Northwest Gospel Church - Eastside

Joshua 5:13-6:27 | Josh Lane | This week we have a familiar story of Joshua leading the Israelites against the fortified city of Jericho. They had just miraculously crossed over the Jordan River, set themselves apart by circumcising all the men, and now Joshua experiences a conversation with God. At this point Joshua is clearly set apart for the task of leading Israel against the city of Jericho....

Joshua 4:1-24 | Andrew Murch | Do you have something that brings up memories or starts conversations with others? Maybe a tattoo, a scar, or something hanging up in the house that stands out from what you’d normally see in someone’s house? We tend to put things out on display for ourselves but usually it catches the eyes of others and sometimes leads to discussions. For the Israelites, God had ins...

Joshua 3:1-17 | Andrew Murch | Years of wandering are about to end. It is hard to imagine what’s on the minds and the hearts of the people. You might remember Joshua had been to the Promised Land forty years earlier. As a spy he came back to Moses with a positive report and encouragement to go in and possess the land, only to be shouted down. The crowd won the day, with their fearful disobedience...

Joshua 2:1-24 | Andrew Murch | Joshua 2 introduces us to someone, who is quite honestly, unexpected as someone God would use. Her name is Rahab. She is mentioned alongside towering figures of the faith such as Abraham, Moses, Noah, Gideon, and King David in Hebrews Chapter 11. How is this possible? Why is it so shocking and unexpected? It’s surprising because Rahab is a prostitute. And almost ever...

In this first chapter of Joshua, God calls Joshua to lead the people into the land, the land he has given them. But it will take strength, courage, and commitment to follow God’s law as well as trust that God is with them always. The Israelites will need this as they conquer the land.

Luke 17:11-19 | Nathan Noorlun | “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" In this week's passage, Jesus encounters and heals 10 men afflicted with leprosy. When only one man returns, we discover all the men were healed, but only one was truly healed.

Isaiah 40:12-17 | Todd Miles

1 Timothy 1:12-17 | Andrew Murch | "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (v. 15). The good news of Christmas is that God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to rescue and redeem sinners to his own eternal glory!

John 9:1-41 | Stephen Collins | "Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind'" (v. 39). Some of the sayings of Jesus can be difficult for sinful human beings to understand and—often—even harder to accept. However, the idea of judgment is critical to understanding the person and work of Jesus Christ. For the one who trusts...

Luke 19:1-10 | Andrew Murch | "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus is familiar to those who grew up in the church. Zacchaeus, a wee little man and swindling tax collector, climbs because he simply must see Jesus. Despite the grumbling of the crowd, Jesus goes to his house and declares good news: good news for Zacchaeus then and good news for us t...

Mark 10:35-45 | Andrew Murch | "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (vv. 43b-44). How are the people of God supposed to interact with one another? Here, we see that they are to love and self-sacrificially serve.

Matthew 5:17-20 | Nathan Noorlun | "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (v. 17). In the Old Testament, God gave His people the Law and the Prophets so they would know what is required for them to be in right relationship with Him. Sadly, Israel rejected, distorted, and fell short over and over again. Something neede...

Colossians 4:7-18 | Andrew Murch | Sitting on the floor of a Roman prison and bound in chains, Paul concludes the dictation of his letter to the church in Colossae. In his usual format, Paul closes the letter by extending his greetings to the complex network of leaders connected with his churches across the Roman world. After all that Paul has written to the Colossian church, this is what he wants...

Colossians 4:2-6 | Andrew Murch | This week, after pointed instruction about the household of the follower of Jesus, Paul begins to conclude his letter, giving some final instructions before wrapping up. He puts his finger on two crucial elements of the Christian life: prayer and our behavior toward those who do not believe. In light of who Jesus is and what he’s done, how should we pray? And how...

Colossians 3:18-4:1 | Gavin Hesse | Moving on from his exhortations in the beginning of Colossians 3, Paul now takes those principles and then gives instructions on what it looks like to live life in Christ in the context of the relationships we find ourselves in. He first addresses the family, the foundational relationship of any society. He speaks to wives, husbands, children, and fathers before...

Colossians 3:12-17 | Andrew Murch | The Christian life comes with a whole new wardrobe, new habits and practices and priorities. And the best part? This new life is not lived in order to get to God, it’s lived because you have God! These new things are not ways to righteousness, they are the way of righteousness for the individual Christian and the whole Christian community.

Colossians 3:1-11 | Andrew Murch | Now that our lives are in Christ, we are at war as we daily put to death that which used to reign in our mortal bodies. What was once dead is now alive and therefore has nothing to do with those things that bring death. We’ve been given a new self that is being transformed into the image of our creator as we walk according to his ways.

Colossians 2:16-23 | Andrew Murch | Is Christ enough? Is what Jesus did for us on the cross when He bore our sins in His body enough? When He shed His blood, when He died and was buried, was it enough? And when He rose again from the dead, was it enough? Was all that Jesus accomplished enough for us to stand before a Holy God, forgiven, cleansed, and washed from our sins? Paul’s response is a reso...

Colossians 2:6-15 | Mike Clarensau | Paul stresses to the Colossians they have found something authentic and very valuable in Christ but are being lured away from that treasure as their faith is being tested and challenged by tradition and persuasive intellectual arguments. He wants them to be established firmly in their faith, to know what is authentic compared to what is counterfeit. The Lord de...

Colossians 1:24-2:5 | Andrew Murch | We are called to make disciples of all peoples because God loves them. He made them. He wants to return them to community with himself. How will we do this? Truth and love. Righteousness and compassion. Paul writes that “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order...

Colossians 1:21-23 | Ryan MacDonald | You have been saved by Christ so that you can be presented “holy,” “blameless,” and “above reproach.” This is incredible news for you who were once far off and sinning against God! The Christian life is not constant striving to clean yourself up before God. The Christian life is a day-in, day-out response to the work of Jesus Christ who has saved you in order...

Colossians 1:15-20 | Andrew Murch | Through Paul’s letter to the believers in Colossae, God gives us poignant insight into the nature of Jesus. We learn that Jesus is sovereign and powerful, and our beautiful earth and heavens were created through him.

Colossians 1:9-14 | Andrew Murch | Paul did not establish and probably never visited the church at Colossae. He was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote this letter. Regardless of his circumstances and the absence of a historical or physical connection, Paul knew that he had a relationship with these believers – they had the same Father. He, along with Timothy, prayed for them. Paul was thankful for t...

Colossians 1:1-8 | Andrew Murch | A special relationship existed between Paul, Timothy, and the Christians in and around Colossae. Considering Colossian, you are faced with the beauty of a local church established in the gospel and growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus. In the opening of the letter, we see the power of the grace of God in the lives of his people.

Psalm 133:1-3 | Andrew Murch | "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" Unity, harmony, and community are all universally understood to be good things, but we often see our world marked more clearly by division, strife, and isolation. King David pens this psalm to reveal God's will for life to be lived in brotherly unity. Here, we see that where the Lord rules, unity rei...