Greenhouse Church: Recent Episodes
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In the story of Alice in Wonderland, she asks, “Who in the world am I? That is the great puzzle.” We love learning more about ourselves. Even our thoughts about God are through the lens of who am I to God. But this preoccupation with self runs contrary to what the Bible says. So today, guest speaker Pastor Brian Sanders continues the sermon series, Trinity: Delighting in the God Who Is, asking, “Who in the world is God?” We need a view of God that changes us. In the Great Commission passage, Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus reveals the true name of YHWH: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is the great clue to the puzzle of who God is! Knowing the doctrine of the Trinity is like waking up in wonderland. YHWH made a Pactum Salutis, the agreement of salvation, a pretemporal intratrinitarian agreement to redeem humanity. The works of the Trinity are indivisible. So all we do as believers on mission will only be effective with Him and each other, in union.
God is love! Yet as we begin to speak of God as a triune being, the difficulty comes. You can’t go to school or read a book to try to figure God out.
Pastor Mike Patz begins a new sermon series, Trinity: Delighting in the God Who Is, opening up Luke 3.
The doctrine of the Trinity is God’s self revelation. There’s a mystery to it! Do you want to know the God who is? Faith and humility are needed to come to know the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is One God with three names. God has forever been in relationship with Himself as Love. The Trinity is not a problem to be solved, it’s a reality to be entered into. It’s all about a relationship with Him!
There is power in a compelling vision and clarity of purpose. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I send you.” Pastor Mike Patz opens up John chapter 20, explains the Misseo Dei, the mission of God to bring salvation to all people.
The greatest joy in life is not having the greatest job. It’s having your job attached to the biggest mission. Your call is to go, making disciples of all nations. The big picture is the Kingdom of God, coming to people around the world. Be one who gives, who prays, who goes, to Gainesville, the state of Florida, and to the ends of the earth.
Have you ever looked around at the world and felt like Daniel did: grieved, troubled in your spirit with the headlines? Is the chaos of the world or the true Word of God on your mind? We don’t debate timeliness and dates, but we focus on what we are sure of.
The Unshakable Kingdom! Pastor Oscar Roche concludes our series on the Book of Daniel, opening chapter 7.
The Kingdom of our God and King shall never be destroyed! Jesus is the Ancient of Days, and has purchased an everlasting Kingdom with His death on the cross. He is seated on the throne above, ruling everything on earth with righteousness and justice. Let us remain unshakable in our faith until the end!
Have you ever done your job so well that you were persecuted because of it? Trustworthy, firm, reliable, one that’s faithful, this is the description of Daniel. He stayed faithful for over 70 years through exile, a shifting culture, political changes and rulers!
Unshakable faith over decades! Pastor Oscar Roche continues our series on the Book of Daniel, looking at chapter 6.
Daniel’s first response when he hears that the law has been changed is to go to the window to pray, “as he had always done.”
We tend to wait for the crisis to come before we seek the Lord. But when life starts unraveling it’s not the time to finally come to the Lord. Crisis doesn’t create your devotion, it’s found in what you’re giving yourself to daily. The ordinary rhythms are where faithfulness is cultivated. It must be formed before it can be tested. Faithfulness is not formed in the lion’s den. It’s formed at the window.
There’s an overarching sense of anxiety in our culture today. Constant fear vies to override the truth of the scripture in many of our lives. Has God lost control?
Unshakable! The pressure of the world reveals the allegiance of the heart. Pastor Matt Ulrich continues our series on The Book of Daniel. In chapters 2-4, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that terrifies him.
The kingdoms of man rise and fall; they are not permanent. What looks ultimate on earth is temporary in heaven. Any kingdom without the King is destined to fall. The Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, and His name is Jesus Christ. He is in control of everything, and so we don’t have to be.
Unshakable! The pressure of the world reveals the allegiance of the heart. Pastor Tim Sikpi kicks off a new series on The Book of Daniel. The purposed heart stays faithful in the fire. We can land in bad situations because of decisions we have made. We’re living in a Babylon society today. It lulls us to sleep so we no longer are aware of God’s presence. We must remember we are not at home! God desires to transform us by His Spirit, but this requires a choice to be yielded to Him, not the world. Our lives are not an accident, they are comprised of the little choices we make over time. Don’t be double -minded in your walk. You have been chosen, set apart for God, so live up to that calling. Come our from Babylon! Pursue holiness and watch God give you a heart that is fully His.
