Summit Ridge Sermon Podcast: Recent Episodes
Summit Ridge Community Church
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
August 9, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Genesis 37:1-4
Genesis 37:10-28
"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." -Col. David Hackworth
Psalm 105:17-22
(NASB2020)
August 2, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Fear is an Emotion, but Behavior is a Choice
Genesis 32:6-8
Genesis 32:12
Genesis 32:14-15
Gen 32:22-2
Hosea 12:2-4
Genesis 32:27-30
Luke 1:46-55
(NASB2020)
June 14, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Romans 5: 1-8
(NASB & NET)
May 31, 2026
Associate Pastor Jesse Spencer
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Matthew 28: 16-20
(NKJV)
May 10, 2026
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 115: 1-8. (NIV)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Acts 17: 22-31
Matthew 25: 31-32
(NASB 2020)
April 19, 2026
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Luke 24: 13-32
Why are they blind?
How did they receive sight?
How are we blind?
How do we receive sight?
(NIV)
April 12, 2026
Associate Pastor Erich Burch
Psalm 16:1-3
Preserve me from the world; let me not be carried away with its excitements; suffer me not to be before its blandishments, nor to fear its frowns. Preserve me, from the devil; let him not tempt me above what I am able to bear. Preserve me from myself; keep me from growing envious, selfish, high-minded, proud, slothful. Preserve me from those evils into which I see others run, and preserve me, from those evils into which I am myself most apt to run; keep me from evils known and from evils unknown. -Charles Spurgeon
Psalm 16:4-6
There is a distinct echo of the story of the Fall in the phrase, “The pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied;” since very similar words were spoken to Eve in the Hebrew of Genesis 3:16. There could hardly be a more ominous allusion to what follows from apostasy. -Derek Kidner
Psalm 16:7-8
Romans 12:1-2
Me thinks I hear a sweet still voice within me, saying, This is the way, walk in it; and this in the night season, when I am wrapped in rest and silence. -John Trapp
Psalm 16:9-11
2 Timothy 1:8-10
Acts 2:25-31
(NASB 2020)
March 29, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Youth Leader Jesse Spencer
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Pastor Burch
Philippians 2: 5-11 (NASB 2020)
Youth Leader Spencer
Matthew 21: 1-11 (NKJV)
Pastor Brunenkant
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-19 (NKJV)
March 22, 2026
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"Bones"
Pastor Waller
Ezekiel 37: 1-14 (NLT)
"Jesus Wept"
Pastor Acker
John 11: 1-45 (NET)
March 1, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Psalm 121
I try to pray
But the words aren't coming out the way they used to
Did I lose my faith? God do I still trust You?
I try to worship
But when I lift my hands it all just feels so empty
Is it the heavy of the world? Or is it just me?
Though I've sung a thousand times
You're perfect and You'll never leave my side
Can I be honest?
I just wanna know that You still got this
When all I'm holding onto is a promise
God, You promised that You'll never leave me
When I'm scared of the dark, You're right there with me
Your kindness never fails, it's always reaching after me
But right now, God, all I need
Is to be honest
Oh, I’ve heard stories
Of you showing up when it was least expected
Every time you prove your timing always perfect
And the wait was worth it
And again and again and again
See your power coming through
You bring life to what is dead
No, there’s nothing You can’t do
I believe you did it then
So won’t You do it now?
Can I be honest?
I just wanna know that You still got this
When all I'm holding onto is a promise..
From Where Does My Help Come?
Psalm 121:1-2
My Help Comes from the Lord
Psalm 121:3-4
1 Kings 18:27
1 Kings 18:36
Psalm 121:5
Psalm 121:6-8
All: I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord.
Lead: He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. Behold, He who watches over all His people will neither slumber nor sleep.
All: My help comes from the Lord.
Leader: The Lord is your protector; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
All: My help comes from the Lord.
Leader: The sun will not beat down on you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
All: My help comes from the Lord.
Leader: The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever. Amen
(NASB 2020)
February 8, 2026
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 112:1-1
Revelation 4:1-11
Proverbs 9:10 1 Sammuel 15:22 (NKJV) Matthew 5:13-20 (NIV)
February 1, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
“The tendency of the sciences has long been an increasing proclivity to separation and dismemberment …The mathematician turns away from the chemist; the chemist from the naturalist; and thus science, even mere physical science, loses all traces of unity.” -William Whewell
John 6:28-30
Romans 15:5-6
John 14:6-7
1 Corinthians 1:17
Matthew 7:21-23
1 Corinthians 1:18-19
Isaiah 29:14
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us closer to death,
But nearness to death, no nearer to God,
Where is the life we have lost in living. – TS Eliot
1 Corinthians 1:20-24
1 Corinthians 25
1 Corinthians 26-28
1 Corinthians 26-28
“There is a difference between a perfect human life lived on earth and a personal life with God lived on earth; the former grasps for that which it reaches, the latter grasp for that which it can never reach. The former chains us to the world by its very completeness; the latter cause us to fling ourselves unperplexed to God.” – Oswald Chambers
(NASB 2020)
January 25, 2026
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Matthew 4:12-17
Isaiah 9:1a
John 8:12
Why Fishermen?
Matthew 4:18-22
Matthew 19:23-25
They Immediately Left Their Nets?
“I know God more certainly, and I can enjoy God more deeply. Faith is not doubt-free, but there is a genuine assurance of faith that is truly beyond a shadow of doubt.” – Os Guiness
Matthew 9:24
Overcoming Doubt
“Leading a healthy life is more than being vaccinated for every possible disease. Equally faith grows and flourishes when it is well nourished and exercised, so the best way to resist doubt is to buildup faith rather than simply fight against doubt” – Os Guiness
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 32:17
Luke 1:36-37
Psalm 121:1-2
Hebrews 13:5-6
Psalm 119:159-160
Isaiah 45:19
Proverbs 30:5-6
Philippians 4:6-7
“Nothing ages more quickly than gratitude.” – Martin Luther
(NASB 2020)
January 18, 2026
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
John 1:29-42
Revelation 5:6
1 John 4:15
(NET)
January 11, 2026
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Acts 10:32-43Acts 10:1-8Acts 10:9-16Acts 10:28 (NKJV)
January 4, 2026
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 15:16
1 Peter 2:9
Psalm 100:3
John 10:28-29
(NET)
December 21, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Ephesians 1:4-5
John 1:1-5
John 1:14
Matthew 1: 17-20
Jeremiah 33:15-17
Matthew 1:21 NASB
You shall name Him Jesus (Yeshua), for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1:22-23
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NASB
“My first link with Jesus was not my goodness but my badness, not my merit, but my misery, not my standing, but my failing, not my riches, but my need. He came to His people not to admire their beauties, but to remove their deformities, not to reward their virtues, but to forgive their sins.” – Charles Spureon
John 3:16
(NASB 2020)
December 14, 2025
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Luke 1: 46-55
Luke 1: 26-38
John 1: 44-51
November 30, 2025
Youth Leader Jesse Spencer
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Matthew 3:1-12 (NKJV)
Matthew 24: 36-44 (NET)
November 23, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Colossians 1:15-20 Jesus is the Image of the invisible God What he says about himself What we see him do What it means (NIV)
November 2, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
2 Thessalonians 1:1-5
2 Thessalonians. 1:11-12
- Worthiness of the Calling
Colossians 1:9-12
- Divine Empowerment for Good Works
Colossians 3:23-25
- The Ultimate Goal: Mutual Glory
Romans 8:16-18 NASB
(NASB2020)
October 26, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Joel 2:23-29
Psalm 65
(NIV)
Joel 2:23-29
Acts 4:31
Joel 2:30-32
(NASB2020)
October 19, 2025
Pastor Josh Buck
The church is called to actively seek the shalom of Tucson.
Jeremiah 29:4-6
-
Settle Down
-
Cultivate Your Surroundings
-
Build a Family
-
Grow Your Community
Jeremiah 29:7
Colossians 1:19
Because of the gospel, we are called to:
- Plant gardens: Invest in the long-term. Put down roots.
Develop ministries that grow slowly but fruitfully.
- Build houses: Establish a stable, visible presence. Be a
refuge in the neighborhood.
- Multiply, not decrease: Don’t operate from scarcity.
Dream and risk—even when numbers are small.
The church is called to actively seek the shalom of Tucson.
(ESV)
October 12, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Jeremiah 1:4-5
Jeremiah 3:6-8
Jeremiah 29:1
Jeremiah 29:4-10
Accept the Reality of Long-Term Exile
Romans 12:1-2
Seek the Welfare of the Host City
1 Timothy 2:1-2
Titus 3:1-3
(NASB-2020)
October 5, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
2 Timothy 1:1-14 The Temptation Using a Human Shield Who we fight The Strategy The Armor How do we fan into flame the gift of God? (NIV)
September 28, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
True Contentment
1 Timothy 6:6-19 First command: "Pursue righteousness" Grow in virtue Second command: "Fight the good fight of Faith" Rejoice in God and trust Him. Third command: "Take hold of the Eternal Life" Live it now! (NIV) Finding ContentmentSerenity Prayer
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference; living one day at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it:
Trusting that you will make all things right If I surrender to your will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next.
Next:
Living one day at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.
If I surrender to your will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next
1 Timothy 6:6
The equation:
Surrender to God’s will in our life + accept the hardship that comes our way as God’s will for us = Contentment & Contentment leads to Godliness
1 Timothy 6:7-10
1 Timothy 2:11-12
(NASB 2020)
September 21, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
1 Timothy 2:1-7
A Call to Prayer
September 21, 2025
James 5:15-17
The Exhortation to Prayer
1 Timothy 2:1-4
The Theological Foundation
1 Timothy 2:5-7
Galatians 3:24-29
(NASB 2020)
September 14, 2025
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 7:36-48
(NKJV)
August 31, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Youth Leader Jesse Spencer
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Luke 14:7-14 (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)
Psalm 139:7-8 (NKJV)
We are All One Body, an Assembly of Believers
Hebrews 13:1-3 NASB
Hebrews 12:22-24 NASB
1 Peter 4:8-10 NASB
As an Assembly of Believers, We are the bridegroom of Christ
Hebrews 13:4 NASB
Hosea 4:12-13 NASB
Hebrews 13:5-8 NASB
Therefore, We should Honor and Praise God for who He is and treat Each Other as He treats Us
Hebrews 13:15-16 NASB
August 10, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Faith and Hope in the Eternal is Demonstrated by Action Today
Isaiah 11:1-8
Hebrews 11-1-3
Hebrews 11:8-12
Genesis 13:16-18
Hebrews 11:13-15
Hebrews 11:16
2 Timothy 2:10-13
Faith and Hope in the Eternal is Demonstrated by Action Today
Galatians 2:20
Romans 6:11
2 Corinthians 5:17
(NASB-2020
August 3, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Luke 12:13-15
Be Wary of Greed in your Life.
Luke 12:16-21
The Past Is History. The Future Is a Mystery. Today Is a Gift. That’s Why It’s Called the Present
(NASB 2020)
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Luke 12:13-21Proverbs 21:20Proverbs 13:22 Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)
July 20, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Luke 10:38-42Luke 8: 5-8Luke 8:11-15Matthew 9:16-22 (NIV)
July 13, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Amos 7:7-17Romans 14:10b-12Romans 3:20-23Romans 2:9-11James 3:1Amos 9:11(NET)
June 29, 2025
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 (NKJV)
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 77: 12, 11-20 (NIV)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Galatians 5:1, 13-15. (NASB)
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Luke 9:51-62. (NET)
June 15, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Romans 5:1-5
Romans 4:1-5
Philippians 3: 12-15
(NET)
June 8, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
John 14:8-17
Luke 4:18-19
What about my struggle for faith?
