simply waving "hi" across the street or across the aisle. Being a good neighbor involves Loving Your Neighbor, Crossing Culture, Changing the Narrative, Coming to the Table, Creating Space to Engage Our Neighbors, Tenacious Friendships, and Living Differently. In Week 6, Pastor Jeff reads the story of the four friends and th...

If we've experienced the amazing grace of God, why can we so easily forget it? Pastor Matt asks Pastor Todd and Pastor Jamal to weigh in, and also discuss how as Christians, we often can relate more to the Pharisees in Jesus' parables, and what kind of attitude we should have to make sure that we don't suffer from Pharisee Syndrome.

06/13/21 | What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It involves more than simply waving "hi" across the street or across the aisle. Being a good neighbor involves Loving Your Neighbor, Crossing Culture, Changing the Narrative, Coming to the Table, Creating Space to Engage Our Neighbors, Tenacious Friendships, and Living Differently. In Week 5, Pastor Jeff challenges us to live out Moses’ psalm of...

06/06/21 | What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It involves more than simply waving "hi" across the street or across the aisle. Being a good neighbor involves Loving Your Neighbor, Crossing Culture, Changing the Narrative, Coming to the Table, Creating Space to Engage Our Neighbors, Tenacious Friendships, and Living Differently. In Week 4, Pastor Jamal shares from Jesus’ parable of the Banquet...

05/30/21 | What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It involves more than simply waving "hi" across the street or across the aisle. Being a good neighbor involves Loving Your Neighbor, Crossing Culture, Changing the Narrative, Coming to the Table, Creating Space to Engage Our Neighbors, Tenacious Friendships, and Living Differently. In Week 3, Pastor Todd unpacks Jesus' well-known instructions to...