Nelsonville Assembly: Recent Episodes
Nelsonville Assembly
This channel features sermons and messages from Nelsonville Assembly of God and the teaching ministry of Pastor Isaiah Jesch.
From II Corinthians 5:1-10, Pastor Isaiah Jesch explains the implications of the fact that this life is temporary and what comes next can be far greater than all this life has to offer. For a Christian, knowing these things gives us freedom to focus on the mission of God here in this life, no matter the cost!
The prayer of Daniel in chapter 9 of his letter is one of profound honesty and openness before God. Pastor Isaiah explains how the way that Daniel approaches confession and pleading for mercy presents a direct challenge to modern Christians who often settle for much shorter and far more shallow prayers in our own lives.
From the first 3 verses of Daniel 9, Pastor Isaiah explains the actions that came from Daniel reading the Word of God given to Jeremiah, and how understanding revelation is always supposed to lead to response in our lives too!
From the first 3 verses of Daniel 9, Pastor Isaiah explains the actions that came from Daniel reading the Word of God given to Jeremiah, and how understanding revelation is always supposed to lead to response in our lives too!
In Daniel 5, the foolishness of King Belshazzar of Babylon is presented in vivid detail. Pastor Isaiah explains how the lessons that he failed to learn give us an opportunity to become people who live in wisdom and humility, following after the perfectly humble One True King, Jesus Christ.
The dramatic fulfillment of the dream that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar resulted in a massively changed life for the king of Babylon. Pastor Isaiah declares the incredible reality of who God is from the wisdom that comes when we learn to lift our eyes to heaven and behold God for who He is.
In Daniel 4, we see a case study of the patience of God to produce repentance in some of even the most unlikely of people. Pastor Isaiah helps us see how the work of God in the life of an ancient king is also a call to us today.
The last half of the story in Daniel 3 remains one of the most popular parts of the Old Testament. Pastor Isaiah explains some of the details that help give us a proper picture of what took place and then shows us from Scripture how the gift of God's presence with us is actually far more significant than most of us realize day by day.
From one of the two most famous passages in the Book of Daniel, Pastor Isaiah preaches about the God who alone is worthy of worship and the challenge for us to understand and reject all temptations to worship idols in our lives.
While King Nebuchadnezzar made an impossible demand for the wise men of Babylon, God proved His power by revealing the answers to His servant, Daniel. Pastor Isaiah preaches from the account in Daniel 2:24-49 and challenges us to consider how we view and live in light of our God, the Revealer of Mysteries.
When King Nebuchadnezzar makes an impossible demand, and his wrath is felt by the Babylonian wise men, Daniel and his friends continue to walk in faith. Pastor Isaiah explains the way the example of these men should challenge us to act in faith in our lives today, too.
The radical changes that came upon God's people in the Babylonian exile were first experienced by four young men who were taken captive to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's court. Pastor Isaiah explains some of the initial challenges they faced and how false promises of provision still form the basis of so many temptations for us today, too.
Turning back over 2,600 years, we focus on a pivotal moment in the history of the people of God. Pastor Isaiah helps us understand the context and situation surrounding the Babylonian Exile and this powerful Old Testament Book from the pen of Daniel. Drawing the connections to today, we marvel at the God who is just as active here and now as He was in Israel and Babylon all those years ago.
Concluding the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the great power of God to rescue His servant! While Darius's remorse and regret still left him powerless to fix the past, the God of Daniel is the all-power Rescuer & Deliverer!
As we enter the new year, we look at the importance of prayer through a familiar story in Daniel 6. Pastor Isaiah examines the consistency and commitment in Daniel and challenges us to consider our own lives and ask God to grow us too!
In our final gathering of 2023, Pastor Isaiah sets our focus on the Second Coming of Christ and His Future Advent that Christians eagerly long for. Hearing Jesus speak of this great day from Matthew 25 serves to motivate and challenge us to live intentionally to the glory of God knowing that He sees and will speak to all that we do in this life.
On Christmas Eve Day, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the incrediable reality and signifiance of the fact that God entered into this human world in the Incarnation. This central belief of our faith challenges and moves us to worship, especially, but not just, at Christmas time!
Human beings are more than what we can see. These physical bodies that we possess are important, but it is our deeper selves that comes from our souls which make us truly unique. Pastor Isaiah discusses in this sermon how we need to engage our souls to truly glorify God with all that we are.
In our second week of the Advent Season, Pastor Isaiah explains the importance of the doctrine of embodiment. Looking to Scripture and considering the specific challenges of our modern age, we are called to embrace the physical aspect of how God has created us in order to glorify Him in how we live in this material world!
As we enter into the 2023 Advent Season, Pastor Isaiah begins a new series on how God has designed us, and desires for us, to engage in both Body & Soul (or Spirit) this time of year!
As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday here in America, Pastor Isaiah takes us to Psalm 113 to help us think more deeply and properly about true thanksgiving and the command to Praise the Lord for who He is and what He has done.
At the end of Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul put forward a powerful theological argument drawn from the contrast between Sarah and Hagar. Pastor Isaiah explains the text and how the contrasting principles of either being self-reliant or having faith in the promises of God impacts what we do in our lives today too.
In Galatians 4:12-20, Paul breaks from his theological arguments into an emotional appeal to relationship. Pastor Isaiah takes us through this text to see the importance of how we as Christians think and act in our relationships today too.
Idolatry is not just an ancient problem. Though this problem takes on different external forms, in every culture and time human beings struggle with the same enslavement. Pastor Isaiah proclaims the message of freedom in Christ and how once true freedom is experienced, everything else pales in comparison.
