Northwest Gospel Church - Camas/Washougal

Genesis 3:1-24 | Ben Potloff | Over and over, the opening chapters of Genesis show us something being made from nothing, order brought to chaos, life and vitality where there was only a void, God's image bearers ruling over his creation. But, in chapter 3, everything goes wrong; created things misrepresent God, His image bearers rebel against his rule, and Paradise is lost at the foot of the forbi...

Genesis 2:18-25 | Ben Potloff | Moses' closer look at the creation of humanity continues as, for the first time, God says that something is "not good." God creates woman from man in a wonderful and glorious act of creation that completes God's initial work of creation and begins human history. MAIN IDEA God created woman to complement man in the one flesh union of marriage.  OUTLINE I. God created...

Genesis 2:1-17 | Max Janusch | At the finale of God's creation work, God rests and blesses the seventh day. Moses then returns his focus to the creation of man, the garden of Eden, and God tasking man to "work the ground" in obedience to God. Here, we are reminded that God is the Creator and we are the creatures. MAIN IDEA God places his people in paradise. OUTLINE I. God modeled rest for man as t...

Genesis 1:26-31 | Ben Potloff | God's work of creation comes to its high point with the creation of man on the sixth day. After speaking light and life, sky and seas, land and animals into existence, God forms human beings. Making them in his image, male and female, God then puts his creation under the stewardship of humanity who rule on his behalf. MAIN IDEA Humans bear God’s image to rule His wo...

Genesis 1:2-25 | Ben Potloff | From the earliest verses of Genesis, we get a glimpse of how God brought forth something out of nothing. Here, it begins with God speaking the universe into existence. MAIN IDEA God’s Word is powerful. OUTLINE I. God created light and life by His Word. II. God’s creation by His Word was good. III. God’s shines light and creates new life by His Word.

Genesis 1:1 | Ben Potloff | "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1 ESV). What Christians believe to be true comes from what the Bible teaches the most and the clearest (Gavin Ortlund, Finding the Right Hills to Die On). From the very first verse of our Bible, God clearly and epically reveals one of the most important and foundational truths about himself: Before any...

Ephesians 2:17-22 | Max Janusch | Regardless of what we know to be true, Christians often practice their faith in isolation from one another. But, God's plan for his people is so much greater than a personal faith lived out in the seclusion of one's living room. God is saving sinners and is building for himself a people who represent him to one another and the rest of the world. Here, we see that...

Luke 2:22-38 | Ben Potloff | Lesser known than the other witnesses of Christ's first advent, Simeon and Anna play a crucial role in God's revelation and Luke's recording of the coming of Jesus. Here, we see two more actors in the Advent story who are left glorifying God after experiencing the Lord Jesus and witnessing the fulfillment of God's promises to his people. MAIN IDEA The wait is over, Sal...

Luke 2:1-21 | Ben Potloff | As God the Son, having taken on human flesh, is born in a manger another glorious scene takes place and another pair of Advent witnesses is introduced. Lowly shepherds are met by heavenly angels who point the way to the birthplace of the long-awaited Savior. Luke continues to highlight the wonderful and mysterious happenings that show just how remarkable the coming of C...

Matthew 1:18-25 | Ben Potloff | While impossible to miss, we often lose the significance, glory, and mystery of the birth of Jesus. These wonders are put on display in Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, as the long-awaited Savior is born to a virgin in fulfillment of what the prophets spoke long ago. Here, we see that Christmas is about God coming to save us. MAIN IDEA Christmas is about God comin...

Luke 1:5-25, 57-80 | Ben Potloff | In Luke's Gospel account, the story of the birth of the one, promised Messiah actually begins with the birth of two babies. Preceding Jesus, we see the miraculous story of John the Baptist and how he testifies to the glory of Jesus even from within the womb! MAIN IDEA God’s promised mercy is our perpetual hope. OUTLINE I. God’s priest would have a son who would b...

Philippians 4:14-23 | Max Janusch | By his grace and according to his own design, God has determined that one of the primary means for the sending, supporting, and sustaining of gospel workers is the Church. In part, ‘to be the Church’ means to support the work of gospel ministry, to partner with gospel laborers, and to be an agent of encouragement for those putting their hands to the plow of evan...

