- SERMON ARCHIVE -

- 2021 -

ALL THINGS NEW
RYNE PARRISH - JAN 03, 2021

As we head into a brand new year, we as Christians have an opportunity to hope for a new future in which things are better. Our God is making all things new, and when we celebrate the new year, we can rejoice in the hope of that new heaven, that new earth, that new creation that God is making.

A NEW YOU
RYNE PARRISH - JAN 10, 2021

If you’re looking for a New Year, New You, we can help you with that! Now, we aren’t promising a quick-fix self-help magic formula, in fact, we acknowledge that we actually can’t succeed in fixing ourselves. We know that we can only be made new in Christ. Some of the effects will be immediate, and some will take time. Becoming new in Christ doesn’t mean that we are perfect, it means that we are on a continual journey of renewal and we invite you to join us on that journey for yourself. 

A NEW WAY
RYNE PARRISH - JAN 17, 2021

In this week’s sermon, Ryne guides us through a look at our own self-imposed divisions and helps us examine what it means to cast off those separations, to be brought together in Christ, and to belong to the savior as one body.

A NEW LIFE
RYNE PARRISH - JAN 24, 2021

What if you could have a new life, one that you’ve been tailor-made for, ensuring you’ll never not fit? That’s what Jesus is offering, and Ryne’s description of the church as a dressing room in this week’s lesson helps us understand how God has already created us to fit into a life with Christ. We’ll never not fit, because it’s exactly what we’ve been made for. All we have to do is put it on.

UNITY BEGINS WITH YOU
TIMBRA WIIST - JAN 31,2021

In this week’s sermon, Timbra Wiist brings us a message of hope and encouragement that highlights how we can achieve unity with God by achieving unity with people through relationship and faith expressed in love, and why it is important as followers of Christ that we do so. 

HOW TO RESIST YOUR “DOG TREAT IN THE DEVIL’S HAND”
RYNE PARRISH - FEB 07, 2021

Despite our best intentions, we all give into temptation, and as Christians, we must confront our own sin. In this lesson, Ryne’s message examines Jesus’ temptation and how he was able to resist the “dog treat in the devil’s hand”. The good news for us is that we are able to resist our temptation in the very same way—listen to this week’s sermon for an encouraging perspective on how we can do that.

RESISTING THE TEMPTATIONS OF POWER
RYNE PARRISH - FEB 14, 2021

Continuing our series on resisting temptation, Ryne’s message this week examines how Jesus undermined the devil’s power by refusing to play his game. How can we resist the temptation of power? By putting whatever power we have aside, whether it be relational, social, political, or corporate, and by allowing God’s power to rule us rather than our own.

LET GO & LET GOD…?
RYNE PARRISH - FEB 21, 2021

We don’t always realize when we attempt to test God, and we don’t always realize the damage it does to our faith when we do. Closing our series on resisting temptation, Ryne’s lesson this week highlight’s Jesus’ own temptation to test God. When we choose God’s will over ours, just like Jesus, we can strengthen our faith and overcome the temptation to put God to the test.

TELL WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU
DAVID HURLEY - FEB 28, 2021

Bearing testimony, witnessing, sharing your faith story—there are many names for the act of telling others what God has done for you. This week’s lesson, based in Mark chapter 5, looks at one example of one man, whose life was dramatically changed by Jesus, and the impact he had on his neighbors when he told them about what Jesus had done for him. David’s sermon encourages us to find ways to share our own experiences with Jesus with our neighbors.

JESUS’ (NOT SO) FAREWELL ADDRESS: IT ISN’T REALLY GOODBYE
RYNE PARRISH - MAR 14, 2021

Leading up to Easter, we’ve begun a new series taking a look at Jesus’ (not so) farewell address to his followers. This week Ryne’s lesson demonstrates how, in saying goodbye, Jesus promised to remain with us.

STAYING ON THE VINE
RYNE PARRISH - MAR 21, 2021

Continuing our series on Jesus’ not-so-farewell address, Ryne brings us a lesson focused on the importance of Christians remaining connected to Jesus. This sounds like a no-brainer, but it was important enough for Jesus to mention it to his disciples. Jesus assures us that the natural result of our connection to him (the fruit we bear through our connection to the vine) is love and joy. 

JESUS EXPLAINS PEEK-A-BOO
RYNE PARRISH - MAR 28, 2021

Easter is coming! Since we know that things exist even if we can’t see them, we celebrate Jesus’ promise that he is preparing a place for us in Heaven. Ryne’s sermon this week offers encouragement that though we weep and have pain, our pain will turn to joy with the return of our savior. 

