Sermon Podcast

Pastor Brent’s opening illustration is that the Bible is like a historical, theological musical: God used particular people, places and events in order to show us what it means to be saved. God is both a promise-maker and a promise-keeper. In this passage centered on Moses, God reveals His name (Ex. 5:22-6:5) and His role as our Redeemer (Ex. 6:6-6:8). God cares more about our character and our gr...

Part 3 in Pastor Brent’s sermon series “The Promises of God,” today’s featured historical person is Abraham, the man of faith (Gal. 3:9). After opening quotes from theologians Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer (b. 1957) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Pastor Brent contrasts the sinful striving for security, blessing and identity at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4) with the LORD’s promise of security, blessin...

In his second sermon in our fall series on “The Promises of God,” Pastor Brent Kompelien focuses on Noah. Tying together God’s first promise in Genesis 3:15, Pastor Brent highlights aspects of “Un-Creation” in Gen. 3-7 leading to “Re-Creation” in Gen. 8-9. He also focuses on three complementary authorities ordained by God: Government (the power of the sword and bearer of the rule of law), Family (...

Pastor Brent launches our fall sermon series, “The Promises of God.” After outlining The Pattern of the Kingdom (Gen. 1-2) and The Fall (Gen. 3), he focuses on The First Promise (Gen. 3:15). Redemption is not God’s “Plan B,” it is His “Plan A.” According to Dr. Graeme Goldsworthy, God’s promise and fulfillment can be summarized as “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule in God’s holy and lov...

Pastor Brent continues his two-part mini-series in Hebrews to set up our longer fall series, “The Promises of God.” Challenging times should draw us nearer to God’s presence, deeper trust in Him, and closer to our church family, putting Satan on notice that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Hebrews 11:1-12:3 highlights an amazing list of people walking by faith throughout history. Past...

By the Lord’s leading, Pastor Brent postpones finishing our Acts series until after the new calendar year. Instead, he pauses and addresses the multifaceted spiritual attacks currently being experienced by many throughout our church family. It seems that Satan is on offense right now, so Pastor Brent sets up our fall upcoming series, “The Promises of God,” by preaching a two-part series on faith i...

Through this passage, Pastor Brent challenges us to have a fresh vision of the grace of God! When God shows His kindness to sinners, how do you react? Using biblical examples from the Prophet Jonah and the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), Pastor Brent asserts that self-righteousness shows ignorance to the heart of God. This long passage in Acts focuses on Paul’s re...

Pastor Brent opens by recalling the tumultuous yet perspective-shifting year of 1968. He challenges us through this passage in Acts to reshape our perspective and re-ground our priorities, setting a Kingdom-focus, centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and inspired to move toward God’s plans for us. This long passage reveals some of Paul’s priorities for gospel fruitfulness: 1) Paul invested in o...

Pastor Brent tackles Acts 19 in two parts: 1) the advance of the gospel in vv. 1-22; 2) the opposition to the gospel in vv. 23-41. Through this account, we get a sense of the spiritual battle that happens when the light of the gospel comes into a dark place. An excellent example of this is missionary Amy Carmichael, who first ministered to impoverished girls and young women in late-19th century Ir...

Pastor Brent takes us on a city-to-city journey with the Apostle Paul around the Mediterranean, teaching three important lessons about the mission of the church in Acts 18: 1) God advances the gospel in all kinds of ways; 2) God vindicates the gospel in the face of all kinds of opposition; and 3) God spreads the gospel through all kinds of people. Notable “tentmaker” missionary William Carey is am...

Pastor Brent poses a challenge: How well do you know your Bible? Does it shape your view of the world? Does your life depend upon it? Acts 17 highlights three stops by the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey: Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. Paul’s strategy varied based on the people groups he visited, but he was always grounded in his love of the Scriptures, whether building on others'...

Pastor Brent opens with the inspirational story of Adoniram Judson, the influential missionary to Burma/Myanmar in the 19th century. Judson faced deep-seated opposition from spiritual darkness and a hostile government. We see the same things experienced by Paul and Silas in Philippi as recorded in today’s passage from Acts 16. All three of these pioneering missionaries placed their trust in God as...

A few days after returning from a three-week adventure to study Calvin’s company of pastors in Geneva while hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, Pastor Brent weaves 16th century church history with Acts 15:36-16:15. Just as Pastor Brent walked the city and hiked the mountains where the Lord led John Calvin during early years of the Reformation, the Lord let Paul and Silas through a land route in bringin...

Director of Discipleship Paul Arneberg outlines three important features in his sermon on Acts 15: 1) definition of the gospel; 2) focus on what unites us as Christ-followers; and 3) demonstration how we should live together as fellow believers.

Pastor Ken Warwick of Faribault EFC in Minnesota serves as our guest preacher as we continue our series in the Book of Acts. Pastor Ken lays out three main points in the expansion of the gospel both during the 1st century and today: 1) it is the sovereign work of God; 2) it is for all people; and 3) it results in redeemed individuals and a gospel community.

Mark Revell is a New Life EFC member, missionary to Hungary, and EFCA Director of Training and Development for ReachGlobal. Mark opens by defining the church as “a community of people following Jesus together,” and he highlights four attributes of the church in his sermon on Acts 13.

The work of the Kingdom of God comes with joys and struggles. It is not the easy path, but it is the path that glorifies God and points others to the salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ. Pastor Brent describes the joys and struggles of the early church as the gospel begins to spread “to the ends of the earth” in fulfillment of Acts 1:8.

Pastor Brent explains the central turning point in the book of Acts that opens the door to the gospel spreading “to the ends of the earth”. Peter enters the house of a Roman Centurion named Cornelius, showing that the gospel is for all people, and revealing that anyone who repents and believes can be in the family of God.

Pastor Brent shows us that gospel is good news for all who are proud and self-righteous. This passage describes the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had sought to prove that he was worthy of God through earning and achieving a works-based piety, only to realize he also was empty and needed Christ.

Pastor Brent continues the account of Philip the evangelist who went into the province of Judea and met a wealthy government official from the ancient region of Ethiopia. This man from North Africa was on a desperate search for God and Philip shared the gospel with him as they intently studied the Scriptures together. This is an amazing account of personal evangelism, and an inspiration for all wh...

Pastor Brent looks at the first time when the gospel spread beyond the walls of Jerusalem, fulfilling the next step in Jesus’ commission from Acts 1:8. This passage reveals that “the gospel must capture your heart.”

Guest speaker Mark Revell walks us through the story of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. Mark’s experience as a missionary and pastor helps provide insight into this dramatic account as we consider boldly witnessing about the gospel of Jesus Christ in our day.

Pastor Brent examines a new problem in the early church, something that has the potential to derail and destroy the brand new community of faith in Jerusalem: complaining and competition. There is a pattern of grumbling and murmuring in the Bible that is now redeemed as the early church addresses this potential division in a gospel-centered way.

Pastor Brent explains how this passage is an answer to the specific prayer from Acts 4 for boldness and for signs and wonders. This account is a powerful reminder that God is at work, He is the center of the story, and His purposes through the church to spread the gospel will not fail.

Pastor Brent shares about the importance of generosity, truth, and integrity in the church. These qualities flow from the gospel and are foundations of the church. This passages make it is clear that selfishness, lies, and deception are not welcome in the church of the living God. The gospel of Jesus Christ opens the opportunity for us to be open-handed with our material things, to be honest, and...