Philippians 4:10-13 | Ben Potloff | Here, Paul discusses the way that the Lord has provided for him in times of need, both through the church in Philippi and through His nearness. In verse 10, readers see Paul discussing how the church’s concern for him has been revived as they had an opportunity to care for him. He continues to discuss throughout the later three verses how the Lord has provided f...

Philippians 4:2-9 | Ben Potloff | Joy and peace often seem to be a package deal. Like inseparable friends, one is seldom seen without the other. In fact, they even start looking alike after a while. There they are, side by side, in Paul’s list of spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22), and, just as he suggests, they both wave invitingly to us from the lives of those we admire most, as we see in Philippi...

Philippians 3:17-4:1 | Ben Potloff | Multiple times in the New Testament, Paul refers to the Christian’s citizenship in heaven. Those who are citizens of God’s kingdom are welcomed into his family, given grace, and united together with him. Citizens of the Kingdom of God have different, allegiances, live for a different purpose, and live differently than the citizens of the Kingdom of Darkness. Pa...

Philippians 3:12-16 | Gavin Hesse | Running for the health of it is one thing; running for first place is still another. However, we can look at this passage as one running for their very lives. People facing the fury of a huge storm in a disaster movie don’t go back into their house for the heirloom dining set as the tidal wave approaches their city. They leave all possessions that would weigh th...

Philippians 3:1-11 | Ben Potloff | What do we consider as “surpassing worth” in our lives? According to Paul, following Jesus not only involved giving up our self-earned “righteousness,” but embracing a life of suffering, death, and resurrection. Is it worth it? Paul argues that knowing Jesus is the only thing of “surpassing worth.” Is Jesus worth it to you? MAIN IDEA Faith in self is worthless, f...

Philippians 2:19-30 | Ben Potloff | Who doesn’t appreciate a good example? Anyone faced with an important or complicated task can see the value in an example. Elementary-age kids are given examples of good handwriting as they learn. Parents show teenagers how to parallel park before turning them loose on the streets of Clark County. In Philippians 2:19-30, the Apostle Paul offers two good examples...

Philippians 2:12-18 | Ben Potloff | This week, even when it’s uncomfortable, allow God’s word to reveal the places of grumbling and arguing in your heart. Pray that the Lord will give you contentment and love for the life and people that he’s given you. MAIN IDEA We work out the life that God works within. OUTLINE I. A Christian’s call is to work out their salvation. (vv. 12, 14-15) II. A Christia...

Philippians 2:1-11 | Ben Potloff | God wants his people to be unified, and now more than ever in our current context it seems like we can find a million petty reasons to be divided even in the church. The opening of Philippians 2 challenges our worldly loves, preferences, and opinions, and it confronts us with the work of the God-man. MAIN IDEA Unity in Christ leads to humility like Christ which b...

Philippians 1:18b-30 | Ben Potloff | Paul’s letter to the Philippians confronts us with this truth as he declares that in life or death, there is only one thing that matters: Jesus Christ. If Paul lives, it will be for Christ. If he dies, it will be for Christ whom he will meet face to face. Nothing else is more supreme. We find this tension in our soul as we wish to declare the same but also have...

Philippians 1:12-18a | Ben Potloff | When we look at the work of our hands and the days before us, it’s easy to lose sight of these two things; gospel work and the hope of eternity. It is both a discipline and an act of grace to be able to look up from our “today” and see where the Lord is working. May he give us those eyes today and may it fill us with joy to see and know Christ’s work in and thr...

Philippians 1:1-11 | Ben Potloff | Paul has reasons to be sad, being separated from the Philippians. But, he has greater reasons to rejoice. Paul could grieve about being removed from brothers and sisters in Christ, but his confidence in Christ Jesus gives him a sure faith that at the very least, he will see these dear friends again on the Day of Jesus Christ. The Day of Jesus Christ is a day that...

Acts 16:11-40 | Max Janusch | Before we begin our journey through Paul's letter to the Philippians, we first need to consider the establishment of the Church in Philippi. Throughout the book of Acts, the word of God takes root and spreads throughout the Mediterranean world as it is proclaimed. But what happens when the mission of the Apostles encounters uncharted and hostile territory? What happen...

Jude 17-25 | Ben Potloff | God's people stand apart from the false teachers and false believers who try and sneak into the community of the Church. But, God is not fooled, and neither are his people. Jude's letter concludes with a call to persevere and a reminder of the one who enables us to persevere. "[T]o the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and...