What gets your attention gets you
(NIV)
June 1, 2025
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Acts 16:16-34
Acts 19:13-17
Luke 10:17-20
(NKJV)
May 25, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Revelation 21:22-27
Revelation 22:1-5
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
1 John 3:2
(NET)
May 18, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Revelation 21:1-81 Peter 5:10-11 Revelation 21:9-112 Chronicles 5: 13-14Revelation 21:22-23 Revelation 21:12-16 (NET)
May 11, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Revelation 7:9-12 “If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.” -AW Tozer
“We sinned for no reason but an incomprehensible lack of love, and He saved us for no reason but an incomprehensible excess of love.” -Peter Kreeft
Romans 5:6-8
Acts 10:9-16 Revelation 7:13-17 “It is not great faith, but true faith, that saves; and the salvation lies not in the faith, but in the Christ in whom faith trusts...It is not the measure of faith, but the sincerity of faith, which is the point to be considered.” -Charles Spurgeon Pslam 23 (NET)
May 4, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Acts 9:1-7
John 21:1-19
Revelation 5:1-11 (NIV)
April 27, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
John 20:19-31 “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith… Sometimes I think it is my mission to bring faith to the faithless, and doubt to the faithful.” -Paul Tillich
“Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.” -Fredrick Buechner Philippians 2:12-13 “The minute we begin to think we know all the answers, we forget the questions, and we become smug like the Pharisee who listed all his considerable virtues, and thanked God that he was not like other men… Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.” -Madeline L'Engle
“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate… I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.” -Brennan Manning (NET)
April 20, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” -Chuck Colson "The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but don’t worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not to worry…He’s risen!" -Chuck Swindoll
1 Corinthians 15:54-55 John 20:1-18 1 Corinthians 3:16
April 13, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Zechariah 9:9
Luke 22:67-69
Luke 23:1-2
Luke 23:4-5
Luke 23:8
Luke 23:11
Luke 23:13-15
Luke 23:27-34
Luke 23:39-43
(NASB 2020)
March 30, 2025
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
"Forgiveness and Feasting"
Joshua 5:9-12 (NIV)
"New Creation"
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NKJV)
"Lost and Found"
Luke 15:7
Luke 15:10
Luke 15: 31-32
(NASB 2020)
March 23, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Luke 13:1-9 "Sin a little thing? It put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. If you could weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would run from it as from a serpent and abhor the slightest appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be ‘sinful beyond measure.’ " -Unknown “What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The power of God not praised. The truth of God not sought. The wisdom of God not esteemed. The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored. The faithfulness of God not trusted. The commandments of God not obeyed. The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared. The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized. The person of God not loved. That is sin.” - John Piper Romans 3:20-23 "Am I really what I ought to be? Am I what, in the bottom of my heart, I honestly wish to be? Am I living a life at all like what I myself approve? My secret nature, the true complexion of my character, is hidden from all men, and only I know it. Is it such as I should be willing to show? Is my soul at all like what my kindest and most intimate friends believe? Is my heart at all such as I should wish the Searcher of Hearts to judge me by? Is every year adding to my devotion, to my unselfishness, to my conscientiousness, to my freedom from the hypocrisy of seeming so much better than I am? When I compare myself with last year, am I more ready to surrender myself at the call of duty? Am I more alive to the commands of conscience? have I shaken off my besetting sins?” -Fredrick Templeton (NET)
March 16, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.” -NT Wright "There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." -Carl Jung
“To be found is to be exposed. No wonder so many of us are still lost.” -Craig D. Lounsbrough Psalm 27 “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands”Till we Have faces: “The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” -Martin Luther
“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely. ... He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf Psalm 42:11 (NET)
March 9, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“...the liturgical traditions of the Church, all its cycles and services, exist, first of all, in order to help us recover the vision and the taste of that new life which we so easily lose and betray, so that we may repent and return to it. ... It is through her liturgical life that the Church reveals to us something of that which "the ear has not heard, the eye has not seen, and what has not yet entered the heart of man, but which God has prepared for those who love Him." And in the center of that liturgical life, as its heart and climax, as the sun whose rays penetrate everywhere, stands Pascha.” -Alexander Schmemann
“I imagine Lent for you and for me as a great departure from the greedy, anxious anti-neighborliness of our economy, a great departure from our exclusionary politics that fears the other, a great departure from self-indulgent consumerism that devours creation. And then an arrival in a new neighborhood, because it is a gift to be simple, it is a gift to be free; it is a gift to come down where we ought to be.” -Walter Brueggemann Deuteronomy 26:1-11 "The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back." -CS Lewis
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” -CS Lewis Exodus 3:17 Isaiah 32:18 (NET)
March 2, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Discipleship Comes at a Cost
Luke 9:22-26
But Our Future is in Glory
Luke 9:27-31
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
Deuteronomy 18:15
Malachi 4:5-6
Luke 9:32
If We Listen
Luke. 9:33-36
Matthew 7:24-27
John 10:27-28
John 14:25-26
(NASB 2020)
February 23, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“God reveals himself, that is, in creation and in Christ, in ways we can see and hear and touch and taste, in place and person. Beauty is the term we apply to these hints of transcendence, these perceptions that there is more going on here than we can account for. And that is how we come to identify as apostles of the gospel the men and women and, yes, children, who use words and images and sounds and textures to wake us up to beauty latent and implicit all around us.”“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” -Eugene Peterson
"...to think that creation resulted by accident is like thinking that Webster's unabridged dictionary resulted from an explosion in a print shop" -Albert Einstein Jesus reveals himself through a personal ENCOUNTER... Isaiah 6:1-4Jeremiah 4:1-10 "Our Christian life began not with our decision to follow Christ but with God's call to us to do so." -John Stott which EVOKES a response… ( Isaiah 6:5-7 “Those who meet Jesus always experience either joy or its opposites, either foretastes of Heaven or foretastes of Hell. Not everyone who meets Jesus is pleased, and not everyone is happy, but everyone is shocked.” -Peter Kreeft and ENCOURAGES a decision to follow Him. Isaiah 6:8 “Run to and fro everywhere, holy fires, beautiful fires; for you are the light of the world, nor are you put under a bushel. He whom you cleave unto is exalted and has exalted you. Run to and fro and be known unto all nations.” -Augustine “One thing I have observed in all my years of ministry is that the most effective and important aspects of evangelism usually take place on an individual, personal level. Most people do not come to Christ as an immediate response to a sermon they hear in a crowded setting. They come to Christ because of the influence of an individual.” -John MacArthur
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
February 16, 2025
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” -John Milton WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE Jeremiah 17:5-8Deuteronomy 30:15-20 WE ALL HAVE A CONDITION Jeremiah 17:9Jeremiah 17:1-4Romans 7:15-20 “What does it mean to harden your heart? It means to see clear evidence of the hand of God at work and still refuse to accept His Word and submit to His will. It means to resist Him by showing ingratitude and disobedience and not having any fear of the Lord or of His judgments. Hardhearted people say with Pharaoh, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?” "...The same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material." -Warren Wiersbe WE ARE OFFERED A CURE Jeremiah 17:10 “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”SMITH WIGGLESWORTH: Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials." -John Milton (NET)
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
February 9, 2025
Jesus Reveals God Genesis 45:3-6, 15 Luke 6:27-38
February 2, 2025
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Luke 19:8-10
Luke 4:21-30
God is the only True God and Jesus died so that all can experience Salvation
1 Kings 17:24
2 Kings 5:15
God is Sovereign and He can do as He pleases.
Exodus 33:19
By doing Good Works among the Gentiles, God is trying to bring the Jews back to Himself.
Romans 9:1-5
(NASB2020)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
January 26, 2025
Luke. 4:14-21
Luke 4:1
Luke 2:46-47
Luke 4:18
Luke 6:20
Romans 7:21-24
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
Luke 4:19
Luke. 4:20-21
(NASB-2020)
January 12, 2025
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Luke 3:15-17
Luke 3: 21-22
Acts 8:35-38
Acts 2:1-4
Acts 8: 14-17
(NKJV)
January 5, 2025
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die." -Peter Chrysologus Ephesians 3:1-12 1 Peter 4:8-11 “All too often we regard stewardship simply as a matter of our giving to God, but this aspect is secondary. Before we can give, we must possess, and before we possess we must receive. Therefore, stewardship is, in the first place, receiving God’s good and bounteous gifts. And once received, those gifts are not to be used solely for our own good. They must also be used for the benefit of others, and ultimately for the glory of God the giver. The steward needs an open hand to receive from God and then an active hand to give to God and to others.” -Murray J. Harris Romans 16:25-27 (NET)
December 29, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Pam Brunenkant
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Isaiah 6:8
Psalms 26:2-3
Psalms 139:23-24
(NET)
December 8, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, and not dealing in lies,
Or being hated, and not give way to hating, and yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise.
(IF, Rudyard Kipling)
Peace comes through surrendering to the world that which belongs to the world, embracing that which belongs to God and his will for us, recognizing that He is in control, and You are NOT!
Ephesians 1:1-2
Isaiah 9:6
Zechariah 9:9
Luke 1:68-79
Luke 1:78-79
Luke 2:13-14
John 14:25-28
What is the nature of this peace that the Holy Spirit is bringing to us?
Colossians 1:19-20
Ephesians 2:12-18
John 16:33
Peace comes through surrendering to the world that which belongs to the world, embracing that which belongs to God and his will for us, recognizing that He is in control, and You are NOT!
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 11:28-29
December 1, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Luke 21:25-36 “Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things—the weather, human relationship, the economy, the political situation, and so on—will get better. Hope is trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.” -Henri Nouwen “The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.” -Henri Nouwen 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (NET)
November 24, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Matthew 20:26-28
Matthew 25:35-36, 40
1 Peter 4:10
Yeah, but it’s HARD
Yeah, but it’s ALL-CONSUMING
Luke 17:7-10
Footwashing
t’s worth it because
Galatians. 6:7-10
Matthew 20:26-28
Grace, Community, Generosity, Service
(NIV)
November 17, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
(Interview with Katy Kaakestadg from Intended Hope) Matthew 9:35-38 "When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool." -Chinua Achbee "God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering." -Augustine "Without worship, we go about miserable." -AW Tozer "When we worship together as a community of living Christians, we do not worship alone, we worship 'with all the company of heaven.'" -Marianne Micks
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (NET)
November 10, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Core Value #3: Generosity We can't out give God. He is far more generous than we can imagine. In fact, He did not even withhold Jesus from us! It all belongs to God, and we in return desire to be generous with our time, talents, and resources for advancing the Kingdom of God by making a tangible difference in people's lives. "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can." -John Wesley GENEROSITY REFLECTS JESUS John 3:16Romans 5:8-9Matthew 8:1-3 "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." -Simone Weil "You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." -John Bunyan GENEROSITY BENEFITS THE GIVER Proverbs 11:252 Corinthians 9:10-11 GENEROSITY MAKES AN ETERNAL IMPACT 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 GENEROSITY BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS 2 Corinthians 9:14-15 (NET)
November 3, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Summit Ridges Values:
Grace
Community
Serving
Generosity
We Value Community
We are created to be in community- to do life together. Together we worship, laugh, cry, give, serve, learn, and grow as followers of Jesus Christ.
We were Created to be in Community
Genesis 1:26-27
What does it Mean to be in Community?
Leviticus 26:11-13
Leviticus 4:13-14
Ezra 3:10-11
Acts 2:42-47
We Value Community
We are created to be in community- to do life together. Together we worship, laugh, cry, give, serve, learn, and grow as followers of Jesus Christ.
How do we live in Community?
Matthew 5:16
Matthew 7:12
Galatians 5:22-26
Hebrews 10:24-25
October 27, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
What is God’s Grace?
Romans 3:10-18
Romans 5:8
How do we receive Grace?
How do we extend Grace?
Attitude
Practice
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
Grace = Agape Love
Grace is Holy
(NIV)
October 20, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Jeremiah 29:11
Jeremiah 32:19
Psalms 33:11
Romans 8:28
Ephesians 2:10
Mark 10:45 Mission of Summit Ridge Community Church: To make disciples who Serve Christ by Serving People. Matthew 28:16-20 "It's just stunning to watch churches struggle to get mission statements when there it is, the Great Commission, and they should simply do what it says." -Dallas Willard “If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.” -Mike Breen "Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” -Dietrich Bon Hoeffer
“The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.” -Paul David Tripp Matthew 22:36-40 "You cannot obey the Great Commission until you obey the Great Command" -Al McKay "It is an incredibly difficult task to lead people from self-centered consumerism to being servant-hearted Christians. It is not a task for fainthearted ministers or those who don't like to get their religious robes wrinkled. But it is what the Great Commission is all about" -Rick Warren (NET)
October 13, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Galatians 3:26-29
We are a New Creation
2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Philemon 4-7
Philemon 10-14
We have a Alternative Way to Act
Romans 8:28-29
Matthew 5:13-15
Philemon 20-25
Philippians 2:5-8
5 Ways to be Like Christ in this World
Matthew 28:18-20
(NASB 2020)
October 6, 2024
Scott Soden, Global Partners Coordinator, Brethren Church National Office Staff
Pastor Gary Castro, Philippine Brethren Church
September 30, 2024
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Philemon 1: 1-7
(NKJV)
September 22, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
We serve Christ by Serving People
Colossians 4:7-8
Romans 1:1
1 Timothy 1:1-2
Colossians 4:9-13
Serving Christ by Serving People Takes Many Forms
1 Peter 3:15
Colossians 4:14-15 (NET)
Romans 12:9-13
Colossians 4:16-18
1 Peter 4:10-11
(NASB)
September 15, 2024
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
(There were intermittent audio issues with this recording. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
Colossians 4:1-6
Daniel 6:10
Luke 18:1-8
Matthew 7:11
(NKJV)
September 8, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“Denial of one's need for others is the most common type of defense against bonding. If people come from a situation, whether growing up or later in life, where good, safe relationships were not available to them, they learn to deny that they even want them. Why want what you can't have? They slowly get rid of their awareness of the need.” -Henry Cloud SUBMIT and LOVE Colossians 3:18-19Colossians 2:14-15"Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honor should decline." -G.K. Chesterton “Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.” -Wm. Paul Young OBEY and RESPECT Colossians 3:20-21 "Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be." -David Blye"The soul is healed by being with children". -Fyodor Dostoevsky LISTEN and SERVE Colossians 3:22-251 Corinthians 7:12-16 ReplyForward
September 1, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
(Technical difficulties at the beginning caused low audio.)
