Sunday Sermons

One of God's core purposes has always been to set prisoners free. Another has always been to include His people in that process. He is willing to sacrifice or require just about anything for our spiritual, emotional, and relational freedom, and asks us to treat those in prison the way we would like others to treat us. When He says "visit" them, He means to show up and work to set them free . Serie...

God does everything from an eternal perspective. While physical sickness and health are not His first priorities, He expects Christ's body to relentlessly offer empathy, comfort, and healing to those who are spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically sick. Jesus set a perfect example for us to follow. Series: Authentic Faith: Be The Body Speaker: John Pryor Notes: Play your part, build...

One of the specific things God always wants Christ's Body to do is to meet tangible needs. This is even more important in times of crisis, and we need the whole Body to work together to be effective. What job will you use your gift to accomplish? Series: Authentic Faith: Be The Body Speaker: John Pryor Notes: Play your part. God designed us to work together. We must harmonize; each of us must play...

The Holy Spirit gives each of us gifts and expects each of us to use them. When we work together, the whole body gets stronger. When we don't, we get weaker. We must encourage one another and build each other up. Series: Authentic Faith: Be The Body Speaker: John Pryor Notes: We are the body of Christ. We were designed to work together—which is why the devil constantly tries to discourage, d...

Faith (which is trust-based action) extinguishes Satan's flaming arrows--even his three favorites: discouragement, disconnection, and division. God designed us to work together; we must each find the part He designed us to play and then use the gifts He gives us to accomplish His will. Series: Authentic Faith: Be The Body Speaker: John Pryor Notes: Faith extinguishes Satan's flaming arrows. Nothin...

All our choices affect us, those we love, and the world around us—and everything God's people do affects Him, His kingdom, and His reputation. We must make all our choices with eternity in mind. John uses an illustration of two cooking pots, a large one (God and timeless truth) and a smaller one (year 2020 and us) that fits inside the larger one. Series: Others First: Recalculating... Speake...

Some actions and attitudes deliberately oppose God and His will. Some distract us from His perfect will and cause damage even when we don't mean to rebel. Jesus wants to deliver everyone from evil. Series: OTHERS FIRST: RECALCULATING Speaker: John Pryor Notes: We must acknowledge evil. Evil is whatever opposes righteousness, justice, God's perfect plans, or God Himself. Evil questions everything t...

Forgiveness begins with acknowledging that something we or others have done is truly wrong. Then we choose to trust God to make the guilty person pay (or not). Then God forgives us. Then we are free. Series: Others First: Recalculating ... Speaker: John Pryor Notes: We must forgive to be forgiven. As we re-sync ourselves daily with our Heavenly Father, we must daily make sure that nothing is separ...

God guides and provides when we trust and obey. The God who provided manna for Israel and Jesus (the ultimate Bread of Life) still longs for our daily and total dependence and dedication. Series: Others First: Recalculating... Speaker: John Pryor Notes: We must depend on God daily. Whether we like it or not, we are all totally dependent on God, but it's deeper than that: He designed us for deep, o...

We don't make the rules; God does. We get our purpose and power from Him; though He counts us as friends and family, He is still our King, and we must keep actively building His kingdom together. Series: Others First: Recalculating Speaker: John Pryor Notes: God makes the rules. As we daily re-sync ourselves with our Heavenly Father and relentlessly make choices that honor His Name, we must rememb...

We must celebrate and unite around God's goodness and glory in our daily lives as well as in our weekly worship. A relentless pursuit of justice and unity means more to Him than songs and prayers. Series: Others First: Recalculating... Speaker: John Pryor Notes: We must celebrate God's goodness and glory. Even when we face the hardest seasons of life, God's unchanging character, power, and perfect...

The purpose of the church is to make disciples who make disciples. As His disciples, we're accountable to fulfill that commission. We need to examine how we are doing and see if what we are doing is mirroring what Christ had in mind. Series: OTHERS FIRST: Recalculating Speaker: David Pryor Notes: Are we doing what we're supposed to be doing? Our enemy works to minimize the most important things so...

