Pathfinder Church Messages

Pathfinder Church | March 2, 2025 | AJ Mastic Have you ever referred to yourself as a ‘disciple’ of Jesus? Maybe that word sounds nebulous, or a bit weird. The labels we choose for ourselves say a lot about how our faith identity is constructed. Perhaps you prefer to call yourself a ‘believer,’ or ‘follower,’ or simply a ‘Christian,’ but what if there’s a really good reason to claim the label ‘dis...

Pathfinder Church | February 23, 2025 | Dion Garrett If Jesus had a stump speech, it was “The Kingdom is near.” The Jews didn’t understand it, and Christians today still struggle to connect with the idea. We usually speak of Jesus bringing the Gospel and salvation, but why did He prefer to speak of bringing ‘the Kingdom?’ Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.or...

Pathfinder Church | February 16, 2025 | Doug Mauss It sounds lovely and nice; but what exactly IS grace? There are lots of different uses of the word, in culture and by Christians. Does it describe the beneficial rules and instructions God has given us? A power given to us by God for holy living? Is it a reward? What is grace, and what makes it one of the most important words in the scriptures? We...

Pathfinder Church | February 9, 2025 | AJ Mastic To sin is to do something that God doesn’t approve of, that much we know; but if God made everything, why are we even capable of sin, and what’s the rhyme or reason behind the things that offend Him? Is the Christian faith about becoming ok with our sinfulness or trying to root it out?   Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pa...

Pathfinder Church | February 2, 2025 | Dion Garrett According to Marcus Buckingham, love is not a feeling but “the deep and unwavering commitment to the flourishing of another human.” In this way, generosity is the outward sign of inner love. But how do we learn to love in this way while trying to survive in a dog-eat-dog world?  Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfind...

Pathfinder Church | January 26, 2025 | Doug Mauss Cynicism is rampant today. To not be cynical feels like you must not be paying attention. But hope is described in the Bible as the thing that will not disappoint us. What does it look like to be hopeful but not naïve?  Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts F...

Pathfinder Church | January 19, 2025 | Dion Garrett In today’s world, you may be only one viral video away from a life of fame. That’s not, of course, how things worked for most of human history.  Heroism and fame were reserved only for great contributions to society (usually) long after the contributors were dead! With technology providing new opportunities for instant gratification and ever-incr...

Pathfinder Church | January 12, 2025 | AJ Mastic If the point of Christianity is to get into heaven, which only happens by grace through faith, then why does it matter how we live our lives? Should we even try to live ethical lives? What good does it do if all our righteousness is like ‘filthy rags’ before God? Why risk temporal comfort if there’s no promise of eternal gain?  Website | https://pat...

Pathfinder Church | January 5, 2025 | Dion Garrett Say what you will about them; the proud and the arrogant sure seem to go further and faster in our world. So, in a world where everyone is “loud and proud,” shouting back and forth, armed with their own sets of “alternative facts,” how can Christian humility do anything to help the cause of Christ, let alone a lost world? Website | https://pathfin...

Pathfinder Church | December 29, 2024 | Doug Mauss Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderstl Instagram |  https://instagram.com/pathfinderstl St. John School | https://stjls.org Contact Us | churchinfo@pathfinderstl.org

Pathfinder Church | December 24, 2024 | Dion Garrett You are invited to join us here at Pathfinder for Christmas worship!  We can’t wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus with you. Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderstl Instagram |  https://instagram.com/pathfinders...

Pathfinder Church | December 22, 2024 | AJ Mastic In this Christmas season, we long for peace in our world. But it seems that there will never be an end to all the conflict in the world around us. How, then, can we find peace? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderst...

Pathfinder Church | December 15, 2024 | Doug Mauss What is the point of our lives? This is an age-old question, and humanity has attempted to answer it in a variety of ways. How do we figure out the meaning of our existence? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderstl...

Pathfinder Church | December 8, 2024 | Dion Garrett What is the source of our strength? Sooner or later, we reach the limits of our own perseverance. Do we despair,  give up, or find restoration of our strength from somewhere?  Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinders...

Pathfinder Church | December 1, 2024 | Dion Garrett Deep down, we all have a sense that there is something wrong, or incomplete, or “less than” in our life. Everywhere we turn, someone is promising a cure for what ails us, to make us a new person—for a price. But is there a promise that actually works, and lasts? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Po...

Pathfinder Church | November 24,2024 | AJ Mastic It’s become a meme to talk about the difficulties of “adulting.” It’s hard to provide for ourselves all that we need to survive and thrive in life. Where do we turn when our resources fall short of what we think we need to get through the day? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathf...

Pathfinder Church | November 17, 2024 | Doug Mauss The world is a big and overwhelming place. People are sometimes trying to harm us. It’s scary to feel like we’re on our own. In times of persecution or threat, can we count on anybody to be reliably, helpfully on our side? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcas...

Pathfinder Church | November 10, 2024 | Dion Garrett When hard things happen around us, it can seem like God himself is absent or indifferent to what’s going wrong in the world. Can we trust God when evil seems to be winning? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl.org/podcasts Facebook | https://facebook.com/pathfinderstl...

Pathfinder Church | November 3, 2024 | AJ Mastic We’re constantly striving for good outcomes. We learn that we’re rewarded for success, and punished for failure. But if favorable outcomes are conditional on our worth and effort, the consequences of our possible failures are enormous. Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pathfinderstl.org/give Podcasts | https://pathfinderstl...

Pathfinder Church | October 27, 2022 | Dion Garrett There's no doubt that God is at work at Pathfinder. We've prayed for it, and he has been faithful. The Inspired Service is a special weekend we hold every year to share stories of life change happening RIGHT HERE in our congregation. These stories never fail to inspire all of us to seek God’s direction in our lives. No two life stories...

Pathfinder Church | October 20 | Doug Mauss When it comes to what’s right, we often think that the end justifies the means. After all, as long as the “right side” wins, or we prevail in the argument, it shouldn’t matter how we got there. Since we’re fighting for Jesus, it’s okay if we use slander, dirty tricks, and loopholes! Or is it? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org Online Giving | https://pa...

Pathfinder Church | October 13, 2024 | Dion Garrett It often seems like there is a sharp dividing line between the righteous and the unrighteous. People on the other side of an issue from us can seem shockingly immoral. How can we engage in loving discussion or collaboration with people who hold such opposing values, without watering down what we believe is true and right? Website | https://pathfi...

Pathfinder Church | October 6, 2024 | AJ Mastic We all naturally have a bonding identity, meaning we group with people most similar to us. However, by retreating into this form of identity, we tend to increase our resentment and hostility, and we become less capable of weathering adverse conditions. How can we find a more robust form of identity for ourselves? Website | https://pathfinderstl.org O...

Pathfinder Church | September 29, 2024 | Doug Mauss As the movie Inside Out shows us, Disgust and Anger are both primal feelings. But when they are joined together, it creates contempt. Contempt feels really good—it reinforces our basic need to feel righteous. In fact, we’ll naturally seek out circumstances and people that outrage us, just for the pleasure of feeling contempt. But is that actually...

Pathfinder Church | September 22, 2024 | Dion Garrett Planted deep within all humans is a desire to live forever because that’s what we were created to do! But ever since we were thrown out of the Garden, we’ve had to face the unkind reality of death—something that we know is inevitable, but nevertheless feels unnatural. As technological advances have reignited the possibility that we might be abl...