Northwest Gospel Church - Eastside

Philippians 1:1-11 | Andrew Murch | 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 tha...

Psalm 56:1-13 | Nathan Noorlun | "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Captured by the Philistines, David calls out to God in a prayer saturated with confidence and hope in God. Here, we see that, although oppressed and imprisoned, the hope of God's people is in God himself.

Psalm 91:1-16 | Joshua Ryan Butler | "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." It is a wonderful thing to find oneself under the shadow of God's redemptive refuge and protection. For the author of Psalm 91, it cause him to glorify God and meditate on the reality of life lived in the presence of God.

Psalm 19:1-14 | Andrew Murch | When you are awed by Mt. Hood, moved by the tides on Cannon Beach, or blown away in the Gorge, you are hearing the symphony of God’s creation declaring his glory. When you read his Word, you are learning from the conductor how and why the notes that are played. When you cry out to him and receive redemption, you learn to play the instrument he has assigned to you.

Psalm 6:1-10 | Gavin Hesse | "Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love." As we continue exploring the Psalms this summer, we come to another prayer from King David. Here, we see that evil does are cast off as David cries out for deliverance from the Lord.

Psalm 16:1-11 | Noah Soistmann | "Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge." There is great joy and hope and peace for the people of God. In Psalm 16, King David considers who God is and who we are as his people. Here, we are reminded that life is lived at its fullest when life is lived in God.

Psalm 55:1-23 | Andrew Murch | "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Written by King David, Psalm 55 is a prayer-song born out of a season of incredible suffering and anguish. Throughout the psalm, David cries to and pleads with God. Here, we see the reality that God's people, even in the midst of hardship, can call on their God.

Psalm 39:1-13 | Daniel Orozco  | "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!" In this prayer, King David bows before God and contemplates his own life. Here, we see the truth of how a desperate person approaches a perfect God.

Psalm 1:1-6 | Andrew Murch | "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." The Bible has a lot to say about the way of the wise and the way of the foolish. What separates one way from the other, and how can we know with confidence that our own way is right? In Psalm 1, we see that God knows the way of the righte...

Psalm 137:1-9 | Mike Clarensau | "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion." From the humiliation of exile comes a prayer sung by the ancient Israelites. As they remember the glory and prosperity of their ancestors, God's people call on God to remember their affliction and those afflicting them.

Psalm 73:1-28 | Tim Smith | "But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." Written by Asaph, Psalm 73 details a man of God caught between devotion to the Lord and envy for the prosperity of the wicked. Here, we see that God is the ultimate reward for man.

Acts 16:11-40 | Noah Soistmann | This passage is a beautiful reminder for us to slow down and look for where the Lord is working. Instead of rushing from one thing to the next, constantly distracting ourselves, what would it cost to slow down, to look others in the eyes, and pray for the Lord’s leading? Who could the Lord lead you to this week?

Acts 16:1-10 | Andrew Murch | Have you ever taken a moment to look back through your family line and trace the impact of the gospel? Do you know who was the first person in your family to follow Jesus? For some of us it’s parents, or grandparents, or even great-grandparents who passed on the faith. For many, it’s starting with you right now! You are beginning a culture of passing on the faith to y...

Acts 15:36-41 Andrew Murch | After being a fly on the wall at a moment of division and clarity for the church, we now are let into a conversation that seems like another very small debate. Two friends, Paul and Barnabas, co-laborers in the gospel, have a disagreement. This is the Barnabas who was the only one to welcome Paul into the faith. These two men have journeyed in missions together, preach...

Acts 15:1-35 | Jake Gamble | There’s only one reason people enjoy watching reality TV: the drama! With clashing people, opinions, and decisions come conflicts, debates, and arguments. The cliffhanger is always if conflict will tear the people apart, or if they’ll work it out. We’re about to enter a religious reality TV show episode. Acts 15 is a crucial point in the story of the early church where...

Acts 14:1-28 | Josh Lane | Imagine being worshipped as a God and then chased down for murder all in the same day. Welcome to a day in the life of Paul the missionary. Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey together after having been driven out of Antioch and Pisidia. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they begin to “speak boldly” for the Lord (Luke 14:3) and a whole number of th...

Acts 13:13-52 | Andrew Murch | Anyone who has children or have interacted with children knows the meaning of “selective hearing.” However, it’s not isolated only to kids. We all have a propensity to hear what we want to hear and to ignore what we’re not willing to here. Throughout Jesus’ ministry and here in the book of Acts we have seen two kinds of people, people who will hear and receive the wo...

Acts 13:1-12 | Andrew Murch | There are several stories in the book of Acts that amaze, make you scratch your head, or simply reveal the wonder of God’s work. This text is one of those. What opens as a seemingly average “role call” already blows the mind (tip: “role calls” in the Bible are never random). Just verses ago we saw the raging of a Herod, and in this list we see a lifelong friend of Her...

Acts 12:1-25 | Andrew Murch | The camera shifts, the scene changes, and we’re once again back in Jerusalem seeing what is happening to the church and the Apostles there. As we look back at the epicenter of the early church, we also see the heart of the persecution of Christians. Herod is ramping up his ongoing attempts to silence and suppress the Church’s influence. He rounds up Christian leaders,...

Acts 11:19-30 | Mike Clarensau | The map keeps stretching farther and farther away from Jerusalem. From Joppa to Cyprus to Antioch the church is expanding over land and water to reach people with the gospel of Jesus. Though Jews fled the persecution in Jerusalem, they couldn’t shut up about Jesus! Wherever they went they would tell people about Jesus and how he is the messiah of the Jews. However,...

Acts 10:1-11:18 | Andrew Murch | Visions of a heavenly dinner coming from the sky, still “oinking”, “caw-ing”, and slithering. May not be the kind of dinner you’d hope for, and it’s certainly not something you’d expect as instrumental to the spread of the gospel. Yet, this chapter serves as a very significant turning point in the book. As we remember, Jesus called the disciples to be witnesses to...

Acts 9:31-43 | Gavin Hesse | For a brief moment the turmoil in the early church has been quieted. God has taken an instrument of persecution, Saul, and has made him an instrument for the gospel. At least for a moment, the church is not being hunted by Saul but is being built up. The church continues forward, following the Lord and seeing the Spirit multiply believers. The gospel has gone forth to...

Acts 9:1-30 | Andrew Murch | On the stage of our narrative, a lurking dark shadow approaches the foreground this week and will himself be blinded by the light. It’s a character who so far has been seen very little but will become one of the greatest influences of the early church and today. You’ve heard his name; you’ve heard him “breathing murderous threats” against Christians; you’ve heard his a...

Isaiah 53:1-9 | Andrew Murch | The gospel is a message about the servant who came to suffer, the king who stepped off his throne, the savior who had to die. All across the pages of Scripture, the work of Christ is proclaimed. On Good Friday, we remember the price that Christ paid to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to God.

Acts 8:26-40 | Andrew Murch | On the heels of his account of the Church's mixed experience of suffering and faithful gospel proclamation, Luke shares a very interesting story. An Ethiopian eunuch is riding along in a chariot on his return trip from Jerusalem when Philip is prompted by the Holy Spirit to meet him. In this remarkable scene, Philip shares the message of Christ with the Ethiopian from...