In this second sermon, Pastor Isaiah talks about the importance of being part of the mission of God. After laying out a theological foundation, Pastor shares a vision for the future as Nelsonville Assembly seeks to build upon the legacy of our last 100 years of missions giving and going.
In the first of two special sermons, Pastor Isaiah shares the theological foundations for increasing our focus on church community connections outside the church building!
In our September Family Sunday, Pastor Isaiah shared with our kids the three images that help us understand the ongoing purposes of the Law of God in our lives before turning to explaining what Paul meant by the Law being a "guardian until Christ came." Exploring the contrast between being Students of the Law vs. Sons of God, we were challenged to consider how we are going to live as believers today!
Wrapping up a three week focus on the role of the Law of God in the life of the Christian, Pastor Isaiah explains how the Law can function as a window that reveals Christ and motivates our own pursuits of Spirit-empowered holiness.
Continuing to look at the purposes of the Law of God, Pastor Isaiah draws upon the beloved third verse of the great hymn Come Thou Fount. As Pastor explains, the second purpose of the Law in both the civil society and in personal lives is the restraining of sin and evil deeds.
Christians must understand the three main uses of the Law of God in order to rightly handle this crucial matter in our lives. Being people who understand that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, lies at the heart of the Gospel and true Christianity, but learning to see the continuing uses of the Law of God is necessary for everyday life. In this first sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains the primary use of the Law as a Mirror into our own souls.
Covenants are key to really understanding the commitment of God to His people. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains the concept of covenant and how the Apostle Paul uses this idea to give assurance and strength to believers in every age and place!
Returning from Guatemala, Pastor Isaiah shares about what God is doing in that part of the world in direct fulfillment of His promises in Galatians 3:6-14. The part that Nelsonville Assembly gets to play in God's global mission through investments and efforts for the Kingdom like this are incredible and worth praising God about!
Returning from Guatemala, Pastor Isaiah shares about what God is doing in that part of the world in direct fulfillment of His promises in Galatians 3:6-14. The part that Nelsonville Assembly gets to play in God's global mission through investments and efforts for the Kingdom like this are incredible and worth praising God about!
The Christian life is begun by faith and it can only be lived by faith. This is the Apostle Paul's primary message as he engages with his readers in Galatia who are considering abandoning this position and attempting to work for their salvation. Following two questions that Paul poses, Pastor Isaiah drives us to think about our own life experiences and if our profession of Christ is true or mere vanity.
In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah shares about the impact and challenge of taking students to Youth and Kids Camp this summer while also setting up the context for our 2023 Faith Family Fun Nights as we look at the Armor of God and the importance of the spiritual life.
Guilt is a common motivator in our lives, but there is a much greater power available for Christians each day. Pastor Isaiah helps us see the glorious gift of the Gospel and what the imputation of Christ's complete righteousness and God declaring us fully justified really means for our lives today.
The Gospel is not merely something to be believed, but is something that guides the actions of our lives too. Pastor Isaiah looks at the conflict in Galatia when Peter's actions proved hypocritical in living contrary to the faith he was professing.
In Galatians 2:1-10, as the Apostle Paul reflects on the first fourteen years of his ministry following his conversion, he illustrates what a profound gift God has given to His church. Pastor Isaiah shows us this great gift of God's work of preserving the Gospel and bringing His people unity around this enduring message!
The Christian claim about salvation is one of exclusivity, namely that there is only one way to peace with God. This also means that the Christian life is one of total commitment to God or it is remaining in a life that is opposed to God. Pastor Isaiah explains from the end of Galatians 1 how Paul shares his testimony about his transformation by the power of the Gospel to make him no longer a slave to sin, but a servant of Christ!
The Apostle Paul moves immediately into his reason for writing to the churches in Galatia in verses 6-9 of his letter. Pastor Isaiah explains the passion and importance of this message not just for the original audience but for us today as well when we understand that there is Only One Gospel That Saves.
The Apostle Paul wrote an important letter to the Christians in Galatia to proclaim again to them the most important message for all mankind in every moment to know. Pastor Isaiah walks us through the first 5 verses and challenges us to see the importance of the Gospel not just as a historical fact, but a powerful life-changing message for us today as well.
"What's Next?" That's a question that most of us think, perhaps more often than we want to admit. Right after the resurrection of Christ, the first disciples had that same thought and the response of Jesus is instructive to us today too. Pastor Isaiah challenges us to not miss the moment and to ask God, "What Now?"
As we conclude our series on the Lion and the Lamb, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the victory of the Risen Savior seen from Revelation 5. With a packed church and a lot of excited kids, we had a time of great joy in the House of the Lord this Resurrection Sunday!
Continuing to follow our theme of understanding Jesus as the Lamb of God, Pastor Isaiah helps us see the sacrificial death of Christ as the true Passover Lamb as we meditate upon the cross in this special Good Friday service.
When John the Baptist came onto the scene as a prophet of God, his message was one that many in Israel had great trouble accepting. Pastor Isaiah explains the importance of understanding John's proclamation that Jesus was "The Lamb of God" and what that meant would be the primary outcome of His life and ministry.
The use of the imagery around the Lion reveals the power and majesty of God, but from the Lamb, God's people also learn very important spiritual truths too. In this message, Pastor Isaiah talks about the Old Testament background behind the lamb and how the holiness of God is of utmost importance.
Continuing in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus moves from the idea of being poor in spirit, to learning to properly mourning and express sorrow over sin, to the heart of a Kingdom Citizen in being meek. Pastor Isaiah unpacks both what this heart posture and these actions displayed look like in the people of God.
