First Assembly of God Freehold

How is a church community united without being uniform? How do we speak to issues we're individually passionate about without creating disunity in the church? Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd discuss these questions, and then spend some time talking about what we mean by Baptism In The Holy Spirit. We talk about what scripture says of this experience, why some don't believe in this today...

05/23/21 | 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 2, with it being Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Jeff shows from...

05/16/21 | 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 1, Pastor Jeff asks, "How Do I Neighbor Well?" By looking...

What does it mean to "deconstruct" our faith, and should we be doing it? What negative role has the church played in this conversation? What perspective should we have if we find ourselves personally going through deconstruction? Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd discuss these questions and offer their insight into this conversation. In this episode, we talk about how deconstruction shoul...

What does it mean to "deconstruct" our faith, and should we be doing it? What negative role has the church played in this conversation? What perspective should we have if we find ourselves personally going through deconstruction? Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd discuss these questions and offer their insight into this conversation. In this episode, we talk about how the global church ne...

05/09/21 | We're excited to have missionaries to Costa Rica, Tim & Nicole Strange, with us on this Mother's Day! Nicole gives such an encouraging word in this Mother's Day message to moms everywhere. And whether you're a mom or not, Nicole shares spiritual truths from scripture that she's learned through tremendous hardships in her own life that will speak to you today.

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd talk about how to tell the difference between a distraction and a God-given opportunity (some answers: a cultivated prayer life and discernment from the Holy Spirit). We talk about having the right perspective when it comes to what others may think of us, and how to guard against having an attitude of entitlement. Pastor Jamal also spends a few minutes a...

05/02/21 | Each one of us has a good work to do. We may not see it yet, but it’s often right there in front of our eyes. For Nehemiah, it was a crumbled wall. For you, it could be an injustice in the world, or a need you see what no one else does. During this series, we will learn how Nehemiah responded to his own calling and learn how we can change our own world just by leaning into the unique ca...

What is "The Good Work"? How do I discover a burden God is placing on my heart?  Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd discuss these questions, and talk about the discovery process in their own lives when it comes to God's call. We talk about when things don't go according to plan, and the difference between receiving a critique and ignoring a criticism. Spoiler warning! We end the disc...

04/25/21 | Each one of us has a good work to do. We may not see it yet, but it’s often right there in front of our eyes. For Nehemiah, it was a crumbled wall. For you, it could be an injustice in the world, or a need you see what no one else does. During this series, we will learn how Nehemiah responded to his own calling and learn how we can change our own world just by leaning into the unique ca...

04/18/21 |  Each one of us has a good work to do. We may not see it yet, but it’s often right there in front of our eyes. For Nehemiah, it was a crumbled wall. For you, it could be an injustice in the world, or a need you see what no one else does. During this series, we will learn how Nehemiah responded to his own calling and learn how we can change our own world just by leaning into the uni...

04/11/21 |  Each one of us has a good work to do. We may not see it yet, but it’s often right there in front of our eyes. For Nehemiah, it was a crumbled wall. For you, it could be an injustice in the world, or a need you see what no one else does. During this series, we will learn how Nehemiah responded to his own calling and learn how we can change our own world just by leaning into the uni...

What do we believe about Jesus rising from the dead? What does the Bible say about the physicality of Jesus' resurrection? What does the Bible mean when it talks about "glorified bodies"?  On this Monday after Easter, Pastor Matt starts off with some Easter Trivia for Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd, and then asks these questions based off of Pastor Jeff's sermon on Easter Sunday.  During...

04/04/21 | On this day, we celebrate that the story doesn't end with the grave. Today, we celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead!

Pastor Todd talks about the aftermath of the Wings and a Prayer fundraiser, after eating all 10 hot wings! He and Pastor Matt talk about Jesus being the answer for the world's problems, the how gentleness is a mark of strength, and having a passion to reach those around us who don't yet know Christ.

03/28/21 | Rev. Don James challenges us on the last Sunday in March to dream big and give generously for the cause of missions. He reminds us that God is an all-inclusive God, and that missions is at the core of Jesus' heart. Pastor Don reminds us, "It's the purpose of the church to own the mission of God and to take the gospel to the whole world." Don James currently serves as the Superintendent...

03/21/21 | When the crowds accused the apostles of "turning the world upside down," what was meant as an accusation really turned out to be a compliment (Acts 17:6). Reading from the Apostle Paul’s summary of his own ministry, Pastor Jeff points out 7 traits that Paul writes that led to this “compliment” while they were in Thessalonica. The last three are: 5) A Sacrificial Heart (1 Thess. 2:8-9) 6...

03/14/21 | When the crowds accused the apostles of "turning the world upside down," what was meant as an accusation really turned out to be a compliment (Acts 17:6). Reading from the Apostle Paul’s summary of his own ministry, Pastor Jeff points out 7 traits that Paul writes that led to this “compliment” while they were in Thessalonica. The first four are: 1) Faithful despite opposition (1 Thess....

Who does God want me to "see beyond" for, how should I praying for them, and how do I identify a God-given burden for something? Pastor Matt asks these questions to Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd based on Pastor Jeff's Sunday sermon. Each of them share their own burden for people in each of their unique roles, what makes it tough when you're following God's call, and why it's worth it to press on....

When the crowds accused the apostles of "turning the world upside down," what was meant as an accusation really turned out to be a compliment (Acts 17:6). Reading from Matthew 9, Pastor Jeff shows how first God shakes us up, then he uses us to shake our world! Pastor Jeff encourages us to see people how Jesus did; to see beyond society's labels, misconceptions or our pre-conceived notions and to h...

What kind of zeal should we have for the Lord, and how should that translate into our politics and into our actions? Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd discuss this thought while unpacking more of Pastor Jamal's sermon on King Josiah. We also ask: "Is there a difference between confession and repentance?" , "Are we currently living in a theocracy?" , and we briefly discuss Jesus' roles as...

02/28/21 | All throughout The Book of Kings, people’s hearts were far from God. Yet even though people were divided, God still chose to move among them. In Week 5, Pastor Jamal shows how King Josiah modeled a rekindled heart by: 1) Repenting 2) Renewing 3) Removing 4) Reinstituting Pastor Jamal then goes on to show how ultimately, these were not effective enough to change people's hearts; it is on...

As we get the opportunity to dive a little deeper than the sermon typically allows, Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd read King Hezekiah's response to being miraculously healed in Isaiah 38, an event reference in Pastor Jeff's sermon. We also further unpack Manasseh's legacy, and discuss the idea of a "godly heritage", the pressures of parenting, and how God can redeem anything we feel s...

02/21/21 | All throughout The Book of Kings, people’s hearts were far from God. Yet even though people were divided, God still chose to move among them. In Week 4, Pastor Jeff unpacks the story of King Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33). Although his father Hezekiah knew God, Mannaseh: 1) Parted ways from the faith of his father 2) Polluted the temple of the Lord 3) Played the people of God 4) Paid no att...

Happy President's Day! Pastor Matt & Pastor Todd dive deeper into some context of The Book of Kings, further develop what Pastor Jeff said about idolizing religious experiences, talk about our response to the reports about Ravi Zacharias, and discuss how to understand political prophets and prophecies.