The Well Church of the Nazarene

It's been amazing, having Dr. Manley with us for revival this week. Tonight we continue our in-depth study of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, chapters 5-7.

Tonight we're continuing w/ Dr. Manley's series of revival messages centered on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, chapters 5-7.

Dr. Stephen Manley continues his revival series with the Sermon on the Mount: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is HERE!

Dr. Stephen Manley joins us for revival this week. This morning, we explore the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. 

On Easter, we celebrate the physical resurrection of Jesus. This changes everything, because Jesus invites us to come out of our graves and fully live. “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

What if the object of life was not to get our own way, but to find ourselves in God's way? There is simplicity in this understanding, but simple does not mean easy. Even Jesus wrestled with the Father's will in the garden. The resurrection was only realized through the obedience of Jesus--our resurrection will come through our own willingness to join Jesus in the garden saying, "Not my will, but y...

Our podcast is back this week, as pastors Paul, Mara, and Josh discuss weeks 4 & 5 of our Fuse Breaker series. It is our hope that these conversations will inspire you to talk about our weekly teachings outside of Sunday morning services, because dialogue and study is an important part of being a Christ-centered community. CHALLENGE: Using these discussions as a springboard, who can you reach out...

It's easy for our religion to simply become phrases we use. But in the Lord's Prayer, God invites us to rely on Him for our daily bread. It's not an otherworldly practice--He is invading our day to day life! "Your Kingdom come" is the recognition that God not only offers life after death, but life before death. He wants to a part of every detail of our life--not just the holy things. He has come t...

Many of us remember learning and memorizing The Lord's Prayer as a kid, but how has our understanding and/or application of the prayer changed as we've matured both in age and faith? This week, Pastors Josh, Mara, and Paul discuss the infamous prayer and how it pertains to forgiving the "debts" that might keep us from relational wholeness. 

The Lord's Prayer is an invitation to find ourselves within the will of the Father. We seek our own forgiveness, and at the same time realize that God is calling us to forgive others. Our reconciled relationship with God moves us toward reconciliation with others instead of being weighed down by the past.

Busyness is the enemy of relationship with both God and others. Yet the entirety of The Lord's Prayer points to simplicity. It's simple in word, in length, and in trust. And it's in this simplicity that we not only find rest, but relationship. How then should we approach Lent? What can we unplug that will allow more space for relationship?

We've begun a new series entitled Fuse Breaker, and the idea behind it is that God is inviting us to unplug, to let go of things in order to leave space for relationship with both God and others. As we're using the Lord's Prayer as our reference guide for Fuse Breaker, both this scripture and Lent are the basis of today's series discussion on the balance between busyness and boredom.

Like Lent, the Lord's Prayer is an invitation to let go of what's weighing us down. It's an invitation to relationship, trust, and direction by way of self-realization--a fuse breaker to prevent an overloaded life.

It's important to recognize the distinction between unity and uniformity when we're talking about how we can be Better Together as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Paul addresses some major differences between the people of the early Church. We can say the same about our culture today, right? That there are some significant differences between us? The power of unity (in the Holy Spir...

Our differences provide the greatest potential for our connection and effectiveness. We are better together, because the body thrives in diversity. Are you using the unique gifts and talents God's given you for God's purposes?

Koinonia sounds like a fancy word, but pastors Paul, Mara, and Josh break it down in this week's discussion using Acts 2:42-47's depiction of the early church. When it comes to our church and community, Koinonia is important. It's a shared purpose--loving God and loving others.  But...what exactly does that look like at Marysville Nazarene? How can we as a church renew, redeem, and/or reestablish...

As we've learned over the last several weeks, community is woven into the fabric of creation--and that includes the church. Despite its problems, and the imperfections of its people, the church is intended to be a place of deepening connection, just as it was in the days of the apostles. The early church was together--in teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer. 

It's easy to say we want our community to be ever-expanding, but when you start talking about ever-deepening connections, things get hard. It takes perspective, intentionality, and as we discussed on Sunday, a level of vulnerability to build deeper, more authentic relationships. Pastors Josh, Mara, and Paul discuss the many obstacles that keep us from vulnerability: maturity, self-worth/acceptance...

Deepening community requires deepening vulnerability. Relationships are worth the risk! Vulnerability is a process that begins with authenticity--the courageous willingness to open ourselves up to others and to allow them to open up to us. Could it be that our vulnerability results in not just true connections with others, but a deeper relationship with God, our mission...all of life?

In this series, we've been taking a closer look at what we want our identity to be as a church. We know that we want the ever-expanding, ever-deepening connection God calls us to, but sometimes there are barriers to that: time and vulnerability. If you haven't yet heard/watched Sunday's sermon, we encourage you to do so (https://youtu.be/Z3zZkmcxH54), as Paul talks about Sabbath and how critical i...

Our series discussions are back! For the first time following a brief holiday hiatus, our pastoral staff--Josh, Mara, and Paul--gather to talk about the importance of worship, connection, and intimacy during a time when physical togetherness is a challenge.  Topics include the role creation, specifically our having been created in the image of God, plays in the call on our life, as well as what it...

God calls us to an ever-expanding, ever-deepening community. And intimacy and vulnerability in our relationships is a much deeper concept than just companionship alone. The need for intimacy is not weakness--it is an essential part of our created identity. The church is intended to be a place where intimate relationships are formed and providential relationships are nurtured. Will you be faithful...

In order to understand the importance of community, we need to understand the nature of our Creator and our created identity. Community, and the deep connections/relationships within, is ingrained in the fabric of creation.  God calls us to an ever-expanding, ever-deepening community. He was intentional with creation, therefore we need to live intentionally in order to experience community as God...

Our Advent/Christmas series this year centers around the idea of disruptive innovation--an innovation that impacts the lives of ordinary people. Christmas is a disruptive innovation--Jesus changed everything. Life will never be the same. Last week (in part one), we learned that we experience the Kingdom by turning to God and trusting Him, not through perfect religious performance. This week's "dis...

Our Advent/Christmas series this year centers around the idea of disruptive innovation. The word "disruptive" doesn't always mean something negative. It's simply a break in our normal course. And as we've seen with computers, cell phones, and Henry Ford's assembly line, innovation can radically alter our lives. Christmas is a disruptive innovation, changing the lives of ordinary people. Life will...