As we prepare for the Easter season, we begin by looking back to the Old Testament and seeing some of the prophetic themes that are given to help us understand the granduer and majesty of Jesus Christ.
In the first of our big events this year celebrating the work of God through Nelsonville Assembly over the past 100 years since our founding, we were blessed to have Rev. Doug Clay, the Assemblies of God General Superintendent, come and join us to celebrate the past and anticipate the future of God's work in and through this church body!
In our final week of this series, we return to Ecclesiastes 3 and hear the wisdom of Solomon in verses 9-14. Pastor Isaiah presses us to see afresh how the sovereignty of God over all things is the basis for true celebration, joy, worship, and fulfillment in our lives.
On this Family Sunday, our kids join us to understand how celebration requires remembrance which only comes from first learning and knowing something. As we look to echo the actions of Asaph in Psalm 77:11-15, Pastor Isaiah introduces our church to another tool for discipleship we will begin using in the form of a church catechism.
Looking back to the Ceremonial Law of the Old Testament and the various feasts and festivals that God commanded His people to observe, Pastor Isaiah helps us draw out the greater reason for worship and celebration that we have today living with the Light of Christ in our view.
Joy in sadness and celebration in sorrow seem like paradoxical ideas for many. In light of the passing of one of our dear sisters in Christ, Pastor Isaiah explains how the Christian can experience these things mixed together and how our God brings comfort and strength in difficult times and seasons of life.
While many of us know the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 from the classic Byrds hit "Turn! Turn! Turn!" this incredible text speaks in every generation with a greater message than we often realize. As we start a new series called Celebrate, Pastor Isaiah begins with helping us think carefully and clearly about our lives and how the times and seasons that make up our days are all within the hand of God.
On our first Family Sunday of 2023, Pastor Isaiah preaches from Mark 10:13-16 about the heart of Jesus for children. Seeing the strong feeling of our Lord helps to challenge and motivate us as we think about our own lives and the place of kids in our church.
Pastor Isaiah unpacks the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 and challenges us with a key lesson for our own prayer lives. Through the example of how He teaches us to prayer, Jesus invites us to pray for both Eternal and Everyday matters, but unlike how many of us pray naturally, Jesus places the priority on the Eternal. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah helps us see that and challenges us to follow the model the Lord has given to us.
As we enter into a New Year, Pastor Isaiah shares about the doctrine of God's Eternality. Contrasting with how much we experience change, God is always reliable and trustworthy because of this unique attribute of His nature!
On Christmas Sunday, our church gathered together to worship and celebrate the culmination of the Advent Season, that Christ Has Come! Pastor Isaiah shares insights from Luke 2 about how God works in surprising ways, and helps us get a more accurate picture in our minds about what that incredible night really looked like.
The Prophet Micah gave a startling word from God to the people of Israel when he declared that it would be through Bethlehem that the Messiah would come. Pastor Isaiah turns our attention to this prophecy and how these words help build our anticipation and appreciation of the events we celebrate at Christmas!
In this message, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the beautiful reality of Jesus as our Good Shepherd, the perfect fulfillment of Psalm 23!
In the second week of Advent, we consider the changing power of love through a story that takes place in Bethlehem at the time of the Judges. Pastor Isaiah shares the story of Ruth and how God was at work in the life of this Moabite widow, her mother-in-law Naomi, and their redeemer Boaz to not only change their lives but to weave them into the grand story of the True Redeemer Jesus Himself coming into the world.
In the first week of the Advent Season in 2022, Pastor Isaiah preaches from Deuteronomy Chapter 7 and shows how the commands of God to His people as they are about to enter the Promised Land that we now call Israel speak to us today too. As so many seek hope this holiday season, we are reminded that true hope is only found in our God and His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Continuing in Acts 13, we look at the first stop on the first journey of the first formal missionaries of the church to see examples of understanding and passion to proclaim the message of Jesus. Pastor Isaiah points out how Barnabas returned to the island where he grew up while Saul was there operating on foreign soil and yet both are committed to the proclamation of the message of Jesus and serve as examples and challenges to all of us to do the same, wherever God has placed us in this moment.
As we return to the Book of Acts and the Church in Antioch, Pastor Isaiah refreshes us on how God was working through this group of people and draws from the example of how God spoke to and led that church to call our church family to prayer and intentionally seeking the Lord here as well.
Why do we exist? The answer this question is vital for any group of people to answer in order to shape what they do. For Nelsonville Assembly, the answer to that question is rooted in the mission that Jesus has given us, and the way we measure our success and our alignment to that mission is reflected in these five core values that Pastor Isaiah talks about.
In this stand-alone sermon, Pastor Isaiah challenges us through the lives of two figures from church history, and most importantly from the Scriptures, to kill the temptations toward complacency and toward revivalism that can creep into our lives and hinder our spiritual growth.
In the early days of the church, recorded for us in the Book of Acts, there was unity and depth of relationship that marked the people. Pastor Isaiah looks at Acts 2:42-47 to give us a glimpse into what the people did and how we too can pursue and position ourselves through practicing biblical hospitality to have similarly real relationships with those in our church family as well.
In this standalone sermon, Pastor Isaiah talks about the importance of considering the next generation and being intentional to pass on the faith. With that framework, Pastor Isaiah shares a recap of what God did in the lives of our youth during Camp 2022 the previous week.
When Herod Agrippa began to persecute the church in Acts 12, even going so far as to kill the Apostle James and arrest the Apostle Peter, the church responded with earnestly praying to see the power of God at work. Despite their feebleness, God answered their prayers in a mighty way and ended up destroying Herod because of his sinful pride. Pastor Isaiah unpacks how this chapter presses into our lives and challenges us to be persistent in humble and expectant prayer.
