Sunrise Ministries

This week, Pastor Dennis launches a new series titled "The People of God" by focusing on the overlooked biblical story of Hagar from Genesis 16. He uses her experiences with isolation and hardship to illustrate how God intimately sees and hears our distress, encouraging the congregation that choosing the way of Jesus can break cycles of generational trauma to leave a lasting legacy. Worship Setlis...

Dennis reflects on how the church has often caused harm by prioritizing theological certainty over compassion. He urges a posture of humility, repentance, and a commitment to keeping the door of the kingdom open to all people, while taking Scripture seriously in a way that centers grace, avoids judgment, and makes room for everyone to pursue Christ together. Worship Setlist: Open the Eyes of My He...

This Father's Day, Pastor Dennis teaches that Joseph’s life shows what it means to be God’s kind of person—faithful, compassionate, courageous, steady in hardship, and committed to lifting others up. He urges the congregation to live in such a way that when others tell their story, it will be a story worth passing on. Worship Setlist: I Thank God Lord I Need You Good Good Father King of Kings

This Sunday, Pastor Dennis taught that while Scripture offers a high ethic for gender and sexuality, real people often live in complex places where grace and accommodation are necessary. He warned that legalism in these areas can “shut the door of the kingdom,” and called us to love people as image‑bearers and trust Jesus to do the transforming. Worship Setlist: Who You Say I Am Graves Into Garden...

Today, Pastor Dennis moves beyond simple cultural traditions and practices and defines Christian marriage as a gospel-centered witness built on mutual love, cherishing, and respect. This sacrificial relationship ultimately mirrors the way Jesus Christ lived and died for His church, providing a tangible paradigm of God's love to both children and the watching world.   Worship Setlist: Take You at Y...

In this week's message, Pastor Dennis explores 1 Timothy 2:11–15, challenging the traditional hierarchical views of male headship by arguing that the text must be understood within its specific cultural context. Paul's instructions should be seen not as universal mandates but as targeted correctives meant to counter the dominant Artemis cult in Ephesus. Dennis encourages the congregation to reject...

Pastor Bill VanderWerp explores how the ancient Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6 places God's name on His people, connecting it directly to the ethical weight of the Third Commandment against misrepresenting His name. By applying this historical Hebrew covenant to the modern church, the sermon challenges listeners to consider whether their daily lives bring clarity or confusion to the character of...

Pastor Dennis explores the cultural and historical realities that shaped the early church's instructions on family and worship. This message looks at the legal structures of the ancient Roman household, original Greek terminology, and the local regional influences Paul was addressing in his correspondence, reframing traditional ideas around authority and relationships between men and women. Worshi...

Today's sermon explores the biblical relationship between husbands and wives, framing marriage not as a model for power or decision-making, but as a testimony of Christ’s self-sacrificial love for the church. By examining Paul’s instructions to the early churches, it calls believers to prioritize mutual submission and service, viewing their relationships as a way to push back against the ramificat...

Pastor Dennis explores Genesis 2 and examines the fundamental design of human relationships and the unique, complementary strengths found in the partnership of men and women. By looking at the Hebrew concept of the ezer, or "strong ally," this message challenges us to see one another as peers created to reflect the image of God together. Worship Setlist: House of the Lord Christ Be Magnified What...

This morning at Sunrise, we celebrated the baptism of Pastor Dennis’ first grandchild, Ellie Lou, drawing together Scripture, covenant, and the long story of God’s faithfulness across generations. Through this sacrament, we were reminded that God moves first in love, keeping His promises from parent to child and from family to family. Closing Song: Victory in Jesus

Today, Dennis shares that every person equally bears the image of God, and Scripture does not teach a universal hierarchy that restricts women from leadership, teaching, or authority. Sunrise Ministries affirms this biblical vision, rejecting male‑headship as a created‑order mandate and embracing men and women as equal partners in every level of ministry, just as the New Testament church modeled....