The book of Ecclesiastes sets you up for everlasting truths; it’s all about the conclusion of the matter. It exposes all the false loves of Solomon. If everything under the sun is meaningless, where do you find meaning? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Pastor Mike Patz concludes our series, What’s the Point, a look at meaning, purpose, and the point behind it all. Heed the warning! Living in the fear of the Lord means recognizing and honoring His holiness, power, and great might. It means loving God with your whole being. We live in a culture of dishonor, and there is a concerning lack of awe in the world today that must be rectified. He is more magnificent than any other! Holy, holy, holy, we stand in awe of Him. Yet even in His holiness, God desires that we come close in love. Holiness and love came together in the cross for us.
Imagine you are in your nineties, and you are granted one hour to return to your younger self for a conversation. What would you tell you?
Pastor Mike Patz continues our series, What’s the Point, a look through Ecclesiastes, at meaning, purpose, and the point behind it all.
Meaningless, meaningless! Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. The book of Ecclesiastes is old Solomon speaking to young Solomon. There are regrets that haunt the end of his life.
We lose so much by waiting to live for Him early on. The best time to remember your Creator is not before you die; it’s before you drift. Your life and your calling must be informed by your Creator. Live a life of purpose and gratitude, with no regrets!
What do you do when hard times come? Where do you turn when the bottom drops out of your life? A lot less is certain in life than we want to believe is. Pastor Malik Murray continues our series, What’s the Point, a look through Ecclesiastes, at meaning, purpose, and the point behind it all. The Book of Ecclesiastes can be difficult. It contains lists of bad situations and meaningless things. We want to be in control of our lives! Yet God wants us to understand that even though we may try to plan and sugarcoat our lives, in the end, what is worthwhile is knowing Him. The most certain thing in an uncertain world is the sovereignty of God, and that certainty frees us to live faithfully. Everything He does works in and through us in exceedingly abundant ways, always!
“How are you?” The answer is often “I’m busy”. Somehow today exhaustion has become a symbol of status. Busyness has become a mask that proves our worth, and we’ve started believing that our volume proves our value.
Pastor Brooke Bauzon continues our series, Rhythm & Blues, as we tackle all things life. In Luke 5:12-16, Jesus models rhythms that bring renewal and life. He often withdrew to lonely places to pray. We must not confuse movement with meaning. Busyness is an idol, and breaking free of this is the key to life.
The difference between chaos and peace is rhythm. Surrender to the rhythms of Jesus! Make daily times of coming away be your way.
What happens when the storms of life come quicker and harder than ever? When you find yourself extremely anxious and exhausted, you may feel that you need a season without storms. But what we need is to learn the rhythms that make you strong to keep you in the storm.
Pastor Mike Patz begins a new series, Rhythm & Blues, as we tackle all things life. Jesus has rhythms that will help remove our blues. Philippians 4:1-9 tells us some of these rhythms.
Peace and joy are not found by escaping chaos, but by turning to God and others in it. Relational connection with God and others is the key. Peace and joy are not as elusive as we think, they’re just different than we thought. Meet with others, and expect joy! Peace will follow.
When you know what you’re trying to do it makes it so much more likely for people to join you in what you’re doing. As Pastor Mike Patz concludes our Reorient series, we take a look at Acts 4:1-13.
Jesus is!!! In the Book of Acts Church, they lived like Jesus. He said, “Follow me!” At Greenhouse, we help ordinary people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. The work Jesus began is continuing and we are invited to join Him. Look at Acts. Look at your life. Wherever there is a gap, reorient. Because it didn’t just happen, it happens!
At Greenhouse, we help ordinary people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. And all that Jesus began, we continue- because it didn’t just happen, it happens. As Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, we look at Acts 4:32-37. In the Book of Acts Curch, no one claimed anything they had was their own.
There is a huge gap: the Acts disciples lived like stewards– free. So many in the church today live like owners– enslaved.
Christians say they are stewards but act like owners, over our time, talents, and treasures. Ownership thinking is really a form of idolatry- treating created things as ultimate things. We grasp for control – and it always backfires. Anxiety. Fear. Bondage. Restlessness.