In Acts 11, the young Christian believers in Antioch demonstrated an understanding and desire to be obedient to respond to God giving them the opportunity to give. Pastor Isaiah walks us through developing a biblical theology of giving. By understanding the reasoning and intention of the command of God for His people to give a tithe, we are better prepared to then live out the more radical commands in the New Testament to be generous givers who invest in eternity.
Christians have the grand opportunity to live for more than just the moment. In the first of a two-part message, Pastor Isaiah shares two ways that Christians have the opportunity to live our lives investing in eternity.
In Acts 11, Peter faces the conflict that comes from the reality that people do not always experience growth at the same rate and time. Peter's determination to not let sin regain priority in his heart leads to a sharing of what God has done and challenging to those who hear to also submit to and follow the way of the Lord. Pastor Isaiah shares how this challenge speaks to us today too with the call to refocus on the mission, commit to growth, and glorifying God in response to the work He does.
In Acts 10, God takes Peter to the home of a Gentile Roman Soldier named Cornelius, where the root sins of pride, partiality, and tradition are all broken down as God makes clear that His command to take the Gospel to all nations and peoples was always His plan. Pastor Isaiah shares from this text how we too are impacted and challenged by God bringing the light of salvation to the Gentiles there.
In Week 7 of this series, we meet a Roman Soldier named Cornelius, hear of a message from God through an angel, and see the Apostle Peter experiencing a vision that leaves him confused and perplexed as God begins to combat his traditionalism and pride. Pastor Isaiah draws out some examples of how many of us face the same danger and fall prey to the same sins today as Peter did then.
Returning to Acts 9, we encounter an incredible miracle taking place in the town of Joppa with the life of a woman named Tabitha. From this text, Pastor Isaiah talks about the real power and promise of resurrection, and how we today are to think about both death and eternal life.
Following on the heels of the death of Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of His people is the glorious victory of His Resurrection from the dead. That Jesus physically rose - conquering sin and the power of death - is not a mere secondary doctrine for Christian people. Drawing on the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15, and then from the Apostle Peter in I Peter 1, Pastor Isaiah explains why the Resurrection is necessary and what blessings flow from this key moment in history.
Gathering on what we call "Good Friday" each year gives Christians an important opportunity to somberly and clearly reflect on the central act by which we are saved from our sins - the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the substitute standing in our place. In this powerful service, Pastor Isaiah takes us through the events of the crucifixion from the account in Mark's Gospel and contrasts our weakness to the strength of Jesus.
The end of Acts 9 turns from focusing upon Saul to the apostle Peter. In the town of Lydda, God works through Peter to bring healing and physical restoration to a man who suffered with physical sickness for eight years. Pastor Isaiah helps us understand and apply how to live now knowing that God is still capable of such great acts of healing and that His purposes in this world and His promises to His people are much greater than just granting physical health!
Even in the early years of Saul's life as a follower of Christ, we see the reality of experiencing both good responses and the pain of rejection. Pastor Isaiah shares how we must be seeking to see the successes of Gospel proclamation as we participate in the mission God has given to us, while also preparing ourselves to suffer being rejected and even at times hated by those who we desire to share the Light of Salvation with.
The zeal of Saul that once was focused on destroying the followers of Jesus was radically reoriented to proclaiming the very message he once hated after Christ saved him on the road to Damascus. Pastor Isaiah explains not only Saul's story in this regard, but also challenges us to be equally committed to sharing about Jesus no matter our own past failings.
In 2019, we spent 20 weeks walking through Acts Chapters 1-8 in our series "He Is Worthy." This morning, we come back into the unfolding narrative of Acts Chapter 9 and the story of a man named Saul. Pastor Isaiah challenges us to consider both the story of Saul encountering Jesus and our own stories of encountering Him in our lives.
In every generation, the church has wrestled with what living out our faith in cultural engagement looks like. Today, we have to consider the same question and Pastor Isaiah explains how the most crucial way for Christians to really impact and change culture and society is by being faithful to our mission and proclaiming Christ and His Gospel in all spheres of life.
Rev. Brenden McDonald, Associate Pastor of Faith Church in Peru, IL joins us and shares a message from the life of Joshua about Pursuing the Promises of God.
As we continue thinking through the implications of the authority of God, we turn to the sphere of government. Beginning with Romans 13, Pastor Isaiah unpacks a biblical theology of the relationship between government and God's people. In a day when politics, parties, and shifting power dynamics dominate the culture, Christians must think clearly and biblically about these important issues.
On this Family Sunday, our kids and adults consider what the authority of Christ over His Church means for us. Pastor Isaiah preaches on what God commands us to focus upon and why is it important for us to carefully submit to Him and obey in this sphere of our lives as Christian people.
In this week, Pastor Isaiah continues to preach on the authority of God over all spheres of life and existence. Looking to Genesis 2 for God's good design and intention, then moving to Romans 1 and the rebellion of our modern society, we conclude with the application of the Gospel from I Corinthians 6 and a call to live both in light of the truth of God's design and the message of God's grace which can save any sinner!
In our second week of this series, Pastor Isaiah continues by walking through the end of Genesis 1 and how God creates mankind by His intentional and very good design. Understanding clearly the core affirmations and teachings of Genesis 1 & Colossians 1 are vitally important to resolute and faithful Christian witness in our modern era.
