Coastal Sermons

Today in our series on The Seven Deadly sins, we try to understand why we become so angry and how God wants us to respond to these deep and sometimes uncontrollable feelings.

Sin takes a number of different forms but ultimately separates us from God. We try to replace going to God as our source of life with things that just can’t replace him. As we start a series on The Seven Deadly sins, we discuss the anatomy of sin so we can better understand it and God’s call for our response to it.

Often life’s situations leave us asking the common question - why?  And even though we find assurance that God is in control, we still long for deeper answers to life’S questions.  Although God doesn’t always give us the answers we desire, the Apostle Paul does give us some helps to get us through the dark times.

Often in our faith journey, we encounter detours.  These are the times in our lives when nothing seems to go as planned, or we think we've gotten off-track, or our "plan A" becomes "plan B." What we learn from the scriptures in the account of Exodus 13 is that often God detours our lives to build up our faith in Him.  In His faithfulness to us, he uses detours to prevent u...

What's the worst day of vacation?  We'd all agree it's the last one.  It's the day we have to get ready to go back to our regular lives, our routines, and our jobs.  But the beauty of our spiritual journey is that this trip is one-way.  Last week, we started the story with Lazarus' resurrection, and today we end it with Jesus'.  But there is a distinction.  Lazarus ha...

"Just as we make a decision to surrender money for a vacation, the discipleship journey starts with a decision… a surrender.  A decision to yield one's life to Christ.  Thomas, along with the other disciples, decides he's willing to go to Jerusalem with Jesus even if it means he will lose his life for it.  For many people, Christianity and faith are things they add to their life the...

"In our new mini series we focus on the role of worship and the word in the church service.  When it comes to the word, there's plenty of biblical evidence that suggests that God speaks through those he has called to the office of preacher and teacher.  The question for us is, do we come to church on Sunday expecting to hear the word of God?  What should our attitude be?  What should we...

"In our new mini series we focus on the role of worship and the word in the church service.  When it comes to worship, there's a story in Luke 7 where Jesus communicates that there is a spectrum of worshippers.  There are those who show Jesus respect, and there are those who respond to what Jesus has done in their lives.  The question for us is, "Which one are you?"

So… does prayer change things?  The answer is yes, it does… but only when we do it according to the guidance of the Scriptures.  Rather than praying to get what we want, we must pray that God's will be done and have faith in His plan.      

All through the Gospels we see that prayer was an important part of Jesus’ life.  Missionary guest Josh Rendulic discusses the power of prayer and the importance of voluntarily submitting ourselves to the rule of God as we pursue our relationship with Him.  

In our new series based on Matthew 11, we explore the tension between how we sometimes put limitations on what we think God can do in and through our lives while also recognizing that God cannot be limited.  He is infinite and far beyond what we could ever imagine.   This week we focus on Matthew 11:7-9 where Jesus challenges us to recognize how He’s working outside of our boxes, specifically, tha...

In our new series based on Matthew 11, we explore the tension between how we sometimes put limitations on what we think God can do in and through our lives while also recognizing that God cannot be limited.  He is infinite and far beyond what we could ever imagine.   This week we focus on Matthew 11:16-18 and learn how Jesus operated outside of what the religious leaders of his day had forecasted,...

In our new series based on Matthew 11, we explore the tension between how we sometimes put limitations on what we think God can do in and through our lives while also recognizing that God cannot be limited.  He is infinite and far beyond what we could ever imagine.   This week we focus on Matthew 11:1-4 and learn how Jesus challenged his hearers' expectations by not doing what they thought he...

Missionary Guest Mike Godzwa reflects on his time serving in Chi Alpha at Virginia Commonweath University and how we can serve our local church.

Our belief that divine healing is available today is rooted in our understanding of what was accomplished within the atonement Christ provided at the cross.  More than simply God being compassionate or empathetic towards our suffering, it has to do with Jesus arresting and reversing the effects of the Fall within His creation.  But divine healing is a topic that has to be understood within the con...

A timeless criticism of the church has been that it is all about money.  If we’re honest, there have been enough abuses within the religious realm to warrant this belief.  Hence the need for a core belief that gives the right teaching and perspective on the matter.  God’s approach to our finances is the same as His approach to our time and the abilities He gifts to us.  He expects good stewardship...

The turn of the year represents an opportunity to make commitments.  Whether it’s fitness, education, career or simply better life balance people strive to renew their focus on what they deem important.  But what about our faith?  Should we renew our focus on our walk with God?  The answer, even according to the Scriptures, is “yes!”  But there are certain facets of renewal that need to be adhered...

The angel’s response to Mary’s question “How?” was “the Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”  In other words, Mary was not expected to bring the Messiah into the world through natural effort and means.  It would take her submission and reception of the Spirit.  We have been given the same promise today.  Do we hear not just the angel to Mary, but Jesus to...

The angel told Zechariah that John’s purpose will be to “make ready for the Lord a  people prepared for Him.” Christmas is a time filled with preparations. Events, gatherings,  parties, presents, productions. But key for us spiritually is to realize we share in John the  Baptist’s role. We are to be “preparing others” for Jesus’ return. Do we hear the angel’s  proclamation that there are preparati...

God has had a plan of redemption from the beginning. The gift of the Messiah is  like a person who has planned their Christmas shopping in May as opposed to the person who  is out shopping on Christmas Eve just hoping something pops up. The angel’s message to  Daniel was “there is an appointed time” and a sequence of events. That timeline, and that plan  is still proceeding today. Do we hear that?...

Have you ever made the mistake of purchasing a brand name item online only to find out when it arrives that it's a generic knockoff? The Bible tells us that we will know a true Christian by their fruit, meaning by what they produce from the stores of their heart.  As Christians, we need to closely examine ourselves to see if we are truly living out what we claim to be true.

In our mini-series called "ENTER," we explore what it means to Enter God's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with Praise as Psalm 100 tells us to do.  In part two, we explore what it means to enter God's courts and how our response is Praise in view of what God has done for us.

Join us as Coastal's longtime Missionary friend Joil Marbut shares from his heart on Mark 8.

In our mini-series called "ENTER," we explore what it means to Enter God's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with Praise as Psalm 100 tells us to do. In part one, we look at how entering with thanksgiving means coming to Him and actually giving thanks merely than paying God lip-service.

The scriptures teach us that our words can set a fire (James 3:6). They can lift others up or tear others down. Our thoughts can be haunted by past words spoken over us that stir up doubts or painful memories. How do we let go of past hurtful words to move forward in our walk with the Lord? What if our own words can be the cause of pain for others? How do we move forward into love and forgiveness?