Stewardship means it’s not mine, but it’s in my hands. How do You want me to use what You have entrusted to me? When we live like stewards we will know peace, purpose, power- and one day an eternal reward.
Is your life more like a vault, holding onto the blessings of God, or the generous life of a vessel, being poured out on others? Pastor Matt Ulrich asks this question in a message from 2 Kings 4:1-7. God’s heart is one of generosity! Riches stored in a vault are not enjoyed. They are treasures in heaven that we are not accessing. Yet just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re not being generous; our heart posture must lean towards scriptural giving. God didn’t call us to store the oil; He called us to pour the oil out! The key to provision is pouring. Stay open. This is the character of God.
What do you have? Everyone has something to give! Whether it’s a little or a lot, are you willing to give it to the Lord? Move in obedience. Live the Kingdom life! Generosity is not an action; it’s your identity. You were made in God’s image, so be generous! True joy and peace are the outcome of generosity! Ask God, “What do I have to give?”, then be obedient.
The world is watching, looking for a church that models the beauty of the harmony and diversity of heaven. Have we settled for the comfortable place?
Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, reorinting our lives on the call of Jesus on us to go and make disciples, exploring Acts 11:19-26. The discples were called Christians first at Antioch.
The early church story reveals that the Holy Spirit was prompting a movement to a multicultural purpose, and that call remains today. The grace of God and the Spirit of God break down barriers unlike anything else on earth!
Jesus called for a multicultural, multiethnic church from the start. Let’s be ordinary people reorienting into passionate followers of Jesus Christ, who will turn the world upside down!
Sports fans will say, “I’m all in!” These days we see Christians say that they are committed, that they’re all in. But statistics don’t match the actual number of people who claim to be believers. If all the people who are claiming to be Christians were fully committed disciples, the world would be turned upside down.
Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, exploring the gap between the Book of Acts church and the church of today. In Acts 2:28, the early church had people turn to Jesus and immediately be baptized. It was the sign of a spiritual birthday, the sealing of a covenant with God.
The command of Jesus to “go and make disciples, baptizing them…” stands strong today. Baptism is not just a symbol, it’s a signal: I’ve died with Jesus, I’m cleansed by Jesus, I’m in covenant with Jesus. Be baptized, and be a baptizer!
Have you ever been separated from someone you loved? Before sin entered the Garden of Eden, it was full of peace, joy, love, justice- everything that was right in the world. When Adam and God were together there, all was shalom, a perfect place. Our souls were made for an intimacy with God, and that can only come by coming close.
Pastor Mike Patz shares Matthew 27:45-51, in our Easter sermon, The Veil Was Torn. The temple in Jerusalem had been built by Herod the Great, and it was over 80 feet tall. In the center of the Temple was the Holy of Holies, the place where heaven and earth came together. In it was the only place where God and humans could meet! But there were barriers to His presence, a veil that was more than a fabric. It represented the message of a human problem- separation. No matter how hard you tried, access past the veil to God was denied.
So when the crucifixion, the death of Jesus, the perfect Lamb, was complete, this temple veil was torn, from top to bottom, and the space between God and man was forever removed. The veil said access denied because of our sin; the torn veil says access granted forever. But you have to choose to come!
As the peopled gathered around Jesus, they saw miracles happen every day. “We have never seen anything like this!” The faith and passion of those who were bringing their families and friends to Jesus was tremendous.
Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, exploring the gap between the Book of Acts church, and the church of today. “All that Jesus began to do, we continue…” To see where the vision began, we go to Mark chapter 2. Many gathered, and some friends brought their paralyzed friend to be healed.
When your compassion for people and confidence in Jesus become greater than your concern for yourself you become a bringer. Take the risk! Do whatever it takes to bring your friends to Him!
There is salvation in no other name than Jesus! So when people get around us, do they recognize that we have been with Jesus? Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, saying, “All that Jesus began to do, we continue…” We are looking for Book of Acts happenings to abound in us today. The Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. Let us be faithful to speak of the things Jesus has done in and through us, the urgency of the whole truth. Half truths create complacency, but the full truth creates urgency. Why was the early church so urgent in sharing their faith? They were convinced of the goodness of God as well as the judgment of God. We must live ready to meet our Maker!