As we enter into a New Year, we also enter a new sermon series. Over the course of the next several weeks we will be studying what the Bible teaches about the authority of God. Looking at Matthew 28:18-20 and the radical claim that Jesus says He has "All Authority" has massive implications upon those who claim to be His people. In this first message, Pastor Isaiah walks through Psalm 104 and Romans 1:18-23 to unpack the foundation of God's authority as Creator of all things.
In the final week of the Advent Season leading up to Christmas Day, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the message of peace with God that can provide true rest. This is the great gift of God to those who understand who Jesus is, what He has done, and place their faith and trust in Him alone to save. As we go into this often busy season, we are challenged to put Christ first - not just in words, but in actions, throughout this week.
The Christmas Season in our cultural is always pressing forward a promise of finding happiness this time of year. One of the regular themes of the Advent Season is Joy. These two things are related, but not the same. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains how the Christian is called to find and experience joy through growing spiritually day by day.
The Advent Season provides many opportunities for worship to the person who is looking for them. In this second week of the season, Pastor Isaiah preaches from Psalm 95 about how real worship requires a connection of head and heart to be genuine and truly pleasing to God.
As we enter into another Advent Season, we have before us a season of opportunities. In the midst of all the decorations, traditions, food, and gifts God is calling us to find this to be a spiritually helpful season of reflection, worship, spiritual growth, and rest.
Standing before Emporer Charles V in 1521, Martin Luther spoke incrediable words of Christian conviction. He was a man who understood the power and authority of the Word of God and knew that Scripture Alone must hold the highest place in the Christian life. In the last week of this series, Pastor Isaiah shares more of Luther's story and how his commitment to the Word of God led to the greatest gift the Reformation passed down - the Word of God accessible once again in the common language.
Reflecting on the Reformation era, the Latin phrase "Soli Deo Gloria" is often used to describe the heart of what the recovery of the true Gospel and biblical theology produces practically in people. This phrase in English is translated "To the Glory of God Alone" and as Pastor Isaiah preaches in this message, that should be the heart of every true Christian in every era, including ours today!
In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned to stand before the Emperor at the Diet of Worms. As he prepared to go there, Luther looked to Daniel 3 and the God who saved the three Israelite men from a tyrant there to draw strength for himself. The same God who delivered them was the same God he served in 1521... and the same God Christians serve today in 2021.
On October 31st, 1517, unbeknown to him, the call for debate and discussion around the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church by Martin Luther would lead to world-changing events. With the nailing of the 95 Thesis, a flame was lit in the darkness - a flame that is entrusted to Protestants today as heirs of this great Gospel message and work.
Looking back to church history reveals many stories of God's incredible work throughout the ages that can inspire and build up the faith of Christians today. The events that sparked the Protestant Reformation are particularly inspiring to those of us who stands as heirs of those events today. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah introduces us to Martin Luther and the text which changed not only his life, but all of history when it was again rightly understood.
Last Sunday, we were honored to have Dr. Gary Denbow preach to our church family from the Word of God and challenge us with the call to "Come Up Here!" Christians must be seeking to grow and be changed by God each week when we gather, and each day as we personally live in light of our salvation, desiring to draw closer and closer to the transforming presence of God Himself.
In the final week of this series, we reach the pinnacle of the One Another Commands by looking at the "capstone statement" that is most often repeated in these commands: Love One Another. Pastor Isaiah unpacks what this short, but weighty command really means by pulling together the things heard in this series and concluding with the challenging words spoken through the Apostle John at the very end of his ministry.
After hearing an update from the Dailey Family, our missionaries to the Republic of Georgia, Pastor Isaiah continues in our series by unpacking what it looks like corporately to obey the command of Christ to grow. The hard work of growing in our relationships with one another is clearly seen when we examine the "do not" commands and hear God's warnings about the danger and destruction that sin produces. These things lead a true believer to see the need for repentance and God's grace day by day.
In this middle week of our series, we hear God telling His people that to be spiritually healthy, like being physically healthy, requires commitment. Looking to Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:12-13, Romans 15:5-6, and II Corinthians 13:11, we find both the Gospel grounding and the commands for life application that God's people need to know and pursue each day.
Our relationships are often tied to what we do. Sharing things in common with people around us becomes the ground for building relationships. For Christians, this is true as well. The central focus of our new and transformed lives personally leads to the foundational and unifying act of Worshiping God With One Another. When we obey the Lord in doing this with a sincere heart, He works to bind us together and empowers us to live out His commands for our interactions with one another as well.
59 times in the New Testament, Christians are given specific commands regarding how we are to relate to "One Another." In this new series, we begin to explore what God says about our relationships and how being a Christian impacts how we interact with others. Here in Week 1, Pastor Isaiah talks about what it means to truly Know One Another and how that impacts everything beginning with how we even greet one another!
In our final week of this series, the people of Israel reach Mt. Sinai and hear God call them to remembrance of His actions, obedience to His Word, and knowledge of His special love and care for them. These same truths are spoken to us today and Pastor Isaiah calls us to see and respond to God as He is - glorious, powerful, and incredibly merciful!
On this Family Sunday at Nelsonville Assembly, the kids join us to look at an often overlooked section of Exodus 18. Pastor Isaiah explains how the actions of Moses in his reunion with Jethro are a model for all of God's people. No matter if we are young or old, all Christians are called to be Sharing the Story... not just the story of how God saved Israel from slavery to Egypt, but the greater story of how God saves His people from slavery to sin still today!
