Teaching & News From Eastgate PCB

Matthew #6: God's Kingdom Revealed (Matthew 4:12-25) Rob Woodrum (6/15/25) Download We recently redid our kitchen – well, we hired someone to redo our kitchen. I remember all the planning and sketches Robbie and I did as we thought up our new space. Then the construction began and the project began to take shape – and it’s quite exhilarating to see a project we’d imagined for so long start to take...

Matthew #5: Staying The Course (Matthew 4:1-11) Rob Woodrum (6/8/25) Download We’re coming back to our study in the gospel of Matthew, reading  chapter 4:1-11  this Sunday. In stepping into the human experience, Jesus faces temptation to leave God’s intended path for him. In fact, the account of his temptation in the desert is a sweeping overview of the nature of our temptations. Do you...

Matthew #4: Preparing The Way (Matthew 3) Rob Woodrum (6/1/25) Download Remember how, before Hurricane Michael, when the storm season came around we only gave it our mild interest. Post-Michael, I haven’t yet met someone who doesn’t follow Mike’s Spaghetti models with grave intentionality between June and November. Experience and expectation really goes a long way in shaping our responses to the w...

Matthew #3: Reactions To The King (Matthew 2:1-23) Rob Woodrum (5/25/25) Download There’s a famous optical illusion drawing that, depending on how a person perceives the image, shows an elderly woman or a young lady with her head turned away from us. You can see it here – and what’s fascinating is while one person may see a young lady and another an older person, the image itself is unchanged – on...

Matthew #2: The Beginning of a New Life (Matt 1:18-25) Janelle Greene (5/18/25) Download This Sunday, we will be continuing our study in the book of Matthew. Last week, we studied the genealogy of Jesus and learned just how messy family can be. Thankfully, God never seems shocked by the mess, and he certainly is never stopped by it. On Sunday, we will read the account of Mary’s pregnancy from Jose...

Matthew #1: Heralding The King (Matthew 1:1-17) Rob Woodrum (5/11/25) Download This Sunday we’ll be starting a new series in the Gospel of Matthew. I made the commitment a few years back to regularly revisit the story of Jesus, even though I’ve taught through these gospel accounts before. I just honestly believe that Christians need to spend more time with Jesus – meditating on what he taught, con...

Micah #11: A Solid Hope (Micah 7:8-20) Rob Woodrum (5/4/2025) Download This Sunday we’ll be looking at our last study in the book of Micah. We’ll be reading ch 7:8-20 . For all of the dire forecasts in this oracle, Micah resolves his prophecy on a pretty hopeful note. There are shades of the Gospel message within these verses – pay attention to the wording and imagine how Jesus could be seen as fu...

MIcah #10: A Conrast of Ways (Micah 7:1-7) Blake Rosemann (4/27/2025) Download Join us as we continue our study in Micah, now in chapter 7. Click here for a pdf of the slideshow.

Micah #9: The Lord's Requirement (Micah 6:1-16) Rob Woodrum (3/30/2025) Download “What does God want and how does he want us to live?” That’s a pretty common question posed in the theater of most religions, and our study of Micah brings us to God’s answer to that question with stark clarity. And, spoiler, it isn’t outward religious behavior. We’ll be reading Micah chapter 6 this Sunday. The scene...

Micah #8: The Weakness of Self-Sufficiency (Micah 5:5b-15) Rob Woodrum (3/23/2025) Download We all have areas of our lives where we feel pretty secure in our own abilities – places where we feel self-sufficient. There’s certainly nothing wrong with being able to care for ourselves and bear some of our own burdens, in fact, it’s a sign of maturity. That said, the Biblical narrative seems to warn us...

Micah #7: The Future King (From 2,000 Years Ago) Micah 5:1-5a Janelle Greene & Daniel Woodrum (3/16/25) Download This Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in Micah and we will be reading chapter 5:1-5a . The prophecy in these verses points directly to Jesus and his birth in Bethlehem and paints a beautiful picture of hope and peace. Up to this point, many words have been given by God in desperatio...

Micah #6: Restoration And Our Present Pain (Micah 4:6-13) Rob Woodrum (3/9/2025) Download This Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in Micah – reading ch 4:6-13. Micah has had some really tough words for God’s people in ancient Israel – but chapter 4 gives respite from that with forecasts of God’s great plan of restoration. In this passage, we’ll read the promise of the end of suffering and pain –...