When you pray, is it difficult, or are you excitedly expectant? Jesus said, “Don’t be like the pharisees.” As we continue our School of Jesus series, a verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Mike Patz opens Matthew 6:1-7. There is a key to being rewarded in your prayer life. Meet with God in the secret place! God has not left us as orphans, and He longs for us to be attached to Him. This happens in the place of prayer. When we use prayer for religion, we always come up empty. When we use prayer for relationship, it always leaves us full. Our desire is to be a body of people that wake up believing we are meeting with the God of the universe, because we are!
We welcome Pastor Joel Romelus to the pulpit, for a continuation of the School of Jesus series. In the Sermon on the Mount, we see a different realm of God’s kingdom. In Matthew 5:43-48, the sobering words of Jesus challenge us to “love our enemies!” It’s like a final exam; will you make a passing grade? God’s plan is for love to be a bridge bringing peace, justice, and connection to our world. Loving our enemies means choosing to reject the us vs. them mentality. Embrace others the way Jesus has accepted you. Choose the way of love!
Has someone ever really done you wrong? The Old Testament taught “… an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In our School of Jesus series, we continue our verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, with Matthew 5:38-42. These verses are an expansion on “blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” from the Beatitudes. When we’re offended and angry we will often make the wrong choice in responding to others. If the devil can stir up our rage, he’s got us! Pastor Mike Patz admits that many times we may want to pass out the death sentence judgment for low-level crimes. But revenge is not justice. It is not the way of Jesus if it does not include the mercy of Jesus. Let’s live a surprising life filled with mercy!
We continue our School of Jesus series, a verse by verse look at the Sermon on the Mount, by welcoming Missionary Sam. His work with Life For The Innocent rescues children from human trafficking in Asia. As Pastor Mike Patz opens Matthew 6:1-4, we see the importance of doing justice and living out righteousness, without the desire of being seen. There is something beautiful in giving sacrificially. God is responsive to our giving, and the ultimate reward comes from our heavenly Father in eternity. Let’s be people who give what we cannot keep to gain rewards we cannot lose! The interview during service was not able to be shown for the safety of Missionary Sam and the Life for the Innocent team. You can learn more about our missions partners LFTI at lifefortheinnocent.org.
Everything sounds good until you hear the rest of the story. We have become very comfortable with lying. In the School of Jesus series, as we go word by word through the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Mike Patz unpacks the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:33-37. According to Jesus, deception is from the evil one. You were made in the image of God, and you will only thrive when you’re moving in the nature of God. He is truth, goodness, kindness, and we must live like Him. Tell the truth, and the truth shall keep you free!
This message is sobering as we go word by word through the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Mike Patz continues our School of Jesus series by looking at the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:31-32, the issue of divorce and remarriage. Our world is filled with people impacted by the brokenness of relationships. Marriage is hard! The statistics are stacked against couples staying together in holy matrimony. Jesus has authority over marriage because Jesus is the Author of marriage. The question is, “Does Jesus have authority over you?” When He says things that are hard to live with, can you accept them? So many of us want a lord we can control but not a Lord we must submit to.
What is lust and what did Jesus say about it? Pastor Mike Patz continues in the ‘School of Jesus’ sermon series by diving deep into Matthew 5:27-30 and makes the distinction between love and lust. Culture’s ideas of sexuality and marriage contradict the teachings of Jesus.
We live in a society of outrage, so easily set off. Our society is polarized and very divided. Yet we are family! Greenhouse welcomes Pastor Malik Murray to the pulpit as we continue the School of Jesus series. He challenges us with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:21-26. At this point in His ministry, Jesus has a huge following, and goes up on the mountain and begins to speak to the people. Jesus is doing exegesis on the Old Testament command “you shall not commit murder” saying, “you don’t talk to your brother and sister like that!” He ups the anty! Christianity is not a bare minimum faith. Anger can be a slippery slope, and if you stay long in that place of anger it can disintegrate us. When we embrace our identity in God’s family, anger loses its grip and reconciliation takes root.
There is a Pharisee inside each one of us! Pastor Mike Patz continues our School of Jesus series by challenging us with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:17-20. We regularly misunderstand His words of condemnation towards the pharisee. They are not necessarily the evil, wicked, and bad people we see in our minds. In the days of Jesus, the Pharisee was trained to know the law. Yet they missed the mark because their method was to just try harder to live up to the laws of God, cleaning up the outside and ignoring the filth on the inside. The deeper work that Jesus brought was to clean up the inside and then allow the transformation to move to the outside. The law can restrain the heart, but it will never transform the heart. Jesus is not creating new laws, He’s creating new people!
