First Assembly of God Freehold

Knowing that we are in a tense political climate with Election Day approaching and even a possible waiting period, Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Missionary Tara Matthews read and discuss key scriptures that talk about Christians, the government, and what our response must be. Scriptures we read: -1 Timothy 2:1-4 -Romans 13:1-7, 14 -1 Peter 2:12-17 We then move the discussion to talk about Greg Hu...

11/01/2020 | Evangelist Greg Hubbard was with us for our Spiritual Emphasis Weekend. For our Sunday morning service, he shared from Ephesians 2:19-22, focusing on where the scripture says that Christ is our cornerstone. Expanding further on the text, Greg shows us that: 1) Jesus is our Cornerstone 2) Jesus is our Keystone 3) Jesus is our Capstone

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, Pastor Todd & Missionary Tara Matthews have some fun nerding out about bible translations, and then move the discussion to the value of having others in your walk with God. We share of times when people have helped us to grow in faith, and about how true Christianity involves a community of faith, not simply an individualistic one.

10/25/2020 | How do we take our relationship with God from the shallows into a deeper place? In Week 4, Pastor Jeff talks about how there are some things that we shouldn't do alone, and our faith is one of them. We > Me. If you want to go deeper, your faith needs a friend. Reading from Hebrews 10:22-24, Pastor Jeff shares three factors that are better as "we" instead of just "me": 1) We draw ne...

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, Pastor Todd & Missionary Tara Matthews talk about the types of experiences we collect as Christians and how to keep them in the appropriate perspective. We also talk about stepping out and growing in our expressions of worship, and being obedient to God when he calls us to do something.

10/18/2020 | How do we take our relationship with God from the shallows into a deeper place? In Week 3, Pastor Matt talks about how going deeper in our faith involves doing something. Just like our physical diet consists of calories in and calories out, our spiritual diet must consist of both calories in and calories out. Reading from Philippians 2:12-16, Pastor Matt challenges us to "Work out wha...

Pastor Matt & Pastor Jamal talk about what Pastor Jeff called, "signs of spiritual infancy" in greater depth. We talk about how & why we can fall prey to being unchanged in a church atmosphere, as well as being unchanged by God's Word. We talk about the mission and purpose of the church, how to know when you're ready to teach someone else, and each of us share something that recently God h...

10/11/2020 | How do we take our relationship with God from the shallows into a deeper place? In Week 2, Pastor Jeff challenges us from Hebrews 5:11-14, where the writer talks about what Pastor Jeff refers to as "symptoms of spiritual infancy": 1) Slow to learn / dull to hear (v. 11) 2) Ought to be teachers instead of being taught (v. 12) 3) Milk over meat (v. 12) 4) Unskilled in the Word (v. 13) P...

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd talk about "going deeper" in our walk with God. We define what is meant by "deeper", we talk about our need for and dependency on God, and we talk about navigating the tension of trusting in God and his provision when it seems like He isn't providing for us in the tangible ways that we may need.

10/04/2020 | How do we take our relationship with God from the shallows into a deeper place? In this first week, we look at Jesus' personal encounter with Peter in Luke 5:1-11. We see that:  1) Jesus is never too busy to meet with just you, 2) When Jesus meets us, it is to take us from shallow faith to deeper faith, 3) Jesus turns what we are concerned about into what He is concerned about.

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd talk about the "Better Together" September teaching series. We talk about the dangers of being in isolation, how relationships can take work, humility in community, and knowing that we're working towards unity instead of being self-focused and keeping others from God.

09/27/2020 | It is almost impossible to be an ally and an advocate for people who are different than us, without being in relationship or having a significant experience with them. Pastor Jeff unpacks the Early Church's struggles with accepting those who were different from them in Acts 15:5-12. He reminds us that when it comes to belonging and including others: 1) We were all created in the image...

09/20/2020 | Being in community is how we can grow past our blind spots. Tough love is the right combination of “grace-giving” + “truth-telling,” which we see embodied perfectly in Jesus (John 1:14), and tough love is how we overcome those blindspots. Pastor Matt gives some helpful tips when it comes to giving and receiving tough love: 1) Know thyself (2 Timothy 1:7) 2) Consider the source (Prover...