Immediately following the deliverance at the Red Sea, the people of Israel are led into days of journeying through the wilderness region east of Egypt. In these days the roots of bitterness, grumbling, and quarreling are quickly revealed as the people so quickly forget their God and question "Is God really with us?" Pastor Isaiah brings out the connection to our own lives and how often this same doubt exposes these same sins in us, all these years later as we walk through our wilderness journeys
From Exodus 14, there are two powerful and seemingly paradoxical commands are given to God's people in every age. Pastor Isaiah explains that from the ancient Israelites to the modern Christian, it is imperative that God's people both "Stand Firm" upon the Word of God and also "Go Forward" in faith and obedience to what God says. At the end of this week, we again celebrate new members joining our covenant community here at Nelsonville Assembly!
As the people of Israel finally see the fulfillment of God's promise to deliver them from Egypt, they are sent out on the very day of the tenth plague. As this massive group of people leave Egypt and follow God's personal leading, they reach a point of crisis. Encamped by the Red Sea with the armies of Egypt approaching the question they must answer is the same one we must answer today - will we live in faith or fear?
To properly worship God requires that people truly know Him. To help remind and teach His people of who He is, what He says, and what He has done - God has established certain practices for His people to participate in throughout the ages. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah brings out the connection and meaning of the Passover and the Lord's Supper that we practice in the church today after we celebrate a new member joining our church family here in Nelsonville!
We were delighted to have Dr. Mark & Lynda Hausfeld join us again in our church. As passionate Christ-followers, their work in reaching Muslim people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not only effective but also inspiring and motivating. Dr. Hausfeld shares with us about a ministry he is now leading called PAK7 and then preaches from Acts 4 about the central commitment of the Christian life to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ no matter the opposition this world may put forward.
The final plague against Egypt was a dramatic and devastating judgement by God. The people of Israel are instructed to make public their faith in God through the costly sacrifice of a spotless lamb. Through this the Lord makes clear that He deserves the best - not the extras - in the worship of His people. And God also foreshadows the coming of True Salvation through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, which is the only means of deliverance from sin and the price of death.
As the plagues against Egypt continue, God is unveiling the plan that He had from the beginning. Through each mighty act He is demonstrating the absolutly powerlessness of idols, His own uniqueness as the One True God, and how all people are created to worship Him. Understanding this leads to a changed life and true repentance from sin is distinguished from mere remorse through the warnings of the example of Pharaoh.
In the famous "Ten Plagues" that God unleashes upon Egypt and their evil Pharaoh, the One True God demonstrates His great power over idols and false deities, but He also demonstrates His personal and particular care for His people in treating them with mercy and kindness even while power out judgement and punishment upon His enemies. This is a great foreshadow of the Gospel and a clear call to repent and trust in Jesus Christ to receive His merciful salvation by His grace today.
There is only One True God. In the Book of Exodus, the Egyptians looked to all sorts of deities, but the God of the Israelites begins to prove how utterly unique He is through mighty displays of power. Today, we must give care to understanding that our God will destroy all idols because He is the Greater One.
The Perfect God regularly uses imperfect people to be His representatives upon earth. This is certainly the case with the flawed Moses and Aaron in Exodus, and continues to be the case even today. Only Jesus is the Perfect Representative of God because He is God Himself. In this week, we consider the implications of that as we see God's prelude of power before the plagues against Egypt.
Genealogies, like the one at the end of Exodus 6, are often parts of Scripture that believers have trouble navigating. But as Christians, we know that all of Scripture is useful and purposeful, so in this message Pastor Isaiah pulls out an important truth that can be learned from the family lineage of Moses and Aaron and shows us how relevant that truth is to our lives today too.
In Week 8 of our series, our kids joined us for a special Family Sunday of worship. In the text of Scripture, God reminds Moses again of who He is and what He has said He will do, so we took the opportunity to remember all that we have seen in the story so far too and to remind ourselves of the key truth: God will do what He says He will do!
After celebrating a number of great graduates from various stages of education, we turned in the sermon to Exodus 5. From this text, we are given a vivid illustration of how Israel wavered from belief and trust in God when life became difficult and disappointments grew. The dangers of how disappointments can impact us are real and present in all people, in all ages - so Christians have much to consider and learn from this negative example of Israel in Exodus as we too navigate these times today.
The amazing encounter between God and Moses at the burning bush did not result in immediate obedience by Moses. As God reveals Himself and the grand plan that He has to redeem His people, Moses responds with objects of disbelief and disobedience. Today we are just like Moses with our objections and disobedience, and the response of God to Moses is something we too need to be aware of and have impact on our souls too.
In Exodus 3, Moses is drawn to an incrediable phenomenon in the wilderness of Midian - a bush that burned with fire that did not consume it. This incrediable sight was only the draw to a much greater encounter with the Living God, the Holy One, who spoke to Moses by name. The God revealing Himself in the Book of Exodus is the God Who Sees and Speaks to His people personally.
The God of the Bible is not limited or constrained in any way. Through the events of Exodus 2:11-25, we are reminded of both a sobering reality and a precious truth for believers - God Sees All. Nothing is hidden from the sight and knowledge of the One True God.
An evil decree from a wicked ruler, parents placed in an impossible position, and a baby whose life hangs in the balance... Pastor Isaiah continues to unpack the epic story of Exodus in the third week of this series. The work of God in both the big and small speaks powerfully to our own day and the lives we life here and now as His people.
As the story of Exodus begins to unfold the text focuses in upon Pharoah, the king of Egypt, whose rejection of the true God and His ways brings major conflict and tragedy to the people of God. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains the actions of Pharaoh and the tragic overshadowing of his evil that exists in our world today.
The events that are recorded in the Book of Exodus are part of the grand story of God that is unfolded throughout the entire Bible and continues to unfold in history up to this very day. In the introductory sermon to this series, Pastor Isaiah explains the background to where Exodus picks up from the Book of Genesis and why it is important for Christians to study and learn about our God from both the Old and New Testaments in the Bible.