Today begins the next movement of our Five Big Questions series: Identity. Pastor Dennis explores what it means to be human, to bear God’s image, and to let Jesus shape every part of our lives. Together we'll take an honest look at Scripture, self‑understanding, and the ongoing work of the Spirit in us. Worship Setlist: Holy Holy Holy Stand In Your Love God With Us

This Easter Sunday, Pastor Dennis highlighted how the resurrection story is carried forward by the women who stayed faithful when prominent disciples fled, showing that God often works through those the world overlooks. Their courage is the doorway to hope, reminding us that resurrection happens when ordinary people simply show up and do what they can.   Worship Setlist: Glorious Day We Crown You...

This Palm Sunday, Dennis reminds us that Jesus walked toward death without fear because he knew his mission — to make peace, defeat death by passing through it, and give us a hope that outlasts the graveside. Instead of fixating on going somewhere someday, we’re invited to follow Jesus in the present, remember God’s faithfulness, experience His presence, and root our hope in the risen Christ who l...

This morning, Noah Matthysse teaches that Jubilee is a God‑given structural command — a built‑in economic reset — designed to realign society with God’s justice by restoring land, protecting the vulnerable, and ensuring everyone has the means to live. Worship Setlist: Awake My Soul Reckless Love Holy Forever All the Poor and Powerless

Pastor Dennis reminds us that we have value because we bear God’s image, and what we do matters because our actions reveal our alignment with God’s heart and kingdom. Through James 2 and the Good Samaritan, he calls us to let our lives—not just our words—demonstrate mercy, integrity, and Spirit‑shaped love. Worship Setlist: House of the Lord King of Kings Same God Send Me

Today, Pastor Dennis reminds us that God’s commands are not just rules but loving safeguards, like guardrails and training wheels, meant to help us live in alignment with Him and experience real flourishing. Our church family should remember that every one of us matters deeply to God, and that what we do each day shapes the lives of the people around us and reflects the God we follow. Worship Setl...

This morning, Pastor Corey teaches that doing the “right thing” ultimately comes down to letting love for God and neighbor guide your choices rather than impulse, favoritism, or self‑interest. He contrasts life in the Spirit with life in the flesh and urges believers to slow down, examine their motives, and let love shape both decisions and relationships. Worship Setlist: There's Nothing That Our...

This morning, Dennis looks at Naaman’s story to illustrate that the world is fundamentally misaligned — people, systems, bodies, and relationships — and that God’s work is about realignment rather than punishment. Naaman’s healing becomes a picture of how humility, obedience, and grace meet us in imperfect circumstances, especially when the “ideal” isn’t possible. In a broken world, we move toward...

In today's message, Dennis reframes sin not simply as rule‑breaking or missing the mark, but as the deeper misalignment that happens when we grasp for what belongs to God. He highlights God’s commands as guardrails meant for our flourishing and points to Jesus as the One who heals, realigns, and restores what’s been broken. Worship Setlist: Death Was Arrested Gratitude Lord I Need You Who Else

Pastor Dennis reflects on how we recognize good and evil in the world and argues that real goodness is rooted in God’s character, fully revealed in Jesus. He also encourages the church to stop excusing its own sin, resist the impulse to judge others, and intentionally celebrate moments of genuine goodness as signs of God’s kingdom breaking into everyday life. Worship Setlist: The Lion and the Lamb...

This morning's message emphasizes that God’s creative work is not just about making material things but about shaping them to function as they should—bringing order, purpose, and flourishing out of chaos. It highlights time, work, and human vocation as gifts woven into creation and invites us to join God in extending that order, goodness, and shalom into the world. Worship Setlist: You Came (Lazar...

God’s creation story reveals a world spoken into being by a God who delights in what He makes, not a universe born from violence or domination. Humanity begins with goodness, bearing God’s image and being entrusted with stewardship, flourishing, and love. Worship Setlist: Take You At Your Word King of Kings Good Plans All Creatures of Our God and King

Pastor Dennis explains that Genesis 1–2 is about the identity and character of the Creator, not scientific detail, inviting listeners to see how faith and science need not be in conflict and how God’s love and pursuit of humanity stand at the center of the story. Worship Setlist: Be Thou My Vision Who Else Christ Be Magnified