The Sermon on the Mount will change your life if you will dig in! People may ask, “God, what are You going to do about the decay all around us?” We are God’s answer to the Law of Entropy upon the world we live in. Pastor Mike Patz continues our School of Jesus series by shining the spotlight on Matthew 5:13-16. The answer is true disciples! Disciples are called to be the preserving entity on the people we encounter. We are called to shine brightly in a dark place. It only takes a little bit of salt to make a really big difference. It only takes the right kind of light to make a great difference. Jesus calls us to be the salt and light, for this is who we are!
In the School of Jesus series we are learning kingdom of heaven principles from the King. It is an upside-down kingdom that is counter-cultural to worldly kingdoms. In this sermon, Pastor Matt Ulrich unpacks the hard truth found in The Beatitudes in Matthew 5:10-12. This promise from Jesus is clear, but not often preached in Christian circles today: Persecution. We believe the good life equates to comfort, but persecution is one of the classes. Is it true persecution, for righteousness’ sake? Sometimes your life is going up in flames, but its just your fault. When we live our lives for Christ, we will be slandered and ignored. True happiness is promised for those who are persecuted for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Welcome back to class! Pastor Mike Patz continues the School of Jesus series with a powerful look at Matthew 7:21-23. The Sermon on the Mount is serious business! In it, Jesus quotes from Psalm 6 that He is the fulfillment of the Messianic scriptures. Yet many people who claimed to know Jesus would not enter the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of Jesus, and the words of Jesus, only make sense in relationship with Jesus. The question today becomes, “Do you know Him?” We can only truly know Him when we become fully aware of what He’s done for us on the cross.
The theme of the shepherd and his sheep is found often in scripture. In the middle east, the need to care for sheep would have been widely known, and Jesus’ claim to be the Good Shepherd would easily be translated to the people of His day. In this sermon, Find Feed Fight, Pastor Mike Patz takes us on a journey from Ezekiel 34 to John 21, challenging us who are already God’s sheep to rise up and become shepherds. We are the answer to someone’s prayers for a loved one who is lost. If we love God, we will feed His sheep. Take a look around you! The people you see who are lost are your flock.
The power of vision! Pastor Mike Patz unpacks Habakkuk 2:1-4, challenging us to take the time to identify the personal vision of our lives. Proverbs 29:18 says “without a vision people perish…” but with a vision, we flourish! Vision is the ability to see the invisible before it’s visible. What you see is what you’re going to get! At Greenhouse we see a church filled with fully devoted, passionate disciples of Jesus Christ. Catch the vision of bringing the Kingdom of heaven here on earth!
We welcome guest speaker Will Jones, founder of Awakening Ministries International, to continue the School of Jesus series. As we look at Matthew 5:9 in the Beatitudes found in The Sermon on the Mount, we see that Jesus promised, “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” There is much chaos and turmoil in the world today. True peace and justice are non-existent because this world has been marred by sin. The good news is Jesus is the Prince of Peace! He calls His disciples to be peace makers, bringing true shalom into our realm of influence. Peace comes from God, is given by God, but is manifest through our lives.
Don’t just clean the outside of the cup! We continue our School of Jesus series with a message from Pastor Destin Williams of Mount Carmel Baptist Church. In Matthew 5:8, Jesus declared, “blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. Religion cleans us up on the outside, but Jesus is not merely interested in the external. He desires for us to be cleaned up and holy on the inside. This means that our hearts, our minds, will, intellect and desires, will become clean as well. The word of God should be deeply planted on the inside of us, so we can rest in His will for our lives.
“Ugly” seems to have become the norm in our culture today. Bitterness, anger, and hatred are on overload. Yet there can be beauty in the midst of the mundane. We continue the School of Jesus series as Pastor Mike Patz breaks down the Beatitude found in Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” When you come out of the school of Jesus, you will look more like Him, full of grace and mercy. There are few things more beautiful than mercy shown in our every day lives.
Pastor Mike Patz asks “What is the secret to satisfaction?” If you will enter the School of Jesus, go to class and do your homework, your life will be changed. Jesus wants us to be filled, to be fully satisfied. Our look at the Beatitude found in Matthew 5:6 shows us that Jesus has a feast for us, and the secret to being satisfied is to hunger for the one thing, the perfect justice and rightness of God. There will always be something missing if you’re not feasting on Him!