Colossians 3:12-17
Unity and Love are REQUIRED
No worship without loving community
John 13:34-35
(Song: They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love)
No New Life in Christ without loving community
‘In the Name of Christ’
Loving community is The Glory of God
Psalm 133
They are Worth it
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to
remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day
be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship,
or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a
nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one of
other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it
is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all
our dealings with one another; all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There
are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations,
cultures, arts, civilization itself – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the
life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and
exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. Next to the Blessed
Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses."
C.S. Lewis
(NIV)
August 25, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Colossians 2:14-15 “Both God’s love and God’s wrath are ratcheted up in the move from the old covenant to the new, from the Old Testament to the New. These themes barrel along through redemptive history, unresolved, until they come to a resounding climax — at the cross. Do you wish to see God’s love? Look at the cross. Do you wish to see God’s wrath? Look at the cross.” -DA Carson
“Learn to know Christ and Him crucified. Learn to sing to Him, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, You are my righteousness, I am Your sin. You have taken upon Yourself what is mine and given me what is Yours. You have become what You were not so that I might become what I was not.’” -Martin Luther
Galatians 6:14 1 Corinthians 1:18 "Nothing on earth has greater potential to change lives and carry out His kingdom work in your community, than your local church.There’s nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close." -Bill Hybells
"The life function of [the local church] is to love the God who created it – to care for others out of obedience to Christ, to heal those who hurt, to take away fear, to restore community, to belong to one another, to proclaim the Good News while living it out. The church is the invisible made visible." -Chuck Colson KEEP LOOKING UP Colossians 3:1 "Jesus came to announce to us that an identity based on success, popularity and power is a false identity- an illusion! Loudly and clearly he says: 'You are not what the world makes you; but you are children of God." -Henri Nouwen
"Child of God, you cost Christ too much for him to forget you." -Charles Spurgeon Psalm 71: 1-3 (The Message Paraphrase) KEEP YOUR HEAD UP Colossians 3:2-11 "If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week." -Timothy Keller Philippians 3:12-16 (NET) ReplyForward
August 18, 2024
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Colossians 2:20-23
Matthew 19:14
2 Corinthians 5:17
Matthew 5:17
(NKJV)
August 11, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Ephesians 4:4-6 NET
We have been Freed from the Law
Colossians 2:16
Mark 7:18-19
Romans 7:4-6
We are a Priesthood in Christ
Colossians 2:17
1 Peter 2:9-10
Romans 10:1-3
So, Serve in All Humility
Colossians 2:18
Proverbs 16:18-19
Colossians 3:16
John 3:11-12
For Your Sake and the Sake of the Body
Colossians 2:19
Revelation 2:13-16
Romans 12:3-5
We have been freed from the law and we now belong to the priesthood of Christ so serve in all humility for your sake and the sake of the body.
August 4, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
As You Received, So Live
Colossians 2:6-7
Colossians 2:5
Ephesians 4:4-6
Ephesians 4:13-14
Guard Your Mind and Heart
Colossians 2:8
Romans 12:2
Proverbs 3:5-6
Accept the Fullness of Christ
Colossians 2:9-10
Colossians 1:27-28
Enjoy the Fellowship of Christ
Colossians 2:11-12
John 15:4-5
Celebrate Your Freedom Through Christ and the Cross
Colossians 2:13
Colossians 2:14-15
Romans 6:21–23
(NET)
July 28, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"Ministry is giving when you feel like keeping, praying for others when you need to be prayed for, feeding others when your own soul is hungry, living truth before people even when you can't see results, hurting with other people even when your own hurt can't be spoken, keeping your word even when it is not convenient, it is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away." -John Holt
“Ministry means the ongoing attempt to put one’s own search for God, with all the moments of pain and joy, despair and hope, at the disposal of those who want to join this search but do not know how.” -Henri Nouwen “I would like to encourage you to stop thinking of what you're doing as ministry. Start realizing that your ministry is how much of a tip you leave when you eat in a restaurant; when you leave a hotel room whether you leave it all messed up or not; whether you flush your own toilet or not. Your ministry is the way that you love people. And you love people when you write something that is encouraging to them, something challenging. You love people when you call your wife and say, 'I'm going to be late for dinner,' instead of letting her burn the meal. You love people when maybe you cook a meal for your wife sometime, because you know she's really tired. Loving people - being respectful toward them." -Rich Mullens Ministry TRANSFORMS livesColossians 1:21-25Isaiah 53:6 “Men will allow God to be everywhere but on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow his bounties. they will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth." -Charles Spurgeon “What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced.The greatness of God not admired.The power of God not praised.The truth of God not sought.The wisdom of God not esteemed. The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored.The faithfulness of God not trusted. The commandments of God not obeyed. The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared. The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized. The person of God not loved. That is sin.” -John Piper God wants everyone to know their lives can be TRANSFORMEDColossians 1:26-2:52 Peter 3:9 "We must school and train ourselves to deal personally with the unconverted. We must not excuse ourselves, but force ourselves to the irksome task until it becomes easy." -Charles Spurgeon
“Personal ministry is not about always knowing what to say. It is not about fixing everything in sight that is broken. Personal ministry is about connecting people with Christ so that they are able to think as he would have them think, desire what he says is best, and do what he calls them to do even if their circumstances never get "fixed." It involves exposing hurt, lost, and confused people to God's glory, so that they give up their pursuit of their own glory and live for his.” -Paul David Tripp
“We sinned for no reason but an incomprehensible lack of love, and He saved us for no reason but an incomprehensible excess of love.” -Peter Kreeft (NET)
July 21, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“We cherry-pick our favorite traits and words of Christ and run with them - amplifying some parts while silencing others - to suit our personal visions and preferences. In doing this, rather than the true and the whole, we create caricatures and distortions of His character - false Christs made in our own images - and are left with no mystery as to why He would say we must deny ourselves daily in order to follow Him.” -Criss Jami Matthew 24:3-6 Jesus is GOD in the flesh Colossians 1:15 “Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.” -St. Augustine of Hippo
“The nativity mystery “conceived from the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary”, means, that God became human, truly human out of his own grace. The miracle of the existence of Jesus , his “climbing down of God” is: Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary! Here is a human being, the Virgin Mary, and as he comes from God, Jesus comes also from this human being. Born of the Virgin Mary means a human origin for God. Jesus Christ is not only truly God, he is human like every one of us. He is human without limitation. He is not only similar to us, he is like us.” -Karl Barth Jesus is the CREATOR of all Colossians 1:16-17Romans 1:20-23 "God is the Creator God, he doesn't want to say, "Okay, creation was very good, but I'm scrapping it." He wants to say, "Creation is so good that I'm going to rescue it." -NT Wright Jesus is LORD Colossians 1:18Philippians 2:10-11 Jesus is SAVIOR Colossians 1:19-20John 14:6 "It is faith that looks up at the creator God and knows him to be the God of love. And it is faith that looks out at the world with the longing to bring that love to bear in healing reconciliation, and hope." -NT Wright 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
July 14, 2021
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
What is worldly wisdom?
Wisdom: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Genesis 3:4-7
We Are Fools
Wisdom is nonsense to those who don’t believe
Isaiah 55:8-9
1 Corinthians 1:18
Matthew 11:25
What is Godly Wisdom?
Colossians 1:9-14
James 3:17
How do we get God’s wisdom?
Luke 11:11-13
Proverbs 9:10
Proverbs 3:5-7
James 1:5
(NIV)
July 7, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“The good news is that Christ frees us from the need to obnoxiously focus on our goodness, our commitment, and our correctness. Religious has made us obsessive almost beyond endurance. Jesus invited us to a dance...and we've turned in into a march of soldiers, always checking to see if we're doing it right and are in step and in line with the other soldiers. We know a dance would be more fun, but we believe we must go through hell to get to heaven, so we keep marching.” -Steve Brown Colossians 1:1-8 The Gospel inspires FAITH "Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat out denial of the gospel of grace." -Brennan Manning The Gospel inspires LOVE “Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people.” -Charles Spurgeon
"When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.” -Corrie Ten Boom The Gospel inspires HOPE “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” -Tim Keller Galatians 5:5-6Ephesians 4:2-51 Thessalonians 1:3
1 Corinthians 13: 13 (NET)
June 30, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
(Audio issues during the first two minutes or so.)
Matthew 4:8-11
“One of the greatest ironies of the history of Christianity is that its leaders constantly give in to the temptation of power- political power, military power, economic power, or moral or spiritual power – even though they continued to speak in the name of Jesus, who did not cling to divine power but emptied Himself and became as we are.” -Henry Nouwen
We want to be God instead of Worshiping God
Genesis 3:5
Mark 10:33-34
Mark 10:35-37
Isaiah 14:12-14
Phillipians 2:5-9
Power can be used overcome fear
Matthew 2:1-3
1 John 4:17-18
Power is easier to wield than love
“It seems easier to be God than to worship God. It is easier to control people than to love people. Easier to own life than to love life.” -Henry Nouwen
1 John 4:7-8
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
(NASB 2020)
June 23, 2024
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Matthew 4:5-7Psalms 91:11-12Deuteronomy 6:16Galations 6:7 (NKJV)
June 16, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Not all testing is bad Matthew 4:1-4Deuteronomy 8:2-3 Testing reveals who you really are Testing prepares you for your life as a Christ-follower. “We live in a culture that has replaced soul with self. This reduction turns people into either problems or consumers. Insofar as we acquiesce in that replacement, we gradually but surely regress in our identity, for we end up thinking of ourselves and dealing with others in marketplace terms: everyone we meet is either a potential recruit to join our enterprise or a potential consumer for what we are selling; or we ourselves are the potential recruits and consumers. Neither we nor our friends have any dignity just as we are, only in terms of how we or they can be used." -Eugene Peterson "By our uncritical pursuit of relevance we have actually courted irrelevance; by our breathless chase after relevance without a matching commitment to faithfulness, we have become not only unfaithful, but irrelevant; by our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more compelling to the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and our relevance. Our crying need is to be faithful as well as relevant." -OS Guinness
“A primary task of the community of Jesus is to maintain this lifelong cultivation of love in all the messiness of its families, neighborhoods, congregations, and missions. Love is intricate, demanding, glorious, deeply human, and God-honoring, but — and here’s the thing — never a finished product, never an accomplishment, always flawed in some degree or other.” -Eugene Peterson
June 9, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
James 5:19-20Isaiah 53:6 3 Causes of Wandering: 1) Believing that following Jesus is easy Matthew 7:13-14
"Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then love more.
Charles Spurgeon: You cannot be Christ’s servant if you are not willing to follow him, cross and all. What do you crave? A crown? Then it must be a crown of thorns if you are to be like him. Do you want to be lifted up? So you shall, but it will be upon a cross." -Mother Teresa
2) Listening to anyone who claims to speak for Christ Matthew 7: 15-23
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 3) Believing that words are more important than actions Matthew 7: 24-27
"Faith and works are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith." -Charles Spurgeon
“We are the Bibles the world is reading; We are the creeds the world is needing; We are the sermons the world is heeding.” -Billy Graham (NET)
June 2, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
James 1:2-4 NASB
Go to God First
James 5:13
“James means that there is no time in which God does not invite us to Himself.” -John Calvin
“Our whole life should be so angled towards God that whatever strikes us, whether sorrow or joy, should be deflected upwards at once into His presence.” -Alec Motyer
Don’t Go It Alone
James 5:14-15
Acts 20:28
Matthew 18:19-21
Hebrews 10:35-37
Reconcile Sooner than Later
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. -James 5:16a
Matthew 5:23-24
James 4:1-2
Make Human Effort, expect Supernatural Results
A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much. -James 5:16b
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective -James 5:16b (NIV)
James 5:17-18
(NASB)
May 26, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
James 5:12 "Neither can oath nor promise bind any such people to obey and maintain tyrants against God and against his truth known." -John Knox Matthew 5:34-37 Leviticus 19:11-12 (NET)
May 19, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
Psalm 133:1Romans 12:18 START waitingJames 5:7-8James 1:2-4 "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."-Leo Tolstoy
"Pampered bodies grow sluggish through sloth; not work but movement and their own weight exhausts them. Prosperity unbruised cannot endure a single blow, but a man who has been at a constant feud with misfortunes acquires skin calloused by suffering; he yields to no evil and even if he stumbles carries the fight on upon his knee." -Seneca STOP ComplainingJames 5:9 “The truly patient man neither complains of his hard lot nor desires to be pitied by others. He speaks of his sufferings in a natural, true, and sincere way, without murmuring, complaining, or exaggerating them.” -St. Francis de Sales Psalm 142:2Psalm 88:15-18 STAY the courseJames 5:10-11Hebrews 12:1 (NET)
May 12, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
James 5:1-6
Why are riches dangerous?