On that first Easter Sunday the power of God was displayed in incredible ways. The earth quaked, angels descended from Heaven, the Roman Guards were terrified and the women heard the amazing proclamation of the Good News - Jesus is Risen! In this message, Pastor Isaiah focuses us in on how all these events reveal that Jesus is the God who demands a response and deserves our worship!
On Good Friday 2021, we gather to reflect upon the final night of Jesus' earthly ministry. The betrayals, the sufferings, and the atoning death of God the Son are our focus throughout this evening from the account given in Matthew 26-27.
After 12 weeks of exploring the Spiritual Disciplines that God has given to His people to mark our lives and help us aim for lives that are flourishing with the joy of growing in godliness, Pastor Isaiah concludes this series by talking about what to do when we fail. The reality of humanity and the testimony of Scripture is that none of us will be perfect, our sins will cling to us, and our best efforts to live as we ought to will fail. But from Paul's words in Romans 7-8, we find great hope!
As the seasons outside change, so do the seasons of our life. Christians are people who not only give attention to their own seasons of life, but also intentionally enter into the seasons that people around them are in too. From Nehemiah 8, Pastor Isaiah shares how at times God desires for His people to set aside mourning to enter into celebration just as He also expects us to set aside celebration to enter into mourning at other times.
On March 10th, Pastor Isaiah and his wife Melia shared with our church family that they had suffered another miscarriage. In this message, just a few days later, Pastor Isaiah shares how the promises of God are enduring, comforting, and deeply needed in moments like these. Looking to the Word of God and trusting in who He is and what He has said is the reason Christian people mourn differently than those who have no hope.
The path of wisdom and the path of the fool are the two contrasting ways of life that God warns about in Scripture. In this message, Pastor Isaiah talks about the duty we have to be disciplined in Seeking, Storing Up, and Sharing Knowledge with others.
The eighth discipline that Christian people should have marking our lives is the pursuit and right use of Silence & Solitude. These things are difficult to truly obtain in all ages, but especially so in our hyperactive modern age. Pastor Isaiah encourages us to regularly set aside time and space to be fully present with God through the use of this important gift.
Fasting can be a complicated topic. At points in history, it was very common place while during others it was a forgotten discipline. Today, fasting has experienced a revival of interest broadly, but as Christians we need to carefully understand the true purpose of the Christian Discipline of Fasting in order to do it in a spiritually beneficial way.
With the temperature at -2° and a windchill of -18° Pastor Isaiah speaks from his office about the power and sovereignty of God over all things - weather included - as we aim to stay warm and safe today with our families.
Stewardship: managing something on behalf of another. This is a big part of what it means to be a Christian as we know that everything we have - from weath, resources, to time itself - it is all a gift from God that we are called to manage and use well. In this week Pastor Isaiah encourages us to live intentionally and carefully, making the best use of all of that God has entrusted to us.
In our 5th week of this series, Pastor Isaiah talks about the importance of Christians engaging actively in the work of proclaiming the Gospel both locally and around the world. The promise of Christ to accomplish His mission gives us the motivation and assurance of success that should impact our every day lives as His people!
Pastor Isaiah preached from Psalm 139 about the implications of the complete and total knowledge that God has of each of us. This reality underscores the important truth that we are not free to disconnect any part of our lives from worship and knowing that God sees and knows everything should radically impact how we live and worship Him every day.
"Don't forget!" This command from God, which Pastor Isaiah brings out from Deuteronomy chapters 4, 6, & 8 highlight the importance of remembering. Christians must be disciplined to remind ourselves of who God is, what He has said, and what He has done. When we forget Him in our daily lives we fail to glorify God as we have been created to do!
Prayer is a topic that most Christians have heard a lot about, but if we are honest it is one that many of us still struggle with. Knowing we should pray and living out a commitment to prayer can sometimes be two different things. In this message, Pastor Isaiah draws from Hebrews 4:16 to push us toward the kind of right thinking and understanding of prayer that should lead us toward finding the joy of flourishing that God invites us to have through the Spiritual Discipline of Prayer.
As we enter 2021, Pastor Isaiah begins a new practical series talking about how we can flourish as Christians through "Finding Joy in the Spiritual Disciplines." Over the next 11 weeks, we will consider the means that God has given us to grow in godliness and joy as we follow Him. In addition to starting this new series, our church celebrated 3 new members joining the family here at Nelsonville Assembly!
In our Third Week of the Advent Season, we continue to explore the nature of the Kingdom of God that is here in the "already, but not yet" reality. Understanding the nature of the Kingdom and the impact upon us, Pastor Isaiah encourages us to be people of "True Joy" and to live lives of worship that demonstrate that to all around.
In Week 1 of the Advent 2020 Season, Pastor Isaiah begins a new series focused the Kingdom of God and the reign of the True King - Jesus Christ - who came to save His people and establish His Kingdom in all the earth!
In the final week of our series in Colossians, Pastor Isaiah encourages us from his office to be thankful and focused upon the gift of being part of the Family of Grace - God's people who have experienced and been changed by His love and grace to us!
As we draw near the end of our study in Colossians, we are challenged to be "making the best use of our time" in our lives. This means being people who are constantly living wisely by focusing upon the Gospel and preparing ourselves to share the Good News with all who God has placed around us in our lives.
"You are serving the Lord Christ." Pastor Isaiah unpacks how these words spoken to a Christian should radically transform how we understand our work in this life, no matter what that is, because we know that God is sovereign over all and all that we do is intended to glorify and honor Him.