We have access to the greatest teacher who ever lived- Jesus! Pastor Mike Patz opens up Matthew 5:3-5, as we begin a long look at the Beatitudes in The School of Jesus series. The American gospel touts “God helps those who help themselves”. Yet if we really listen to the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we will see something entirely different. How do we enter the Kingdom of Heaven? The grace of God is reserved for those who humble themselves! The beatitudes describe one person, who increasingly yields to the truth of the teachings from Jesus’ days on earth. Come, and learn from Him!
Imagine that you have access to the greatest teacher who ever lived. We have that in Jesus! Pastor Mike Patz gives the orientation for the School of Jesus series, with Matthew 4:23-25, and 5:1-2. The crowds followed Jesus on the lower levels, then from up on the mountain came the teachings that would transform the world. We love the crowds, but we’re in danger of living for the crowds rather than for the King. In the Sermon on the Mount you’ll find Jesus’ Kingdom summarized. This sermon has wildly changed history! What a privilege to learn from these words today as His disciples.
In the final sermon in the Restoration series, Pastor Mike Patz asks, “knowing you are pardoned is a wonderful thing, but has it changed the way you live?” Before Jesus begins his earthly ministry (performance), God confirms His Sonship (identity), in Luke 3:21-22. God is not looking for slaves. He is looking for sons and daughters to love, wanting to restore sonship. Root your identity upward rather than inward, and make your primary role His son, before you are anything else.
Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. I am the Way, I am the Truth, I am the Life,” in John 14:1-4. In Restoring Fatherhood, part one, Pastor Mike Patz explains that the Way that Jesus spoke of was not just a destination. It’s an introduction to Our Father. Jesus was teaching a revolutionary intimacy with God the Father. Many of us are living as orphans, looking to the institution of the church to care for us, when the Father is waiting to be everything they need.
Our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series continues as Pastor Matt Ulrich gives us a snapshot of how biblical marriages can supernaturally bring restoration. Marriage is a lifelong relational covenant (Matthew 19:4-6) between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24-25) with the missional intent (John 17:18-23) of mirroring God’s covenant with us (Deuteronomy 7:6-11 & Ephesians 2:8-10). This covenant is relational, it is personal, and a living display of God’s love for us. It is not about our happiness, but about God’s glory. There’s a ripple effect on our children, family, neighbors, that becomes a catalyst for restoration when we choose to be intentional to live out His design for our lives .
We look at the need to examine our hearts, to grieve our sins together in community. Pastor Oscar Roche brings the message with a look at Ephesians 2:14-22. When there is a crisis, a national tragedy, racism, injustice, we are called to repent, to intercede for reconciliation, to pray for healing, and to believe with hope together. Jesus prayed, “Let My church be one.” The Gospel is released as we examine ourselves and pray. Revival will come!
We do not grieve as those who have no hope. Pastor Oscar Roche brings a comforting reminder from Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Death is a universal reality, and grief is a powerful emotion when we’ve lost something we loved. We may be tempted to ask, “How could a good God allow this?” Yet the Lord promises to be near to the brokenhearted, to those who are crushed in spirit. In our times of brokenness we must run to God. Grief and hope can coexist. Death is not the end; it is merely an entrance way to glory.
But God… Pastor Mike Patz continues our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series with a look at the story of Joseph that concludes in Genesis 50. When we suffer, we can either become bitter or better. In the dark night of the soul, Joseph knew that God meant it all for good. In Romans 8:28, “but we know” is eido: to be aware, behold, consider, and perceive. Faith is not optimism; it’s Emmanuel, God is with me, recognition. Remember the presence of God in your past. Recognize the presence of God in your present. Thank Him for things to come in the future.
We live in a culture of dishonor, yet honor is a kingdom principle. Pastor Mike Patz continues our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series with Restoring Honor. This look at the command in Exodus 20 to honor your father and mother has unexpected results. Honor in Hebrew is kabad, meaning to value, esteem, and ascribe the weight due to a person for their position. Ephesians 6:1-3 repeats the command with the addition of “the first command with a promise,” that of long life on the earth. Honor opens the door of blessing; dishonor slams the door shut. God calls us to be people who bring honor in a world where it is most often missing.