The World’s Lie: Money = Power = Safety
YOU CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS
Matthew 6:33
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Acts 4: 32-35
Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness
Luke 12:34
Malachi 3:10
(NIV)
May 5, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast." -Jane Austen
"The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him." -Xun Kuang "It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church." -Matthew Henry James 4:13-17 Ecclesiastes 10:14 Jeremiah 9:23-24 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
April 28, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
James 4:11-12Matthew 5:21-22Matthew 5:27-30Matthew 3:31-37Proverbs 6:16-19 Socrates: “Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” Ephesians 4:29-32 Mother Teresa: “These are the few ways we can practice humility: To speak as little as possible of one's self. To mind one's own business. Not to want to manage other people's affairs. To avoid curiosity. To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully. To pass over the mistakes of others. To accept insults and injuries. To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked. To be kind and gentle even under provocation. Never to stand on one's dignity. To choose always the hardest.” (NET)
April 21, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"When divisions are rife in religion, it is bound to happen that what is in men’s minds will soon erupt in real conflict. For while nothing is more effective for joining us together, and there is nothing which does more to unite our minds, and keep them peaceful, than agreement in religion, yet if disagreement has somehow arisen in connection with it, the inevitable result is that men are quickly stirred up to engage in fighting, and there is no other field with fiercer disputes." -John Calvin
"What! At peace with the Father, and at war with His children? It cannot be." -John Flavel
"Divisions in the church always breed atheism in the world." -Thomas Manton
"The cause of sin is never so much helped as when Christians waste their strength in quarreling with one another, and spend their time in petty squabbles." -J.C. Ryle James 3:13-4:6 "Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live" -Oscar Wilde ”Nothing is bloodier than a religious war. Issues aren’t just as human squabbles; everything is elevated to eternal importance… How tempting… to mistake our will for God’s. How devilish to believe that disagreeing with me is disagreeing with God.” -Marshall Shelly James 4:7-10 Romans 7:15 (NET)
April 14, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
James 3:1
1 Corinthians 12:27-28
James 3:2
Genesis 3:12
Romans 313-14
1 Peter 3:10
James 3:3-4
The Tongue is the Master Key for Keeping Our Whole Body in Check.
James 3:5a
The Tongue has Enormous power to do Harm.
James 3:5b-6
Matthew 16:22-23
The Tongue is Humanly Uncontrollable.
James 3:7-8
Acts 2:2-4
We struggle with Consistency.
James 3:9-12
Romans 7:21-24
Matthew 12:33-37
(NASB 2020)
April 7, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
James 2:14-16
Faith without action is dead
Matthew 25:41-45
Action without faith is dead
Matthew 7:15-23
Faith and Action are one
Galatians 6:7-8
Ephesians 2:8-10
Faithful Action bears good fruit
(NIV)
March 31, 2024
"Why is Easter Sunday Still Relevant?"
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
"What Does it Mean to be Born Again?
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
"The Physical Resurrection"
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
"Without the Resurrection Nothing Else Matters"
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
March 24, 2024
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
James 2:1-13
Galatians 3:26-29
1 Peter 3:3-4
(NKJV)
March 17, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
I CAN’T ANGER MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS! James 1:19-21 “Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.” -Aristotle Proverbs 17:28 “There is a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say. It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person…But Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer I CAN’T FAKE MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS James 1:22-26 To serve one another by following the example of Jesus Christ ensuring others are seen, heard, valued, and cared for as deeply valued members of God’s family and this church. 1 Peter 4:8-11 I CAN OBEY MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS James 1:27 “The real act of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete social actions well: disagreeing without poisoning the relationship; revealing vulnerability at the appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to end a conversation gracefully; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to let someone down without breaking their heart; knowing how to sit with someone who is suffering; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.” -David Brooks (NET)
March 3, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
James 1:5-8 NASB
What does the Bible mean by Wisdom?
Luke 2:52
Matthew 13:54
Acts 7:22
1 Kings 3:9
1 Kings 3:11-12
What does James say here about God?
James 1:5
Psalms 103:8
Matthew 7:9-11
Matthew 7:7-8
What does James say about our sincerity?
James 1:6-8
Matthew 21:20-22
John 17:20-21
Colossians 2:6
(NASB 2020)
February 25, 2024
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
James 1:1-4
Trials of many kinds
…To Test Our Faith
Hebrews 12:1-3
“…Let us run with…"
"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when you get diagnosed with cancer or when you have
to declare bankruptcy or when you just lost your job or when you just got served
divorce papers. How we think about tests and challenges will determine the outcome
they produce in our lives. Tests and challenges can utterly ruin people or renovate them.
We are not to be broken by the trials but broken by God in the midst of trials. To be
broken by God means to be healed of our sick and willful ways of dealing with life. To be
broken by God means to finally come to the place where we can admit that we do not
have what it takes; that we have exhausted our resources, are at the end of our rope,
and that we are poor in spirit. It means to finally be brought to the place where we are
ready for an entirely new way of living life—God’s way, filled with God’s power,
moment by moment. This is how our faith is perfected." -J.D. Walt
Reward: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness, Self-Control
1 Peter 1:3-7
(NIV)
February 18, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
"I believe that every Christian ought to be joined to some visible church; that is his plain duty, according to the Scriptures. God’s people are not dogs, else they might go about one by one; but they are sheep, and therefore they should be in flocks." -Charles Spurgeon
“The Church needs more people willing to wash feet, not just point out they're dirty or complain that they smell.” -Mark Hart Revelation 3:14-22 "Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul." -A.W. Tozer
"We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgments instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never the thunderclap of God's, then indeed he will not speak to us and we shall only be confirmed in our own prejudices. We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior." -John Stott (NET)
February 11, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“Family is the one human institution we have no choice over. We get in simply by being born, and as a result we are involuntarily thrown together with a menagerie of strange and unlike people. Church calls for another step: to voluntarily choose to band together with a strange menagerie because of a common bond in Jesus Christ. I have found that such a community more resembles a family than any other human institution. Henri Nouwen once defined a community as “a place where the person you least want to live with always lives.” -Philipp Yancey Revelation 3:7-13 (NET)
February 4, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Joel 2:12-13
Revelation 3:1-6
Revelation 3:1
James 2:14-17
Revelation 2:2-3
Mathew 10:22
Revelation 3:4
Revelation 3:5-6
(NASB 2020)
January 28, 2024
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Revelation 2:18-19
Revelation 2:20
1 Kings 16:30-32
Joshua 1:8
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Revelation 2:21-23
Revelation 1:16
Matthew 18:6
Revelation 2:24-29
Psalm 2:4-9
Matthew 13:41-43
(NASB)
January 21, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
(Due to technical difficulties, approximately the first three minutes were not recorded.)
“As I look around on Sunday morning at the people populating the pews, I see the risk that God has assumed. For whatever reason, God now reveals himself in the world not through a pillar of smoke and fire, not even through the physical body of his Son in Galilee, but through the mongrel collection that comprises my local church and every other such gathering in God’s name." -Philip Yancy “Persecution for Christians is not a possibility, it's a promise, it's not a maybe, it's a surely! Following Jesus can mean finding the trouble you've been looking for!” -Kingsley Opuwari Manuel: Revelation 2:12-17 Matthew 15:11 “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,..." -CS Lewis (NET)
January 14, 2024
Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker
“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” -John Calvin
Psalm 94:3-7 Revelation 2:8-11 “Jesus lost all his glory so that we could be clothed in it. He was shut out so we could get access. He was bound, nailed, so that we could be free. He was cast out so we could approach. And Jesus took away the only kind of suffering that can really destroy you: that is being cast away from God. He took that so that now all suffering that comes into your life will only make you great. A lump of coal under pressure becomes a diamond. And the suffering of a person in Christ only turns you into somebody gorgeous.” -Tim Keller “Persecution for Christians is not a possibility, it's a promise, it's not a maybe, it's a surely! Following Jesus can mean finding the trouble you've been looking for!” -Kingsley Opuwari Manuel 1 Peter 5:10 Hebrews 10:25 (NET)
December 31, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Millie Ethier
Worship Pastor Deborah Murphy
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
Psalm 148 (NET)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
December 17, 2023
James 3:13-17 NET
Which Do You Want To Be?
Psalm 126:1-6
Psalm 126:1-3
Daniel 4:3
Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV)
Psalm 126:4-6
Which Do You Want To Be?
Romans 5:8
“Let our hearts gratefully remember the lovingkindness of the Lord; we were sadly low, sorely depressed, and completely past hope, but when Jehovah appeared He did not merely lift us out of depression, He raised us into wonderful happiness. The Lord does nothing in halves; those whom He saves from Hell He brings to heaven. He turns exile into ecstasy and banishment into bliss.” -Charles Spurgeon.
Romans 15:13 (NIV)
(NET)
December 10, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 91:1-16
John 14:27
Luke 2:14
The Peace
Romans 8:1
The Veil
Hebrews 6:19-20
Shalom
John 16:33
Hebrews 2:14-15
At War for Peace
"A repentant sinner beset again by the devil will ask himself, “How can God love me and bless me?” But as he looks at Christ dying on the cross, buried, and rising again, he says, ‘I know he loves me. I cannot understand it but I know he does. He has done that for me.’ It is not mere sentiment or feeling; he has solid facts of history to prove that God loves him. God does not merely tell us that he loves us, he has given the most amazing proof of it. Nothing is more wonderful than to know that God loves you; and no man can truly know that God loves him except in Jesus Christ and him crucified." -Matthew Henry
"Approach, my soul, the mercy seat, where Jesus answers prayer; there humbly fall before his feet, for none can perish there. Bowed down beneath a load of sin, by Satan sorely pressed, by wars without and fears within, I come to Thee for rest. Be thou my shield and hiding place, that sheltered near thy side, I may my fierce accuser face, and tell him thou has died!" -John Newton
"The devil will try to steal your peace by accusing you of your sins. ‘What can I tell him? I cannot tell him that I am a good man, I cannot tell him about my past or even my present. There is only one way of silencing him; “I can my fierce accuser face, and tell him Thou hast died”. The man who believes vaguely in the love of God cannot do so, for the devil will not listen to him. The man who says ‘I feel happy’ will soon be made unhappy by the devil, for he is more powerful than we are. There is only one thing that the devil can never answer and that is the argument of ‘the blood of Christ saves me’. He will come back again, but you will always be able to silence him, and thus continue in a state of peace." -Unknown
"Peace even when you fall into sin? In Jesus, God has dealt with your sin, once and forever. He is now dealing with your righteousness." -Graham Cooke
Philippians 4:5-7
December 3, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acke
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”-DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Hope is here because…
God still SITS on the throne.Pslam 80:1-3 Hope is here because...God does not REMAIN angry forever. Psalm 80:4-7Psalm 103:8-10Micah 7:18 Hope is here because...God will RETURN back to us. Psalm 80:8-19 (NET)
November 26, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
God expresses himself as a SHEPHERD.Psalm 100:1-3 God expresses himself as a GOOD SHEPHERD.Pslam 100:4-5
Isaiah 53:6Ezekiel 34:11-16John 10:11-18 "It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them." -Tiberius
"God has not abandoned us any more than he abandoned Job. He never abandons anyone on whom he has set his love; nor does Christ, the good shepherd, ever lose track of his sheep." -J.I. Packer
“We have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the bank, not because I have skill and wit with which to win my bread, but because the Lord is my shepherd.” -Charles Spurgeon
November 19, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
Proverbs 16:9Proverbs 16:1Proverbs 19:21Proverbs 20:24Proverbs 21:30Isaiah 46:8-10 "It is not blind fate, unbridled evil, man or Devil, but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own eternal glory". -Arthur W. Pink
"God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil". -A.W. Tozer
"This is God's universe, and God does things his way. You may have a better way, but you don't have a universe". -J. Vernon McGee:
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
November 12, 2023
I love to give because... Jesus loves to GIVE 2 Corinthians 8:1-10 Philippians 2: 4-8 “For it is in giving that we receive.” ― St. Francis of Assisi I too have been in NEED 2 Corinthians 8:11-14 I have ENOUGH 2 Corinthians 8:15 1 Timothy 6:6 “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ―John Bunyan (NET)
November 5, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Psalm 107: 1-2
Psalm 46:10
Psalm 107:3-7
Psalm 107:14
Psalm 107:20
Psalm 107:29-34
Proverbs 3:11-12
Psalm 107:35-37
Jeremiah 7:23
2 Timothy 3:14-17
(NET)
October 29, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Worship Pastor Deborah Murphy
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
(NET)
October 22, 2023
Associate Past Eric Burc
- God Rules
Psalm 99:1-3
Psalm 2:2-4
Psalm 100:3
Ezekiel 18:20
Colossians 2:13-14
Hebrews 12:28-29
“God is good all the time and all the time ____________”
“God is sovereign and holy all the time and all the time God is sovereign and Holy.”