09/13/2020 | As we gear up for the launch of Life Groups, Pastor Jeff talks about the importance of being in community with other Christians, specifically when it comes to small groups. Looking at the Early Church in Acts 2:41-47, Pastor Jeff shows us that: 1) Community is not simply found; it is formed. 2) Connection involves gathering in both large (communal) and smaller (relational) ways. Pasto...

09/06/2020 | Pastor Jeff reads from Philippians 2 and talks about how we must have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, who humbled himself and gave himself up for us. We need to exemplify a Christ-like attitude to everyone around us, especially in community with our brothers and sisters, because we're Better Together.

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, Pastor Todd & Tara Matthews talk about God's anointing. What do we mean by anointing? Is it the same as God's calling? What about being empowered by the Holy Spirit? We talk about how our attitude matters when it comes to the fruit we bear, and that intimacy with God isn't a formula you make up, yet it is the ultimate answer when it comes to living out God's call.

08/30/2020 | In Exodus 30:23, scripture details the recipe for anointing oil. Pastor Jeff breaks down this recipe, showing the symbolism for Christians today who want to receive from God. From the passage, we see how each ingredient has spiritual significance for us to live out today: 1. Liquid Myrrh = dying to self 2. Cinnamon = full of sweetness & grace 3. Fragrant Cane (sweet calamus) = mad...

On this episode Missionary Tara Matthews joins Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd on the podcast to talk about the previous two Sundays: Pastor Matt's "Drop The Rock" sermon and Pastor Jeff's "Do You Love Me?" sermon. We start off by talking about deeper context of John chapter 8 which Pastor Matt discussed in his Sunday sermon, and the significance of where it is placed in John's Gospel....

08/23/2020 | Pastor Jeff shares from Jesus' words to Peter, "Do you love me?", and talks about how love is followed with obedience. By looking at Jesus' words in John 14 & 15, Pastor Jeff goes on to show that: obedience proves our salvation, transforms our lives, springs from our love, and characterizes our walk. He then talks about the striking promise from obedience: that God himself dwells...

08/16/2020 | Pastor Matt shares a timely message about our tendency to judge others, which we do to shift the blame and to feel better about ourselves. Giving the contextual history of John chapter 8, Pastor Matt reads from the story of the woman caught in adultery, showing Jesus' example when it comes to judging others: Drop The Rock. Jesus always extends grace, and he expects his followers to do...

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, and Pastor Todd talk about the sermon from the day before. We unpack more context of the Book of Hebrews, and spend some time talking about Pastor Jamal's words: "our faith isn't tethered to a building," and "we've equated a health crisis with persecution."  Buildings are a great blessing, but make a terrible god. We understand that our faith is anchored in the pers...

08/09/2020 | Pastor Jamal preaches about how Christians can and should be leading the way when it comes to being unshakable in the midst of a pandemic. Reading from Hebrews 12:25-29, Pastor Jamal shares how if you want your faith to be pandemic-proof, then it must be rooted in the things that are unshakable. He says that we have equated a health crisis with persecution because we've been rooted in...

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal, Pastor Todd & Pastor Bonnie discuss the issues of Greed. We talk about how this week might be the easiest for us to simply dismiss because it is so counter to how we think as American Christians. We talk about the many forms that Greed can take, and what it looks to like to have Greed be the boss of you. We end with talking about practical ways to make sure that we d...

08/02/2020 | How do you say No to the emotions that compete for control? Guilt, Envy, Anger, Fear...they have a way of controlling us. But in this series, we'll see how Jesus invites us to live a better way, where these emotions won't be the boss of us. -- In Week 6, Pastor Jeff finishes the series by talking about Greed. He first looks at Jesus' warning about Greed in Luke 12:15, and then goes th...

Pastor Matt, Pastor Jamal & Pastor Todd discuss legitimate fears, irrational fears, fearing God, and how these compare with our faith in Jesus. We talk about how perhaps the limits of the English language require us to use more descriptive words when it comes to this topic. We also talk about how it's a relationship that we have with Jesus that enables us to not let Fear be the boss in our liv...