Why are some people able to bounce back after having the air knocked out of them? In our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, Pastor Mike looks at the effects that joy and gratitude have on a person’s resilience. When life gets hard and traumatic times come, we must believe what scripture says. Count it all joy! Our minds can be trained to look at the good things God has done and the key to resilience in hard times is joy.
There remains for the people of God a Sabbath rest. As we continue our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, Pastor Mike reminds us of the commandment given in Exodus 20 to “remember the Sabbath, making it holy unto the Lord.” There’s a promise of rest that runs throughout all of scripture, yet so many of us try to push the limit by working 24/7. We are wired for Sabbath and rest, our weekly gift from God of restoration.
The Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series continues as Pastor Mike Patz talks about healing from pain and trauma. We may look good on the outside, but on the inside there are wounds and scars. Trauma is unprocessed, unmetabolized pain, and when pain goes unprocessed it becomes toxic. Isaiah 61:1-4 is the prophetic word of the coming of Emmanuel, who is God with us. His restoration involves bringing beauty from the ashes of our pain.
The Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series continues with “How can we know our purpose in life?” Pastor Mike Patz shares how Calling and Purpose are often born out of the pain of broken places being restored. We are not our accomplishments, our status, our talents, our roles. We must become clear about our identity, the true you, and commit to discovering the path God has for our lives.
On this Resurrection Sunday, Pastor Mike Patz brings a word in the Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, Restored From Death to Life. On the cross, Jesus paid a debt that was massive, the debt of the whole world, and launched a movement that would change the world. In John 20, with the entire world before Him to redeem, Jesus goes small to three people, a woman named Mary, and disciples Thomas and Peter. He personally encounters them, to restore and save. If you have pain, bring it to Jesus. If you’ve got doubts, bring your wounds of doubt to Jesus. He is ready and willing to meet you there at the cross.
You are Christ’s ambassador! Pastor Mike Patz challenges us in the Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series with 2 Corinthians 5:10-6:2, to put on compassion and begin to look at people through the eyes of Jesus. So many in the world today have developed compassion fatigue, with a loss of the sense of urgency. In the church we are urgent about many things: human trafficking, feeding the hungry, restoring the traumatized, but we are not urgent for the souls of men. God’s compassion never fails (Lamentations 3:22-24). We must regain His steadfast love for the lost.
The Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series continues as Pastor Mike Patz looks at Malachi 3:6-12. What is the Truth about Tithing? There is a strong charge, asking “will a man rob God?” Our possessions are an accurate indicator of where our heart truly is. God is good, and He is calling us to return our hearts to Him. May it be founded in trust and dependence upon God.
As the Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series continues, we hear from Joao Pires, our church online director, the importance of Waiting for Restoration. 1 Peter 5:9-10 tells us that after your suffering, Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. When we accept the “little while” of suffering, it is possible to endure if only we can keep eternity in mind. Its hard to see God in the midst of trauma, but our suffering will lead to glory.
As we continue our Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, Pastor Mike Patz looks at Matthew 5:23-24. To find true restoration, we must be willing to forgive. The most important command is to “love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself”. Vertical and horizontal relationships are permanently connected, and when we do not forgive others it is us who die. Reconciliation is forgiveness plus repentance. There are a lot of things that happen to us that we just need to forgive and forget, for we have all been forgiven much.
We’ve become experts in cancellation and shame, but ignorant in restoration and grace. In a time of cancel culture, Pastor Mike Patz continues the Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, challenging us to be people who believe that God can forgive and restore. We must embrace the culture that the Kingdom of Heaven brings. Let’s drop the rock of cancellation and pick up the cross of restoration!
We continue the Restored: a Journey to Renewed Hope series, as Pastor Mike Patz opens up Isaiah 58:1-12. We live in a world that is broken, but the church is called to be ones who repair, restore, and who bring about justice. We ask the question, “How to restore a broken world?” The people of God, the ones who have been restored, must be the ones who can fix anything. Our desire is for it to be on earth as it is in heaven right now.
In this sermon in the Navigate series, Dick Brogden shares the true meaning of the Gospel. "... all nations shall be blessed by the Gospel." He is a God of holiness and wrath against sin, balanced by mercy and grace. The love of God saved us from the wrath of God for God. This is good news!