- He is Just
Psalm 99:4-5
Matthew 5:11-12
Numbers 23:19
3 He Answers our Prayers
Psalm 99:6-9
Deuteronomy 5:5-6
Exodus 24:1-2
(NET)
October 15, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
God is so good to us because…
He IS good.
Psalm 106:1-8, 19-23
Luke 18: 18-19
Psalm 14: 1-3
"What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The power of God not praised. The truth of God not sought. The wisdom of God not esteemed. The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored. The faithfulness of God not trusted. The commandments of God not obeyed. The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared. The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized. The person of God not loved. That is sin." -John Piper
God is so good to us because…everything He DOES is good.
Psalm 106:43-48
"With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures." -AW Tozer
"A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God." -Brennan Manning
(NET)
October 1, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 78:1-17
Why teach?
Teach What?
God is great. God is good.
People are rebellious and forgetful.
God punishes the rebellious to bring them to repentance.
God is always eager to forgive the penitent.
Teach by Example; Show and Tell
Tell the stories
Show the discipline
Show the intimacy
Show the repentance
Show the obedience
Show the faithfulness
Show and Tell each other
(NIV)
September 24, 2023
Lead Pastor: Dan Acke
CS LEWIS: “The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made David dance.” I praise God because he is GREAT.Psalm 145:1-7MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: “I may not be the man I want to be; I may not be the man I ought to be; I may not be the man I could be; I may not be the man I truly can be; but praise God, I’m not the man I once was.”
ALICE COOPER: “I was one thing at one time, and I’m something new. I’m a new creature now. Don’t judge Alice by what he used to be. Praise God for what I am now.” Luke 10:19-20 I praise God because he is GOOD. Psalm 145:8-16 Psalm 34:8 Thomas Merton: To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.
I praise God because he is GENEROUS. Psalm 145:17-20 Ephesians 1:7-8 (NET Bible Version)
September 17, 2023
Lead Pastor: Dan Acker
GLENN PEMBERTON: “We live in a world that is beyond our control, and life is in a constant flux of change. So we have a decision to make: keep trying to control a storm that is not going to go away or start learning how to live within the rain.” EVERTON WEEKES: "Redemption is not just a nice word to use in church. It has the power to restore us back to the status we had with God before the fall. Redemption gives believers the same legal status that Jesus had with the Father, while He was walking on the earth." COVERPsalm 114:1-2Ephesians 2:19-22 CROSSINGPsalm 114:3-4Matthew 27:45-46, 50-53 COMPLETIONPsalm 114:5-8 AW TOZER: "The greatest encouragement throughout the Bible is God's love for His lost race and the willingness of Christ, the eternal Son, to show forth that love in God's plan of redemption. The love of Jesus is so inclusive that it knows no boundaries. At the point where we stop caring and loving, Jesus is still there loving and caring." Philippians 1:6
August 27, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
Psalm 124
“The Psalms offer us a way of joining in a chorus of praise and prayer that has been going on for millennia and across all cultures. Not to try to inhabit them, while continuing to invent non-psalmic 'worship' based on our own feelings of the moment, risks being like a spoiled child who, taken to the summit of Table Mountain with the city and the ocean spread out before him, refuses to gaze at the view because he is playing with his Game Boy” -NT Wright
Psalm 44:3 Genesis 4:7
1 Peter 5:8-10 Romans 8:31-32, 35-38
(NET)
August 20, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
“What I see in the Bible, especially in the book of Psalms, which is a book of gratitude for the created world, is a recognition that all good things on Earth are God's, every good gift is from above. They are good if we recognize where they came from and if we treat them the way the Designer intended them to be treated.” -Philip Yancey
"Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation." -Charles Spurgeon
"I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord’s people were divided." -D.L. Moody UNITY IS A WONDERFUL GIFT Psalm 133:1 Acts 2:42-44 When the Gospel enables us to live in love, even though we may have nothing else in common save Christ, it is a testimony to its power to transform a group of sinful, self-centered people into a loving community united by a common relationship with Jesus Christ. John 17:20-21 "Divisions in the church always breed atheism in the world." -Thomas Manton (English Clergyman) UNITY IS A PRECIOUS GIFT Psalm 133:2 John 17:17-19 UNITY IS A LIFE-GIVING GIFT Psalm 133:3 Deuteronomy 6:4 John 10:30 (NET)
August 13, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Psalms 29:1-2
1 Chronicles 16:7-11
Psalms 29:3-9
Psalms 8:1-2
Psalms 19:4-6
Exodus 19:16-18
1 Kings 19:11-12
Romans 1:21-25
Psalms 29:9b-11
Job 38:1-7
Hebrews 22:18-24
(NIV)
August 6, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burc
Psalm 17:1-5 NIV
1 Samuel 24:8-10 NIV
Psalm 17:6 NIV
Psalm 17:7 NIV
- God’s Lovingkindness has existed since the beginning
Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV
- God’s Lovingkindness comes to the least likely People
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NIV
- God’s Lovingkindness is Self-sacrificing
1 John 4:9-10 NIV
- God’s Lovingkindness is Constant and Consistent
102:25-27 NIV
- God’s Lovingkindness is here for You to Enjoy.
Psalm 107:43 NKJV
Psalm 18:49 NIV
“For the Love of God” - Andrew Ripp
I saw mercy Mercy seated where the judge should be Was guilty Guilty and getting out of jail free How could it be I didn't get the life I deserved And the only thing that He wanted was my heart in return Every time I think about every time I thought was the end I'm caught up wonder again
Where would I be Where would I be If it wasn't for the love of God This song of victory is Now mine to sing Hallelujah for the love of God Has set me free
Psalm 17:15 NIV
Psalm 16:9-11 NIV
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
July 23, 2023
Psalm 139: 1-24 (NASB 2020)
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
July 16, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 119:105-112 John 5:37-40 Matthew 23: 16-19 Hebrews 4:12 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
July 9, 2023 Lead Pastor Dan Acker “The loss of psalmody in the church is one of the early indicators of the loss of faith.” -Kevin Swanson JESUS SPEAKS TO ME Psalm 45:1-2 John 15:15 Matthew 11:28-30 John 10:10 Luke 23:43 Matthew 28:20 JESUS FIGHTS FOR ME Psalm 45: 3-6 Hebrews 2:14-15 "When you become a Christian, you are not on earth to fight for Jesus; God needed only one battle to redeem the souls of humanity. It was the cross." -Felix Wantang JESUS HAS CHOSEN ME Psalm 45:6-17 Ephesians 1:3-4 "A Christian is the dwelling place of the living God. He created me, he chose me, He came to dwell in me, because he wanted me. Now that you have known how much God is in love with you it is but natural that you spend the rest of your life radiating that love." -Mother Teresa Romans 6:21-2
July 2, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burc
Romans 7:21-24
A Man in Pain
Psalm 13:1-2
Deuteronomy 31:8
Psalm 4:6-7
Psalm 42:5-6
Hebrews 9:14
A Man in Prayer
Psalm 13:3-4
1 Peter 5:6-9
A Man in Song
Psalm 13:5-6
Psalm 143:7-8
Psalm 23:5-6
Philippians 4:4-7
(NIV)
June 25, 2023
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Psalm 86: 1-17
"Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being 'round Help me get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me"
-John Lennon / Paul McCartney
(NKJV)
June 18, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
"Praise is the rehearsal of our eternal song. By grace we learn to sing, and in glory we continue to sing. What will some of you do when you get to heaven, if you go on grumbling all the way? Do not hope to get to heaven in that style. But now begin to bless the name of the Lord." -Charles Spurgeon I Sing Because… GOD SAVED ME FROM MY SIN. Psalm 65:1-5 “Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!” -Martin Luther
"Whoever sings is quick to praise, and whoever praises long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us sing praise!" -Dan Acker Ephesians 5:15-21 I Sing Because... GOD HAS BLESSED ME WITH LIFE Psalm 65:6-13 "As a newborn baby breathes and cries, so the signs of life in a newborn Christian are faith and repentance, inhaling the love of God and exhaling an initial cry of distress. And at that point what God provides, exactly as for a newborn infant, is the comfort, protection, and nurturing promise of a mother. "If God is our father, the church is our mother." The words are those of the Swiss Reformer John Calvin ... it is as impossible, unnecessary, and undesirable to be a Christian all by yourself as it is to be a newborn baby all by yourself." -NT Wright 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NET)
June 11, 2023 Lead Pastor Dan Acker
"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." -C.S. Lewis "The Psalms are the voices of the church." -Ambrose I Sing Because… Psalm 33:1-3 I BECOME IMMERSED IN GOD’S WORD Psalm 33:4-12 Colossians 3:16 "Feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God-- Naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned For want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word Till soul and body sever, For, though all things shall pass away, HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!" -Martin Luther GOD KNOWS ME AND STILL LOVES ME Psalm 33:13-19 1 Kings 8:38-40 Psalm 33:20-22 "Wait on the Lord" is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come." -J.I. Packer (NET)
June 4, 2023Lead Pastor Dan Acker "The psalms, like no other literature, lift us to a position where we can commune with God, capturing a sense of the greatness of his kingdom and a sense of what living with him for eternity will be like." -Gordon Fee You are significant in your PURPOSE Psalm 8:1-2Deuteronomy 7:6-10 You are lowly by DESIGN Psalm 8:3-4 You are UNIQUE in all of God’s creation Psalm 8:5-91 Corinthians 1:27-292 Corinthians 4:7-101 Peter 2:9 (NET)
May 28, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
God Creates
Psalm 104:5-8
Psalm 104:19-23
Psalm 104:25-26
God Provides and Sustains
Psalm 104:27-28
“Every human heart on this earth is beating because Jesus Christ is sustaining it. Every breath that every man, woman, and child will take in this moment, and then the next moment, and the next, they are being given because Jesus Christ is ruling everything.
The sun came up today; the sun will come up tomorrow, because Jesus Christ is actually ruling. Think of all the millions of beautiful things taking place in nature right now. The caribou are still migrating, the dolphins are still swimming in the oceans. Whales are still coming up for air, diving deep down. The whole animal kingdom is living, breathing, and flourishing because Jesus Christ is the story, and because He is sustaining all things by the power of His mighty word.” -John Eldredge
Freaked out
Insecure
Neurotic
Emotional
God Mentors and Counsels
Acts 1:4-8
John 14:25-27
Psalm 104:29-31
Psalm 104:33-34
God Shares in Our Burdens and Brings Us Peace
Matthew 11:28-30
(NIV)
May 21, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
"The Psalms are inexhaustible, and deserve to be read, said, sung, chanted, whispered, learned by heart, and even shouted from the rooftops. They express all the emotions we are ever likely to feel (including some we hope we may not), and they lay them, raw and open, in the presence of God." -NT Wright GOD’S POWER DISPLAYS HIS HOLINESS Psalm 68:1-4 "As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God. A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp Him, He could not be infinite. If we could understand Him, He could not be divine." -Charles Spurgeon
Exodus 15:11 GOD’S POWER DISPLAYS HIS GENTLENESS Psalm 68:5-10 "God doth not govern the world only by his will as an absolute monarch, but by his wisdom and goodness as a tender father. It is not his greatest pleasure to show his sovereign power, or his inconceivable wisdom, but his immense goodness, to which he makes the other attributes subservient." -Stephen Charnock Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)
May 14, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 66:8-12a
James 1:2-4
Psalm 66:12b-12c
Psalm 66:13-18
Romans 8:5-14
Psalm 66:19-20
(NIV)
May 7, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
"The psalms enable us to bring into our conversation with God feelings and thoughts most of us think we need to get rid of before God will be interested in hearing from us." -Ellen Davis Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16Psalm 55:16-17Daniel 3:16-18 "Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal." -Thomas Moore (NIV)
April 30, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Associate Pastor Justin Brunenkant
Worship Director Deborah Murphy
April 23, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." -C.S. Lewis Psalm 116: 1-41 John 5:14-15 “We sinned for no reason but an incomprehensible lack of love, and He saved us for no reason but an incomprehensible excess of love.” -Peter Kreeft
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” -Timothy Keller Romans 5:6 “Whenever we have to praise God, what do we do? We simply say what He is! ‘You are this and You are that.’ There is no other praise. We cannot fetch anything from anywhere else and bring it to God; the praises of God are simply the facts about Himself! If you want to praise the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the people about Him.” -Charles Spurgeon Psalm 116: 12-19 (NIV)
April 16, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
David has found reconciliation with God through his acts of repentance and confession.