Micah #5: The Promise of Restoration (Micah 4:1-6) Rob Woodrum (3/2/2025) Download This Sunday we’ll be reading Micah 4:1-5 during our Bible study. Micah has been a fairly gloomy book, with a lot of forecasting judgement on God’s unfaithful people – but the first part of chapter 4 presents a sharp and short pivot. Suddenly, the oracle looks to a future where God will set all things right again. As...

Micah #4: Power Reimagined (Micah 3) Rob Woodrum (2/23/2025) Download In the 21st Century the analysis of power dynamics became more intentional and far more scrutinized. That scrutiny often revealed that there are both overt and covert forms of power that affect our daily lives, which just underlines the importance of critical thinking and awareness of how power is being used if we want to promot...

Micah #3: The Cost of Oppression (Micah 2) Rob Woodrum (2/16/2025) Download The Bible has a unique feature that sets it apart from its contemporaries in ancient literature, in that it tells most of its narrative from the vantage point of poor and oppressed people. That really sets the Bible apart from other ancient documents which largely represent the views and history of the ruling elite. In our...

Micah #2: The Cost of Idolatry (Micah 1:1-16) Rob Woodrum (2/9/25) Download This Sunday we’ll be digging into the first chapter of Micah, the Minor Prophet. We’ve stated before that this book, like all the works of the Old Testament Prophets, contains some difficult and harsh words. I will again be reminding us that we must read any of these prophecies through the lens of the revelation of who God...

Micah #1: Introduction: The Compassion of Justice Janelle Greene 2/2/25 Download This Sunday we’ll begin a new book series, doing an examination of the Minor Prophet, Micah. I recognize that some may start to squirm in their seats at the thought of reading through the thundering pronouncements of an Old Testament prophet on a Sunday morning – but I can assure you we will not be leveraging these wr...

1 Corinthians #26: Final Instructions and Parting Words (1 Cor 16) Rob Woodrum (1/12/2025) Download This Sunday we’ll be wrapping up our study through the book of 1 Corinthians – we’ll be reading all of chapter 16 , where Paul closes his letter. We’ll be focusing on his final instructions in v1-4, where he talks to the Corinthians about gathering funds to support the believers in Jerusalem. Part o...

1 Corinthians #25: Resurrection: The Substance of Salvation (1 Cor 15:35-58) Rob Woodrum (1/5/2025) Download We’ll be returning to our study of 1 Corinthians after taking two weeks away from it for the holidays. We’ll be reading 1 Cor 15:35-58 – Paul’s concluding thoughts concerning the doctrine of the resurrection. In the first part of chapter 15, Paul was corrective in his discussion about the r...

1 Corinthians #24: Resurrection: The Sum of All Hope (1 Cor 15:1-34) Rob Woodrum (12/15/24) Download I know, I know….you’re thinking: “Rob! It’s almost Christmas, not Easter !” I realize that. But I would also argue that the themes of Easter should be something that resonates with followers of Jesus no matter what time of year it is. As we’re going to be reading in our text this Sunday, the resurr...

1 Corinthians #23: Order From Disorder (1 Corinthians 14:26-40) Janelle Greene (12/8/24) Download What should we do when we encounter scripture that makes us uncomfortable? Sometimes I’ve read scripture that leaves me squirming in my seat and unsure if I should continue reading or close the book for good. Maybe it’s when God sends a flood to destroy all of humanity except for one family, maybe it’...

1 Corinthians #22: The Harmony of God (1 Cor 14:1-25) Blake Rosemann (11/24/2024) Download Join us this week as we continue our study in the book of 1 Corinthians. Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

1 Corinthians #21: The Best Life of All (1 Cor 13) Rob Woodrum (11/17/24) Download According to an article on Insounder.org , love is the all-time most common theme of song lyrics, followed by life and death. Love is such an elusive concept for so many people, which is probably why it dominates our thoughts. Of all the people in the world, I would think that followers of Jesus would have some pret...

1 Corinthians #20: The Gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12) Janelle Greene (11/10/2024) Download When I was in high school my teacher brought in a local professional to motivate our class. The professional shared about working hard, going to college and building his own business. He encouraged us by saying that we could have the same future if we worked hard and stayed focused. Then, he finished his mot...

1 Corinthians #19: The Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:17-34) Rob Woodrum (11/3/2024) Download I heard a well-worn story of a little girl who didn’t want to go to kid’s church, but wanted to join her parents for the main service. It happened to be a Communion Sunday, and when they passed the tray of cracker bits and small cup of juice, her mother noticed she was visibly disappointed. When the service was...