As we get closer to the end of this series in Colossians, God continues to give us practical commands for living that push back against our sinful natures to help us reflect Him well in our world. Submission, love, obedience, and intentional discipleship are not tasks that we do well on our own but by His power at work in us God's people do live radically different lives as we follow Him!
God has providentially called and placed each person in the specific time and location that they live. For the Christian, this realization should lead to thankfulness for the local body of believers that surround us to help push us closer to Christ and His Word through teaching, admonition and worship through song... and encourage us to shape our lives by the things that stir our affections for Christ so that we can do everything to the glory of God!
In this message, Pastor Isaiah unpacks the list of things a believer should "come to life in" as we are sanctified. From Colossians 3:12-14, we see a list of things that should mark every one of us who strive to be like Christ, because He Himself is the perfect embodiment of each of this things!
Pastor Isaiah discusses the reason why Mortification and Vivification are important concepts for the Christian to pursue in our daily lives. Unpacking the implications of taking off the old self and putting on the new self, we are challenged to respond to God by asking Him for deeper affections to help us truly grow in our sanctification as He desires for us.
Pastor Isaiah walks through Colossians 3:5-9 to discuss the importance of understanding the seriousness of sin and the responsibility of Christians to be at war with our sin. Following the example of the Puritans, understanding the call to work at the Mortification of Sin in our lives as a response to the Gospel is crucial to maturing and growing as the Lord desires for us.
The implications of being a Christian are vast. The saving work of God in His people to qualify, deliver, redeem, reconcile, forgive, and bring from spiritual death to life demand a response. Pastor Isaiah talks about how knowing all of these things will produce change and transformation as a Christian learns to set his or her mind upon Christ, who is our life!
In this week, Pastor Isaiah unpacks the words of Paul in Colossians 2:16-23 about how we approach eating, drinking, celebrating, resting, self-discipline, and even spiritual experiences as mere shadows designed to point us to the true substance - Jesus Christ Himself.
Everything changes when a person meets Jesus and understands who He is and what He has done. In this message, Pastor Isaiah pushes us to grasp the powerful implications of Colossians 2:9-15 in understanding how God has made us alive, forgiven our trespasses, canceled our record of debt, and conquered over everything and everyone else all at the Cross of Jesus Christ.
True Knowledge - the kind that impacts our heads, hearts, and hands - is a key theme in the Letter to the Colossians. Pastor Isaiah explains the importance of this in light of Paul's encouragement and warnings in Colossians 2:4-10. Christians need to be deeply rooted, built up, and established in the truth so we can resist the false teachings that are all around us today.
Suffering is a reality that we all face. As Christians we understand that suffering is not just a reality, but actually something that God is using to accomplish His plans in this world. No suffering is meaningless or pointless... God is at work in all things.
The Bible doesn't just reveal who Jesus Is but also exalts what Jesus Has done. In this week, Pastor Isaiah reminds us of the clarity that the Bible gives about the condition of humanity being alienated, hostile in mind, and doing evil deeds because of our fallen nature. The need is insurmountable on our own, but when we understand that and turn to Christ, the beauty and power of His Gospel to redeem and reconcile sinners is made all the more beautiful.
Colossians 1:15-20 is one of the most highly Christ-exalting and clarifying passages in the New Testament. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah unpacks who Jesus Is and what it means that He is the highest authority over all other authorities, especially in this day and age that we are living in right now. We conclude this service with taking the Lord's Supper together as an act of obedience and worship to Him!
As Paul prayed for the believers in Colossea, he stressed the connection between truely knowing God and applying that knowledge of Him in our lives. Pastor Isaiah picks up the prayer in verse 10 and unpacks the phrase "bearing fruit in every good work" and how God works in His people even today who focus upon Him and His great work of providing salvation to His people.
The connection between knowledge of God and living in light of that knowledge is crucial for a Christian to understand. From Colossians 1:9-10, Pastor Isaiah begins to explain Paul's prayer for the believers in that city and emphasizes the foundation of all true growth in godliness being our knowledge of Him and our lives in light of that knowledge.
n Week 2 in Colossians, we consider the details of what Paul says in his extended greeting to the believers at Colossae and the theological truths that he reminds them of and commends in them. Pastor Isaiah then reminds our church of the role we have had in continuing the mission and seeing the continued Gospel Increase throughout the world up to this very day.
In the first week of our new series studying through the Book of Colossians, Pastor Isaiah focuses us upon Colossians 1:1-2. There is much to see from the greeting of Paul & Timothy to the church at Colossae though we often rush through it. By really understanding some of the background and the meaning of these intentional words in the Scripture, we are challenged to look forward to unpacking all that God has to say to us from this incredible New Testament letter in the coming weeks.
Dr. Ray Brewer (the Northern Missouri District Superintendent) preached from Matthew 25 to demonstrate how we should all strive to be "good & faithful" servants of God in our lives.
Because of the impact of COVID-19 and the postponement of the 2020 District Council, at the conclusion of the service we had the unique opportunity to celebrate and praise God as Pastor Isaiah & Melia received their ordination (the highest level of credentialing in our denomination).
In the final week of this series, Pastor Isaiah reminds us of the powerful truth: God is always working - in everything - that takes place in this life.
From I Peter 1 & James 1 to Hebrews 12, we see how God is working in all trials, difficulties, and even sufferings to refine His people out of His great love for His children. We conclude by hearing again from Revelation 7 about the great eternity we are headed toward and seek to reflect here and now in our assemblies.
In Week 6, Pastor Isaiah talked about how God has wired and gifted each of us to reflect and act like Jesus Christ in living as a servant to those around us to the glory of God!