David knows that God will bring him, through life and death into everlasting joy because God was his only refuge, his sovereign Lord, his supreme treasure, and his trusted councilor and the same can be true for use today.
And finally, David’s confidence is due to the knowledge of the future atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross; a work we know was fulfilled.
Psalm 16:1a Preserve me, O God (ESV)
Psalm 16:1-10 (ESV)
2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV)
Acts 2:29-36 (NASB 2020)
Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
Romans 8:11 (NASB 2020)
April 9, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
Matthew 28: 1-20
“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom. . . . It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven." "The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.” -NT Wright
(The Message)
April 2, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Psalm 118: 1, 19-29
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Barabbas: The way of the Empire, with God as our servant
Jesus: The way of the Kingdom, with us as God’s servants
Philippians 2:5-11
(NIV)
March 19, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD: “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” Where do I start? Start with TALKING to God Psalm 142:1-2 Why start here? God is the one who can STRENGTHEN me Psalm 142:3-5Romans 8:181 Peter 5:10Revelation 21:4 What should I ask? Please, God HELP me! Psalm 142:6-7 CS LEWIS: “All people, whether Christian or not, must be prepared to live a life of discomfort.”
March 12, 2023
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
AW TOZER: “I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.”CS LEWIS: "The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." Because God has INVITED me to worship Him Psalm 95:1-2 (NIV) Psalm 95:1-2 (The Message) Because God is LORD of all. Psalm 95:3-7 (NIV) Psalm 95:3-5 (The Message) FRANCIS CHAN: “Many Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory He deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can’t contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate? Because God SPEAKS and I want to hear what he is saying Psalm 95:7-11 (NIV) NT WRIGHT: “Put it this way: if your idea of God, if your idea of the salvation offered in Christ, is vague or remote, your idea of worship will be fuzzy and ill-formed. The closer you get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more you will find worship welling up within you. That’s why theology and worship belong together. The one isn’t just a headtrip; the other isn’t just emotion.” John 4:21-24 (NIV)
March 5, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
From Where Does My Help Come?
Psalm 121:1-2
Nehemiah 2:4-5
Psalm 121:1-2
How are We Helped?
Psalm 121:3-5
1 Kings 18:27
1 Kings 18:36
Psalm 121:6-8
(NASB 2020)
February 26, 2023
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
Matthew 4:1-1
Becoming like Jesus
Hebrews 10:14
1 John 1:8-9
Afraid of confession
“God has already dealt with our sin, once and for all. He is now dealing with a New Creation – growing us up into Christ.” -Graham Cooke
What to give up for Lent?
The joy of becoming like Jesus
(NIV)
February 19, 2023 Lead Pastor Dan Acker “Psalms, then, are not just a matchless primer of teaching but a medicine chest for the heart and the best possible guide for practical living.” -Timothy Keller Psalm 99:1-3 God’s holiness is expressed through his MERCY to you. HOSEA 11:9: I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you.I will not come against their cities.“Bottomless stores of mercy and unbending demands for righteousness almost never go together in any human being. Our temperament inclines us one way or the other. But these are perfectly combined in God.” -Timothy Keller God’s holiness is expressed through his LAW for you Psalm 99:4-5 Romans 2:14-16 God’s holiness is expressed through his RELATIONSHIP with you Psalm 99:6-9 1 Peter 1:16-21 (NIV)
Living the Blessed Life Lead Pastor Dan AckerFebruary 12, 2023 “John Calvin called the Book of Psalms ‘an anatomy of all parts of the soul.’ All the range of emotions are expressed; the Psalms weave an emotional fabric for the human soul. These inspired lyrics take us by the hand and train us in proper emotion. They lead us to emotional maturity.”-Kevin Swanson Admission #1: Living the good life when I stay steady on the road revealed by God. Psalm 119: 1-4 Admission #2: Keep me steady, Father, because it is not easy to stay on this road. Psalm 119: 5-6Matthew 5:21-24, 27-30 "I believe Christians often perceive obedience to God as some test designed just to see if we’re really committed to Him. But what if it’s designed as God’s way of giving us what’s best for us?" -Craig Groeschel"The driver on the highway is safe not when He reads the signs, but when He obeys them." AW Tozer Admission #3: I’m learning to walk steadily Father, please don’t give up on me! Psalm 119: 7-8Deuteronomy 31: 8Philippians 1:6Deuteronomy 30: 15-18 (NIV)
February 5, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
What are You Afraid of?
111:1-2
Psalm 112:1
Acts 26:14
What does it Mean to “Fear the Lord”?
Psalm 112:1
Exodus 20:18-21
Luke 2:8-10
Mark 6:45-51
What are We Afraid of?
Psalm 11:5-6
Psalm 112:2-9
1 John 4:16-18
Responsive Prayer
Leader - Thank you, Lord God, for you hear our prayers as we call out to you in our despair.
All – So We are not Afraid.
Leader - You hear us and rescue us from our distress as You work Your mighty will for our best.
All – So We are not Afraid.
Leader - You lift us up out of all that weighs us down and set us securely on the everlasting rock of salvation our Lord Jesus Christ.
All - So We are not Afraid.
Leader - Yes, You Our Lord rescues us from all that binds us and You give us an eternal home of joy with You.
All – So We are not Afraid.
Leader - You fill our hearts with your presence giving us all a new song to sing, a wonderful song of praise to our God.
All – So We are not Afraid.
Leader - You have given salvation to the many as we put our trust in You our Lord.
All - We will fear the Lord and serve Him, we will listen to His voice and not rebel against the commands of the Lord and so we will not be Afraid. Amen
(NASB2020)
January 29, 2023
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Part 1
Psalm 15:1
Who is Qualified to Live in God’s House?
Leviticus 11:45
Responsive Prayer
Leader: Holy God, we do not deserve to be in your tabernacle.
All: We do not deserve to be in your dwelling place. We have not led a blameless life.
Leader: Holy God, we have not walked in your ways.
All: We have not done what is right in your sight Or spoken the truth that you have sealed in our hearts. We have done evil to both those we love and to those we refuse to love as we should.
Leader: Holy God, we have not appreciated that which you have given us.
All: We have not been faithful stewards of that which we have been blessed. And have hoarded that which should be shared with the least of these.
Leader: Holy God, we confess our fallen ways
All: Hear our cry, God of our hope, as we confess that which weighs us down.
Part 2
Luke 14:28
What are the Qualities of Those Who Walk with God?
Ephesians 1:4
Psalm 15:2-5, The Message
Matthew 5:3-11
Responsive Reading
Leader: O God of the highest heaven, you are worthy to be praised with every breath, loved with every faculty of soul, served with every act of life.
All: We were once dead in our sin, having no eyes to see You, no ears to hear You, no taste to relish Your joys, no intelligence to know You.
Leader: O God you have opened our senses to you, and we are now aware of where we fall short.
All: Show us O God how we are to walk in Your ways, we wish to live in Your ways.
Leader: O God, Your Spirit has made us alive! You have brought us into a new world as new creatures! You have loved us, adopted us, and called us Your own.
All: Let us lay aside every sin of this world; Help us to walk with You that we may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all. Amen.
Part 3
What are the Benefits of Walking with God?
One who does these things will never be shaken. (Psalm 15:5b)
Matthew 7:24-25
1 Samuel 2:2
Psalm 18:1-2
John 1:14
Galatians 5:22-23
Responsive Reading
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Love
Leader: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Joy
Leader: And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Peace
Leader: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Patience
Leader: Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus. (Romans 15:5 NKJV)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Kindness
Leader: So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. (Colossians 3:12-13)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Goodness
Leader: Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Faithfulness
Leader: His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:23)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Gentleness
Leader: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17 NIV)
All: Thank you Lord for the Fruit of Self-control
Leader: For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV)
All: Against such things there is no law.
(All scripture verses are from NASB 2020, unless otherwise noted.)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
January 15, 2023
GOD ANSWERS MY PRAYERS Psalm 40: 1-4 EM BOUNDS: I think Christians fail so often to get answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the small boy ringing his neighbor's door-bell, and then running away as fast as he can go. I WILL TELL EVERYONE Psalm 40: 5-12 EM BOUNDS: Four things let us ever keep in mind: God hears prayer, God heeds prayer, God answers prayer, and God delivers by prayer. David celebrated this- God answered his prayer, and we assume he answered it in a way that David prayed that he would OSWALD CHAMBERS: Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer. SO, I WILL KEEP PRAYING! Psalm 40: 13-17 (NIV)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
January 8, 2023
“I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, An Anatomy of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.” -John Calvin “The other parts of Scripture contain the commandment which God enjoined his servants to announce to us. But here the prophets themselves seeing they are exhibited to us speaking to God, and laying open all their inmost thoughts and affections, call or rather draw, each of us to the examination of himself in particular, in order that none of the many infirmities to which we are subject, and of the many vices with which we abound, may remain concealed."-John Calvin"I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man."-Billy GrahamPsalm 95:1-2 Psalm 29 "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."-George Washington Carver (NIV)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
December 18, 202
1 John 4:7-8
Romans 5:6-11
What is the nature of the Gift?
Matthew 3:16-17
Genesis 22:1-3
Matthew 27:45-46
Genesis 3:14-15
What is the Purpose of the Gift?
Isaiah 53:4-5
Ephesians 2:8-9
To Whom is this Gift Available?
Romans 10:8-10
What is the Effect of the Gift?
John 3:17-18
Romans 3:10-12
(NASB2020)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
December 11, 2022
The Gift of Joy
Luke 2:10-11
Revelation 11:15-17
Romans 8:20-22
What is the Nature of this Joy?
Luke 2:13-14
Revelation 19:7-8
To Whom does this Joy Come?
Matthew 11:5-6
Isaiah 2:2-4
What is the Sign of this Joy?
Matthew 24:29-31
2 Corinthians 8:9
John 1:14
(NASB 2020)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
December 4, 2022
Jamie Arpin-Ricci, One of the most important values in the Bible- The midrash- Ancient commentary in on the O.T. says, “All that is written in the Torah was written for the sake of peace.” “Shalom is what love looks like in the flesh. The embodiment of love in the context of a broken creation, shalom is a hint at what was, what should be, and what will one day be again. Where sin disintegrates and isolates, shalom brings together and restores. Where fear and shame throw up walls and put on masks, shalom breaks down barriers and frees us from the pretense of our false selves.” LIFT OTHERS UP Romans 15:1-2 LET IT GO Romans 15: 3-62 Timothy 2:23 "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.Don't argue with a fool or listeners will think there are two of you."-Mark Twain LIVE AND LET LIVE Romans 15:7-14
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
November 27, 202
Isaiah 9:6-7 How much it sucks Hebrews 9:28 1 Peter 1:3-5 God's Promise The Struggle to Hope Ephesians 1:18 They waited Romans 5:5-6 We wait Romans 8:22-25 While we wait The Day of the Lord Luke 4:18-21 The end of Evil The end of Death 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Heaven and Earth United 1 John 3:2 Isaiah 35:5-7 Micah 4:1-3 (NIV)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker November 20, 2022 Galatians 5:19-21 Don’t Quit! Galatians 6:9 "This precept is especially necessary because we are naturally lazy in the duties of love, and many little stumbling-blocks hinder and put off even the well-disposed. We meet with many unworthy, many ungrateful people. The vast number of the needy overwhelms us; we are drained by paying out on every side. Our warmth is damped by the coldness of others. Finally, the whole world is full of hindrances which turn us aside from the right path. Therefore Paul does well to confirm our efforts, so that we do not faint through weariness." -John Calvin
"What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness. Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples may have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far country. Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus." -Brennan Manning
Do Good
Galatians 6:10
(NIV)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker November 13, 2022 I see God Colossians 1:13-20 "Jesus was God spelling himself out in language humanity could understand." -S.D. Gordon Colossians 2:9-10 John 1:1 John 1:14
I see myself Colossians 1: 21-23 Philippians 2:7 "When I look at myself, I do not see how I can be saved. But when I look at Jesus I don't see how I can be lost." -Martin Luther
"Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ." -Blaise Pascal (NIV)
"I Am Rescued"
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
November 6, 2022
Colossians 1:11-13
Luke 23:39-43
1 John 3:1
Colossians 1:13
“I am Rescued”
Psalm 82:4-5
What is spiritual darkness and what is its power?
Ephesians 2:1-3
Darkness has the power to make us sleepy
1 Thessalonians 5:4-6
Darkness has the power to conceal
Psalm 119:105 NASB
“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein and will continue to produce their kind.”
(As a Man Thinketh – James Allen)
Darkness has the power to depress and to shame
Darkness has the power to fascinate us
John 3:19-20
Philippians 4:8
To where are we rescued?