From the beginning, Jesus consistently submitted to human authority, but doing so clashed with His true Identity and purpose, He submitted to this higher authority instead. While He deserved ultimate authority to begin with, He also earned it--and now He uses it to change our roles in His Story from victims and enemies to family, friends, and teammates who help Him save the world. Series: Ultimate...

Elisha was unique as an individual and as a prophet, but we can still learn a lot from the way he interacted with God and others. Like him, we can choose to follow God boldly, making it hard or impossible to go back, investing deeply in our relationships with God and others, and giving God a chance to display His power by using what we have on hand and trusting Him to do the rest. Series: Ultimate...

As Christ's body, each of us must play our own part well and consistently choose love. It means aiming for what's right more than what looks good to others, whenever there is a difference. This means refusing to label people but honoring good character when we see it. It means working together as a symbol of God and His love. Series: Ultimate Authority: For Such A Time As This Speaker: John Pryor...

Since we submit to human authority out of reverence for Christ, we should almost always be the most respectful team players around. Nevertheless, we must refuse to pledge allegiance to anyone or anything that claims higher authority than God in our lives--even if those "tyrants" are our own doubts, fears, or questions or peer pressure from people we love. Series: Ultimate Authority: For Such a Tim...

God never abandons His people, but sometimes He does lead them through seasons of waiting, isolation, and even suffering. No matter the circumstances, we must remember that He blesses us so that we can be a blessing, and no matter how confusing life gets, we must find a way to trust and obey. Series: Ultimate Authority:For Such A Time as This Speaker: John Pryor Notes: God never abandons His peopl...

Our heroes in the Bible were people just like us. They asked the same questions and had no way to prepare for the crises they had to deal with--but they bet everything that God would guide and provide if they trusted and obeyed. We have the same opportunities they had today--and the Holy Spirit living in us! Live strategically. Series: Ultimate Authority: For Such A time As This Speaker: John Pryo...

Jesus did not just die to save us from the power of sin in this life and judgment for sin in Hell. He rose again to make it possible for us to live fully, with full access to His power and love, making real choices that affect the growth of His kingdom on earth, experiencing fellowship with God and with others, and knowing that our lives on earth have eternal consequences. Series: Wise Choices: Wh...

Fear of reaching out traps us in "shelters" that ultimately make things worse. No matter how scary or hard it is, we must build our lives on Christ's teaching--and reaching out was one of His major themes. Like the early church, we must fear not reaching out more than we fear whatever keeps us from trying. Sharing Christ's love drives fear out of ourselves and the ones we are serving. Series: Wise...

Fear of suffering makes us obsessed with safety, clinging to the illusion of control. We only have control of the choices we make--preferably wise choices that are likely to benefit us and others, but often we must simply choose how to react to circumstances beyond our control. Fear can cripple us, but when fear of not doing what needs done more than we fear suffering, we can make a difference in...

Fear of freedom makes us slaves and prisoners--even though we don't have to be. Christ has set us free, and we must not take that lightly. We must not only refuse to allow ourselves to be entrapped by anything, but we must use the freedom, the power, the love, and the sound mind He has given us to accomplish His goals for His glory. Series: Wise Choices: Whom Shall I Fear Speaker: John Pryor Notes...

We were created to crave life, health, responsibility, belonging, and significance, but sin has twisted this into chronic fear of missing out and an endless, pointless epidemic of busyness. The cure is fearing God and fearing missing out on His perfect will. When we know Him as the Ultimate Father He is, we find the acceptance, purpose, and joy we were designed for. Video referred to can be found...

Wisdom is much more than profound quotes and avoiding foolish choices. Biblically speaking, wisdom means making the best possible choice. Failure risks all of the most common human fears and social anxieties, but failure is inevitable and an integral part of learning. The solution is found in fearing God more than anything or anyone else. Series: Wise Choices: Whom Shall I Fear Speaker: John Pryor...

Faithfulness is a choice; all shallow, fickle, and otherwise selfish choices depend entirely on us. Faithfulness requires forgiveness and patience, and God is faithful by nature, but even God Himself expects faithfulness in return. Series: Moral Boundaries: What God Wants Speaker: David Pryor Notes: Faithfulness is how faith expresses itself. Faith is belief that produces action. Faith is more tha...