Messiah St. Charles Weekly Messages

It's that time of year when we intend to focus on our Savior's birth, and yet it's the month that we have the least amount of time for reflection. As already busy people before December, we add Christmas decorating, shopping, parties, pictures, traditions, crafts, events and none of them actually have to do with Christmas - Christ's birth! Our Endless Christmas activities are surel...

The Book of Mark: Week 11 | Exploring the Life of Jesus: The Death of Death For this final message, we're taking an eternal view of why Mark wrote his gospel and considering the question,  Can we trust that the resurrection was real?  Read  Mark 15:40-16:8 .

This week, the action in the Book of Mark has hit its climax with the crucifixion of the One whom the apostles worshipped as their Savior. This event makes them question all their assumptions about what a Messiah would like like, and it demonstrates how upside-down His kingdom truly is. We're almost at the end of our journey through Mark, but we still have much to learn. In this message Pastor...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Jesus knows that feeling. In Mark 14:34, He tells His disciples that His "soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He's about to experience betrayal, rejection, and death. This scene in Mark shows us a side of Jesus we haven't previously seen in Mark—that of a man deep in suffering.

The Book of Mark: Week 8 | Exploring the Life of Jesus: Communication & Community "This is my body." With these words, Jesus is changing the script. He's preparing for His death and instituting a new way to be with Him. The drama is ramping up in Mark and this week we're taking a look at the event we know as the Last Supper. Read Mark 14:12 -24 and ask yourself, "where a...

We all have different triggers, and Jesus knows where we need to improve. In this story from Mark of the wealthy ruler who desires salvation, Jesus spotlights the idols we make of the things in our life that we value. He will use our insecurities to make us grow in faith. His challenge is always done in love.

Have you ever heard of the Transfiguration? It's a moment in Mark's Gospel when Jesus goes away to a mountain with a few of His disciples and something pretty miraculous happens. It's the subject of this week's message based on events in Mark chapter 9.

The Book of Mark: Week 3 | Exploring the Life of Jesus: Raising Expectations Mark's Gospel is a Gospel in which the action is immediate and non-stop. There is a sense of urgency to his writing. The disciples are witnessing all that is happening, and they're are coming to realize that they are playing a part in something much bigger than themselves. This week, the action is ramping up even...

The Bible is a book of stories and people. Though we are separated from them by thousands of years, we can see ourselves in the feelings, circumstances, and motives of the people whose tales have been recorded. Our series on the Gospel of Mark continues on Sunday with Pastor Chuck exploring the story of the paralyzed man whose friends lower him from the ceiling to meet Jesus. Where are you in this...

Following Jesus changes your life. The first disciples had their lives upended when Jesus called them to follow Him, but they did so willingly. There was something about Jesus that they recognized as divine. In this first message of this new series, we're taking a look at what the author of this Gospel wants us to know about Jesus. Over 11 weeks, we're going to get into who He was and why...

There's a lot in our world that's competing for our attention. In this environment, it's easy to get distracted and lose focus on what really matters. We end up responding to the things that don't fulfill our purpose and distract us from what we should respond to intentionally. In this message, learn how to practice good "response-ability."

One of the aims of the God Winks series is to help you see God at work in your life. This Sunday, we're going to learn how God uses our pursuits and our passions to prepare us for His calling. Learn how to recognize how your experiences have prepared you to do something greater in your life in service to God.

"Don't give up!" We've all heard that encouragement from a young age. It's good to try and try again, but how do we keep going when we want to just give up? And how can a God Wink keep us going? We'll learn more about seeing AND recognizing God's work in our lives this Sunday.

In the series opener, Pastor Chuck gets into what a “God Wink” is—and gives some examples of how to spot them. God winks show us that God is still active in our lives and wants a relationship with His creation. Keep your eyes open and you’ll see them in your own life!

Singing is a big part of worship. At Messiah, the time we spend singing is second only to the time we spend listening to the message from God's Word. Ever wonder why singing is such a big part of worship? Pastor Chuck Schlie explores this aspect of the service,

Is it OK for worship to be passionate? Is there room for it to be both passionate AND reverent? Pastor Jim takes us back to the Old Testament to discover why worshiping God with exuberance has God's seal of approval.

Have you ever considered that the way you worship affects the faith of others? It's actually a blessing to your community for you to have a personal connection to God. Ryan Pfendler illustrates how and why in this message.

What is worship all about? In this first message of our four-week series, Pastor Jim invites us to consider, does the way we are living our life demonstrates that we worship God—or something else? Is there a right way to worship? These and other questions will be considered.

Our Masterpiece series comes to an end with Pastor Jim’s teaching on the story of our redemption from beginning to end. It’s a narrative that begins in the Garden of Eden and ends with the Apostle John’s vision that inspired the Book of Revelation. It’s all told in the windows of Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral.

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). Jesus uses these words to defend Himself against the judgment of the Pharisees who question why He eats with sinners. He’s quoting the prophet Hosea and making the case that God’s love and forgiveness extend to all. Do you have a hard time imagining that God can forgive your sins and love you unconditionally? Hear the truth—He loves and forgives all...

In this Masterpiece message, Pastor Chuck wishes everyone a Happy Easter and discusses the idea of celebrating Easter in July through an artwork called "The Resurrection at Cookham" by Stanley Spencer. He reflects on the painter's personal interest throughout his career on the topic of resurrection, highlighting his belief in a happy resurrection and the promise of a future physical...

We all desire belonging and to feel as if our lives matter. In this message, Messiah's Director of Student Ministry, Ryan Pfendler, explores this topic through the James Tissot painting "The Healing of the Lepers at Capernaum."     

Art has always been commentary. As we're learning in this series, there's so much more to a masterpiece than what appears at first glance. This is particularly true of religious art that draws its inspiration from God's Word. On Sunday, join Pastor Chuck as he examines a painting and reveals the subtext we can only see when we look closer.

Over 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a door in Wittenberg and the church has never been the same. It was a groundbreaking moment for the church. In this message, Pastor Jim Mueller looks closely at a verse in Romans that inspired Luther, and changed the course of church history.

Have you ever wondered what God thinks of you? Is He really so full of love for you that He would consider you a work of art? Join us for the first message in the new series  Masterpiece . In it, our pastors will guide us through some fundamental truths from Scripture—God is your all-knowing, all-powerful Father in heaven who can look at you and can see what you will become before you have actuall...