Colossians 1:13
It is a statement of assurance
1 Samuel 15:29
It is a statement full of intelligence
Psalm 27:1
It is a statement full of gratitude
Romans 9:16
1 Timothy 6:9-12
(NASB 2020)
I am a Citizen of Heaven
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
October 30, 2022
Philippians 3:20
“From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation…that this is a Christian nation.” -The U.S. Supreme Court, 1892.
“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed….” -Noah Webster
“I do profess faith in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ his only Son… ” Delaware Constitution 1776
We have Dual Citizenship – One Earthly and One Eternal
Hebrews 11:13-16
“The Church of Jesus – meaning the community of believers worldwide through all generations – is utterly transcendent. It has been purchased at the highest imaginable cost – the blood of the son of God – and it consists of hundreds of millions of redeemed men and women from every background and ethnicity and color. Those who are part of this blood-bought community live in every nation on the earth, yet their citizenship is in heaven. They are in this world but not part of it. Those that are part of this community are united, but not by any earthly creed or national anthem. We are united by a shared citizenship in God’s heavenly kingdom and our joint status as sons and daughter in His heavenly family.” -Michael L Brown
How do we live in the United States as good citizens when are citizenship is in heaven?
“To give us victory and a holy boldness in this hour.” -Paula White
“Let every adversary against democracy, against freedom, against life, against liberty, against justice, against peace, against righteousness be overturned in the name of Jesus.” -Paula White
Romans 13:1-2
Psalms 12:8
“The world was won for Christ not by arguments but by sanctity: What you are speaks so loud, I can hardly hear what you say.” -Peter Kreft
How do we live in the United States as good citizens when are citizenship is in heaven?
Therefore, we must take interest in the land we live in and seek to do good among our neighbors.
Jeremiah 29:7
We should care about the environment
Psalm 24:1
We need to learn to share the truth in a manner that encourages people to listen
Matthew 5:43-48
Ephesians 4:14-15
We can’t forget that we are citizens of heaven
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. -James 4:6b
(NASB 2020)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
October 23, 202
BE REAL Ephesians 4:22-27 Luke 15:21-24 "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." -Aristotle BE HONORING Ephesians 4:28-31 Philippians 2:3 BE KIND Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” -Plato Galatians 5:13 1 Peter 2:12 (NASB2020)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
October 16, 2022
THE GOSPEL IS A BLESSING Ephesians 3:6 JESUS HAS BLESSED ME Ephesians 3:7-9 "The world was won for Christ not by arguments but by sanctity: “What you are speaks so loud, I can hardly hear what you say.” -Peter Kreft JESUS HAS BLESSED OTHERS Ephesians 3:10-13 Isaiah 52:7 John 10:16 (NASB 2020)
October 9, 2022
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
JESUS TORE Ephesians 2:14 JESUS BORE Ephesians 2:15-18 "The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself or less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less." -Tim Keller JESUS FORMS Ephesians 2:19-22 Galatians 3:28 1 Peter 2:5 Revelation 21:3 (NASB 2020)
Associate Pastor Louise Waller Ephesians 2:14-22 Matthew 7:13-14 Matthew 7:21-23 Matthew 23:23 John 5:39 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Matthew 7:15 John 10:16 Romans 2:14-15 John 17:20-23 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)
Pastor Miles Larson
Director of Pastoral and Congregational Vitality
Brethren Church National Office
Colossians 3:12-15
"If I were a physician, and if I were allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence. For even if the Word of God were proclaimed in the modern world, how could one hear it with so much noise? Therefore, create silence." -Soren Kierkegaard
Matthew 11:28-30
Exodus 20:8-11
Genesis 1:31
Genesis 2:1-3
Matthew 22:36-40
Leviticus 25:2-7
Ephesians 2:1-6
We were Dead in Our Wrongdoings
Ephesians 2:5
Genesis 2:15-17
Ephesians 2:1-3
John 3:1-6
Galatians 3:10
But God made Us Spiritually Alive
Ephesians 2:4-5
Romans 8:5-8
2 Peter 3:18
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
And We are alive with Christ
Ephesians 2:5
2 Kings 13:21
2 Corinthians 13:4
First, we are alive in Christ Representatively
Hebrews 4:14-16
Second, we are alive in Christ by being in Union with Christ
John 11:25-26
Finally, we are to live together with Christ in Likeness
Romans 6:8-11
(NASB 2020)
Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 1:5
Ephesians 1:11
Romans 8:29-30
Ephesians 1:5
Adoption is an act of God whereby we, who were the children under the wrath of God from the lost family of Adam, and for no reason in ourselves, but entirely of the pure grace of God, were brought actually and eternally into the family of God.-Charles Spurgeon
- Adoption was an Act of Grace
Isaiah 64:6-8
- With Adoption comes Privilege
“All those that are justified, God granted, in and for the sake of His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption, by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of children of God, have His name put upon them, receive the spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him as a Father, yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.” -12th article of the 1629 Baptist Confession of Faith
We are no longer Children of Wrath
God has given us a new name.
Revelation 2:17
We have a New Nature
Galatians 4:3-6
We have access to His throne
Luke 11:9-13
God has Compassion for Us
Psalm 103:13
God Protects Us
God Provides for Us
Luke 12:29-32
God will Teach You all You need to Know
2 Timothy 3:16-17
God will Discipline Us
Hebrews 12:4-7
- There are Requirements Associated with Adoption
Obey Your Father
Matthew 5:8
Matthew 22:37-40
Exodus 20:8
Trust Your Father
Proverbs 3:5-6
Numbers 23:5-6
Love Your Father
Matthew 22:37-38
Ephesians 1:1
Matthew 27:66
Revelation 12:9-11 Genesis 1:1 Acts 2:1-4 Romans 8:26 (NKJV)
Psalms 139:13-16 NIV
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Philippians 2:15 NIV
Matthew 5:13-15 NIV
Philippians 2:12b-13 NIV
Philippians 1:6 NLT
Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:4
“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world”
- How did Our Blessings come to Us
Ezekiel 36:22
How did Our Blessings come to Us – Only by the Love and Grace of God
- What does it mean to be Holy and Blameless before God
That we would be holy and blameless before Him in Love (Ephesians 1:4b NASB)
Psalm 99:9
Psalm 5:7
1 Peter 1:14-16
What does it mean to be Holy - God is the perfect model of Holiness, we are declared Holy, and we should strive for holiness.
1 Timothy 3:2 NKJV
Romans 8:1
Psalm 103:10-12
What does it mean to be Blameless – Blameless defines our condition as seen by God; He does not see our sins but only a cleansed us so we should strive towards blamelessness.
- What is God’s Purpose of Design
Matthew 23:23
Philippians 1: 5-6
What is God’s purpose of design – Everything He has done for us was done so that we would desire to become holy and blameless in our lives.
- What is the Evidence of Our Transformation
Ephesians 1:4
1 John 4:7-9
Luke 19:9-10
Luke 15:10
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
What is the Evidence of Our Transformation – That we would love one another as God loves us.
(NASB 2020)
Ephesians 1:1-6
Ephesians 1:3
We are to bless God
Ephesians 1:3a
Psalm 145:10 NKJV
1 Chronicles 29:13-14
Isaiah 6:8
We must view God correctly.
When God is viewed correctly, He become the object of our gratitude not of our dread.
John 3:16
1 John 4:9-10
If we are to view God correctly then we must regard Him as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 20:17
Matthew 27:46
Ephesians 1:17
If we are to view God correctly then we must regard Him as the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 4:4-5
We must recognize that Jesus Christ is ‘OUR’ Jesus Christ.
Colossian 2:9-11
We need to appreciate God for all He has done for us.
Ephesians 1:3b
First, we must realize that the blessings exist now!
Ephesians 1:7-9
Second, we therefore need to have a right understanding of these blessings.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Third, the blessings are ours personally.
Ephesians 3: 14-16
Finally, the blessings are not limited.
Ephesians 3: 17-19
(NASB 2020)
Romans 8:16-19 God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. -St. Augustine: Pain insists upon being attended to: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. -C.S. Lewis SUFFERING REMINDS ME THAT PAIN IS TEMPORARY, GLORY IS FOREVER. The eternal cause of pain is not clear; it wears a mask. But because God is good, we have hope of a ‘good’ eternal cause to our temporal conflicts. -Zach Kincaid One of the main ways we move from abstract knowledge about God to a personal encounter with him as a living reality is through the furnace of affliction. -Tim Keller SUFFERING REMINDS ME PAIN IS ROOTED IN HOPE, NOT DESPAIR. Romans 8:20-22 SUFFERING REMINDS ME PAIN IS BIRTHING DELIVERANCE, NOT DEATH. Romans 8:23-24 (NASB 2020)
Ephesians 2:18-20
Isaiah 6:1-5
1 Corinthians 1:2
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Philippians 1:1-2
Colossians 1:1-2
(NKJV)
John 3:16
We have Life after death
John 11:25-26
Luke 23:43
John 5:24
John 17:3
John 10:27-28
Eternal Life is now
John 4:14
Psalm 103:15-16
Luke 18:18-22
Growing up Into Eternal Life
1 Corinthians 13:8
Isaiah 63:10
Romans 8:5
Romans 6:22
2 Peter 1:3-7
Galatians 6:8-10
Ephesians 4:25-32
1 Timothy 6:11-12
The glory of God is humanity fully alive. Life comes from participation in God. Participation in God is to see God and enjoy His goodness. -Saint Iraneus
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. -John Wesley
God’s intention is that I grow to the point where He can safely empower me to do what I want. That means my life is about growing my ‘wanter’ to want what God wants.
We are beings that are meant to live our lives toward something we cannot possibly accomplish on our own. Obviously we need God’s assistance to do these things. -Dallas Willard
(NIV)
I AM ADOPTED AS GOD’S CHILD... Romans 8:14-15 I AM AFFIRMED AS GOD’S CHILD... Romans 8:16 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I FACE ADVERSITY AS GOD’S CHILD... 1 John 3:1-2 Romans 8:17 “Jesus came to announce to us that an identity based on success, popularity and power is a false identity- an illusion! Loudly and clearly he says: 'You are not what the world makes you; but you are children of God.”-Henri Nouwen (NASB2020)
Galatians 2:20
- The Christian Faith is a Personal One
Matthew 7:13-14
Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah 6:8
John 15:1-2
- Our Own Personality is Interwoven with that of Christ
Galatians 2:20
2 Kings 4:32-34
Romans 7:15-20
- What is the life we live with this blended Personality.
1 Corinthians 1:18-21
Romans 8:37-39
(NASB 2020)
2 Corinthians 12:6-1
Isaiah 40:29-3
It starts with being weak
Revelation 3:17-18
Waiting on God
Psalm 56:3-4
Psalm 46:1-3
Active Waiting
Hosea 12:6
Romans 5:3-4
Humble Waiting
Waiting in Hope
Philippians 4:4-7
Romans 7:24-25 FREEDOM FROM CONDEMNATION... Romans 8:1-2 Romans 8:1-2 (Message Paraphrase) With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. “Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.” Martin Luther FREEDOM FROM THE LAW.. Romans 8:3-4 “Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”― Saint Augustine of Hippo A what was the result?: “For the Lord touched all parts of creation, and freed and undeceived them all from every deceit.”― St. Athanasius FREEDOM FROM MYSELF... Romans 8:5-8 (NASB 2020)
Isaiah 49:14-16
God NEVER stops loving You “Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely. ... He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf God NEVER stops thinking about You. Psalm 139:17-18 God NEVER stops planning a future with You. Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB 2020)
2 Corinthians 5:17
What does it mean to be in Christ?
Ephesians 2:11-12
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Romans 9:30-32
John 15:1-5
Ephesians 2:19-22
Romans 5:1-2 NASB
What does it mean to be a new creation?
First, it is a radical change.
Acts 9:3-6
Acts 9:17
Acts 9:19b-22
Second, there is divine work involved.
John 1:12-13 NASB
1 John 3:1-3 NASB
Finally, in the new creation there is a remarkable freshness
Romans 6:4 NASB
Matthew 28:16-20
Matthew 5:14-16
“We are the light of the World.”
Why does God make men and women to be the light to other men and women in the world?
By making His people light-givers to the world He is protecting us from many evils.
First, He is protecting us from selfishness while guiding us in godliness
Romans 3:23
2 Samuel 12:5-7
2 Samuel 12:13-14
Second, He is protecting us from turning the church into an island of isolation.
Matthew 5:14-15
“Salvation is both an event and a process: it is an accomplished fact, a continuing walk, and a future hope.”
Third, He is protecting us from separating ourselves completely from the world.
Romans 12:1-2
Fourth, He is protecting us from developing a mindset of fatalism.
Romans 10:11-13
Romans 10:14-15
Finally, He is protecting us from developing an extreme longing for heaven.
Philippians 1:21-26
(NASB 2020)
John 3:3-6 John 1:11-13 Romans 8: 14-16 Jeremiah 1:5 Psalms 139:15-16 Hebrews 12:5-6 James 1:2-4 Philippians 1:6 Matthew 18:1-3 (NIV)
May 8, 2022
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
Ephesians 1:3-4
1 Corinthians 15:16-19
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Psalms 51:10
2 Corinthians 12:10
Psalms 34:19
Matthew 28:18-20
(NASB 2020)
May 1, 2022
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
"I am Fully Known by God"
Psalm 139 1-6 NASB 2020
Romans 7:15 NASB 2020
Psalm 139 7-12 NASB 2020
Psalm 139 13-15 NASB 2020
I am Fully Loved by God
Ephesians 1:3-4 NASB 2020
Psalm 8:3-4 NASB 2020
Psalm 86:15 NASB-1995
John 3:16-17 NASB 2020
Romans 5:6-8 NASB
Galatians 4:4-7 NASB 2020
Psalm 103:1-5 NASB
Share the Truth
1 John 4:7-11 NASB 2020
Ephesians 4:14-15 NASB 2020
I carry the fragrance of God when I embrace the following... God is deeply RELATIONAL 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 I am fully RELIANT on God 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 I share openly who God REALLY is. 2 Corinthians 2:17 (NASB 2020)
GOD IS ALWAYS AT WORK IN ME Romans 8:28 GOD IS WORKING ALL THINGS IN MY LIFE FOR GOOD Romans 8:28 GOD IS WORKING TO FORM ME IN THE IMAGE OF JESUS Romans 8:29-30 Colossians 3:23-24 Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB 2020)
Isaiah 43:1
Isaiah 41:13
1 Peter 5:7
John 14:27
Isaiah 61:1
Galatians 2:20
John 8: 34-36
Galatians 4:3-7
Romans 8:15
Psalm 23
Galatians 5:1
Ephesians 2:10
(NIV)
God CARES deeply about your body. 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 Your body is a part of CHRIST’S body. 1 Corinthians 6: 15-18 HONOR God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Romans 12:1 (NASB 2020)
Call out the PROBLEM 1 Corinthians 3:1-7 Keep leaders in their proper PLACE Corinthians 3:8-15 Embrace your PART as God's dwelling place 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Ephesians 2:19-22 (NASB2020)
Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially 'deify.' We will look to it with all the passion and intensity of worship and devotion, even if we think ourselves as highly irreligious. -Tim Keller
YOU AND I CAN TELL OTHERS WHAT GOD THINKS
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
YOU AND I CAN KNOW WHAT GOD THINKS
1 Corinthians 2:6-13
YOU AND I CAN THINK LIKE GOD
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
Philippians 2:5-8
(NASB 2020)
1 Corinthians 2:12
How are the things of God given to us?
John 1:4-5
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Isaiah 55:1
Romans 6:23
Micah 7:18
The things of God are given to us “Freely.”
How do I have the power to receive the things of God?
1 Corinthians 2:14
John 3:4-6
I have the power to receive the things of God because I was given that power by God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
How do I have the knowledge to understand the things of God?
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew 5:18-19
I have the knowledge to understand the things of God because I have access to the Holy Scriptures and a guide in the Holy Spirit
(NASB 2020)
1 Corinthians 1:30
Physical Birth
Psalm 139:13-16
Spiritual Birth
Ephesians 1:3-4
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Spiritual Wealth
Wisdom
1 Corinthians 1:20-21
Isaiah 55:7-9
Psalm 14:1
Righteousness
Isaiah 64:6
Sanctification
Genesis 2:3
Galatians 5:24
Hebrews 10:14
Redemption
Romans 3:23-25
Romans 8:22-23
(NASB 2020)
COVENANT STATEMENT #4: To serve one another by following the example of Jesus Christ ensuring others are seen, heard, and cared for as deeply valued members of God’s family and this church.
Mark 10:45
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
JOHN BUNYAN: You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.
JOHN WESLEY: One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.
JOHN WESLEY: Do all the good you can by all the means you can in all the places you can at all the times you can to all the people you can as long as ever you can
LOOK constantly to Jesus
1 Peter 4:1-5
Hebrews 12:1-3
LISTEN thoughtfully to the Gospel message
1 Peter 4:6-7
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
LOVE others enthusiastically
1 Peter 4:8-11
THOMAS MERTON: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”
Galatians 5:19-26
Ephesians 6:12 (NASB 2020 and The Message)
Romans 7:1
Galatians 6:2
Romans 12:10-13
(NASB 2020)
Martin Luther: Our nature, by the corruption of the first sin, [being] so deeply curved in on itself that it not only bends the best gifts of God towards itself and enjoys them (as is plain in the works-righteous and hypocrites), or rather even uses God himself in order to attain these gifts, but it also fails to realize that it so wickedly, curvedly, and viciously seeks all things, even God, for its own sake.
JARED C. WILSON- “If anything, we should be astounded they let us into the community. Given what we know of ourselves, given that we are the worst sinners we know, it is a staggeringly arrogant thing to begrudge any other repentant follower of Jesus a place at the dance. If the bar was low enough to allow our entry, what advantage is there to raising it?”
“Jesus wasn’t blowing smoke. His major contribution to the world was not a set of aphorisms (pithy observations). He was born in a turdy barn, grew up in a dirty world, got baptized in a muddy river. He put his hands on the oozing wounds of lepers, he let whores brush his hair and soldiers pull it out. He went to dinner with dirtbags, both religious and irreligious. His closest friends were a collection of crude fishermen and cultural traitors. He felt the spittle of the Pharisees on his face and the metal hooks of the jailer’s whip in the flesh of his back. He got sweaty and dirty and bloody—and he took all of the sin and mess of the world onto himself, onto the cross to which he was nailed naked.”
COVENANT STATEMENT #2: To live in mutual accountability and to encourage each other to grow in Christ-likeness and to reflect him in all things, to all people, and at all times.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-1
Hebrews 11:1-3
Hebrews 10:23-2
(NASB 2020)
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER: “Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.”
CS LEWIS: It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Henri Nouwen: “When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others. Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God's eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God's heart.”
COVENANT STATEMENT #1:
To always be gracious in our words and deeds towards one other, and to gently admonish one another when needed. (Proverbs 16:24)
Mathew 18: 15-2
Galatians 2:11-16
(NASB 2020)
1. TALK TO THE PERSON 2. TAKE A WITNESS AND TALK TO THEM AGAIN 3. TAKE IT TO THE CHURCH AND TALK TO THEM AGAIN 4. DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN
Guest Speaker: Miles Larson
Director of Congregational & Pastoral Vitality
Brethren Church National Office
January 16, 2022
Galatians 6:1
Matthew 22:36-40
Ezekiel 3:17-21
Hebrews 10:24-25
Hebrews 12:6
Ephesians 4:25
Proverbs 27:6
James 5: 19-20
Matthew 7:2-5
Galatians 6:1-2
Matthew 18:15-17
Proverbs 12:1
Psalm 14:5
Proverbs 9:8
Proverbs 12:15
James 5:16
James 1:22-26
(NASB 2020)
Associate Pastor Eric Burch
January 2, 202
1 Peter 2:9-12
Ephesians 4:11-13
Truthful
Ephesians 4:14
Romans 12:18
Proverbs 18:13
Romans 14:1
Helpful
Romans 1:28-32
1 Peter 3:8-9
Inspiring
Hebrews 10:23-25
Necessary
Proverbs 14:17
Proverbs 13:1
Proverbs 4:24
Proverbs 18:21
Proverbs 14:23
Proverbs 19:13
Kind
Ephesians 4:30-32
Ephesians 5:15
James 3:8-9
In God’s Eyes
Colossians 4:5-6
(NASB 2020)
Luke 2:8-20
1 Peter 5:1-4
Colossians 1: 19-20
(NASB 2020)
JOHN ORTBERG: God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure - people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character. JONATHAN EDWARDS: The foundation of the Christian’s peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy. It will remain when the body dies; it will remain when the mountains depart and the hills shall be removed, and when the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. The fountain of His comfort shall never be diminished, and the stream shall never be dried. His comfort and joy is a living spring in the soul, a well of water springing up to everlasting life.
Galatians 5:22-23
Romans 15:13
James 1:2-4
John 16:21
Luke 1:8-14
Luke 1:57-58
Luke 1:26-33
2 Samuel 7:16
Luke 1:34-48
Isaiah 7:13-14
Luke 2:1-7
Matthew 2:3-6
Matthew 2:9-10
Luke 2:10-11
(NASB 1995)
Matthew 1:16
Matthew 1:18-25
Matthew 2:13
Matthew 2:19-23
(NASB 1995)
“St. Joseph stands as an exemplary model of the kindness and humility that the Christian faith raises to a great destiny and demonstrates the ordinary and simple virtues necessary for men to be good and genuine followers of Christ. Through these virtues, this just man, caring most lovingly for the mother of God and happily dedicating himself to the upbringing of Jesus Christ, was placed as guardian over God the Father's most precious treasures." -St. Francis
Matthew 2:7-21
1 Peter 1:3
Romans 15:4
(NASB 2020)
“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity–hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory–because at the Father’s will Jesus became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross.” -J.I. Packer
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
November 21, 2021
John 6:52-6
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life
Brennan Manning: What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness. Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples may have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far country. Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus
1 Corinthians 15:5
Philippians 3:13-14
(NASB 2020)
Ecclesiastes 3:11
The UNENDING life in Christ
Revelation 22: 1-2, John 4:14
The UNRELENTING love of Christ
Revelation 22: 3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:18
The CONSTANT presence with Christ
Revelation 22: 5, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 16:11
"Nothing in or of this world measures up to the simple pleasure of experiencing the presence of God." - A.W. Tozer
Revelation 2:6-7
"When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right - something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise. It will be too late then to choose your side." -C.S. Lewis
(NASB 2020)
Revelation 6:1-17
Psalm 23
(NASB 2020)
The journey to the future is HARD for everyone with the result of LIFE in Christ for some and DEATH for others.
Martin Luther: I would not give one moment of heaven for all the joy and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years.
C.S. Lewis: Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.
John Burke, Imagine Heaven -”How you think about Heaven affects everything in life - how you prioritize love, how willing you are to sacrifice for the long term, how you view suffering, what you fear or don’t fear.”
Jonathan Edwards: The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.
Jesus is the one and only judge between who’s in and who’s out. He defines who his church is, not us
Revelation 3:14-2
Colossians 1:15
Luke 12:16-2
John 9:39-4
Proverbs 3:11-1
Matthew 6:25-33
(NASB 1995)
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
Revelation 3:7-13
2 Corinthians 5:10
(NASB 2020)
Jesus, in the end, gets the final SAY, not those who believe they get their own WAY.
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
(NASB 2020)
Revelation 3:1-6
Matthew 7:21-23
JOHN CALVIN: “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.”
TIM KELLER: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.
October 10, 2021
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
October 3, 2021
Revelation 2:18-29 (NASB 2020)
CHARLES SPURGEON: The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it.”
MARTIN LUTHER: Where God builds a church the devil builds a chapel. So many Christian churches in the United States do so much good — nourishing the soul, comforting the sick, providing services, counseling congregants, teaching Jesus’s example, and even working to fight sexual abuse and harassment. But like in any community of faith, there is also sin — often silenced, ignored and denied — and it is much more common than many want to believe. It has often led to failures by evangelicals to report sexual abuse, respond appropriately to victims and change the institutional cultures that enabled the abuse in the first place. -Washington Post 2018
Lead Pastor Dan Acker
September 26, 2021
Revelation 2:12-17 (NASB2020)
“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...” -C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Associate Pastor Louise Waller
September 19, 2021
Revelation 2:8-11
Ephesians 6:11-12
John 8:42-45
(All verses from NIV)
BLAISE PASCAL: Nothing is so intolerable to man as being fully at rest, without a passion, without business, without entertainment, without care. Steps to reclaiming your passion: 1. REMEMBER where, when, and how you began to become passive. Revelation 2:1-5a 2. RETURN to the place where you discovered your passion. Revelation 5b-7
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
"Why did the Early Church succeed where we are failing? How did they transform the Western world in such a relatively short time? They did it because they did things that baffled the Romans. The Early Church didn't picket, they didn't boycott, and they didn't gripe about what was going on in their culture. They just did things that astonished the Romans. They took in their abandoned babies. They helped their sick and wounded. They restored dignity to the slaves. They were willing to die for what they believed. After a while, their actions so softened the hearts of the Romans that they wanted to know more about who these Christians were and who was the God they represented. Without confrontation, protest, or debate, love did its work." -Phil Cooke and Jonathan Bock
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.
C.S. Lewis: “As long as you are proud you cannot know God.A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
Listen to weekly sermons from Summit Ridge Community Church in Tucson, Arizona. We exist to make disciples who serve Christ by serving people.