MY LORD AND MY GOD
RYNE PARRISH - APR 4, 2021

Jesus’ message to Thomas about faith is for us too—be faithful, not faithless. In this week’s sermon, Ryne speaks about Thomas who gets a bad rap for doubting Jesus after the resurrection, and examines how Thomas’ experience with faith can lead us through our own journey to find faith.

SHARING YOUR FAITH: EPHESIANS 2:1-10
RAYMOND JEW - APR 11, 2021

What is the reason for the hope that Christians have? This week Raymond Jew shares a message with us from Ephesians 2:1-10 — a passage that speaks to both where we were before we knew Christ and the proclamation of our salvation through Jesus. Listen to the full sermon here.

THE FAITH IN YOU IS NOT THEORY
RYNE PARRISH - APR 18, 2021

On Tuesday evenings, our church has been meeting on Zoom to share our faith stories with each other. This week Ryne begins a new sermon series that looks at faith stories from the Bible. We sometimes think of faith as being just a belief in our head, but through these stories, and through those from our own church members, we can see that faith is actually in our hands and feet too—it’s something to put into action.

LIFE ISN’T FAIR, AND GOD ISN’T EITHER
RYNE PARRISH - APR 25, 2021

Our series on faith stories begins in Hebrews 11 where the author lists what can only be described as the Faith Hall of Fame. Ryne’s sermon this week examines the story of Cain and Abel and gives us a lesson in why we ought to put our faith in a God who will take all wrongs and put them right again and whose justice also includes mercy.

FAITH IN THE FEET: WALKING WITH GOD
RYNE PARRISH - MAY 02, 2021

In our series on faith stories from the Bible, Ryne’s lesson this week looks at Enoch. The Bible says little about him, except that he walked with God. Even in this brief description of the faith of this Hall-of-Famer we can still discern why that was significant enough to land him in Hebrews chapter 11. Enoch’s faith was an action—he walked with God. Do we have faith in our feet? Are we led into action? Do we walk beside the God who walks beside us?

FAITH IN THE UNSEEN
KAREN SEWELL - MAY 09, 2021

Continuing our series on faith, Karen takes a look at Noah, another ancient figure featured in Hebrews 11. Noah’s faith was in the God whose words speak new life into existence. Something seen from something unseen—Noah saw it happen. Our faith belongs to the same God, and though we can’t always see the ways he is working in our lives, our faith compels us to trust in the promises he has made.

GREETING THE PROMISES FROM AFAR
RYNE PARRISH - MAY 16, 2021

Hebrews 11 has more to say about Abraham’s faith than any other person mentioned. In this week’s sermon, Ryne leads us through his story. Even though he continually got in the way of his own faith, Abraham was able to greet the promises God had made him, even from afar. The power of God is bigger than our failings, and Abraham’s faith story is a testament to how God’s promises are not conditional upon our abilities.

FAITH & THE PROMISE OF DEATH
RYNE PARRISH - MAY 23, 2021

Continuing our series on faith, Ryne’s lesson looks at more of Abraham’s faith story, which once again, is really a story about the faithfulness of God, even through death. Abraham’s story is steeped in the idea that even the inevitability of death is not enough to keep God from fulfilling his promises.

A DEATHBED FAITH
RYNE PARRISH - MAY 30, 2021

In this week’s sermon on faith, Ryne encourages us with a lesson that looks at examples of faith through legacy—that is, blessings of faith handed down from Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Though these men faced their deathbeds without seeing the promises God had made them fulfilled, they held out hope because they had seen enough to cling to faith in the faithfulness of God.

A DOWNWARDLY MOBILE FAITH
RYNE PARRISH - JUN 06, 2021

Continuing our series on faith, this week’s lesson looks at Moses and the way his faith in God empowered him to become downwardly mobile. Seeing this empowerment also in Jesus, we can be assured that when our faith is in a God who is faithful to us, we can let that faith lead us downward.

THE COST OF REDEMPTION
ABBY KAPLAN - JUN 13, 2021

In this lesson on faith, Abby Kaplan brings us a message that highlights the extent to which the faithfulness of God reaches—all the way to redemption, even when it comes at a great cost. The Hebrews witnessed God’s faithfulness in the cost of their redemption from Egypt and we are witness to the cost of our own redemption from sin—the sacrifice of God’s own firstborn son. Through Jesus, we are shown God’s ultimate vision for how he chooses to be faithful to his people—God is faithful, even at great cost to himself.

DOING STRANGE THINGS IN THE NAME OF FAITH
RYNE PARRISH - JUN 20, 2021

Ryne’s lesson this week encourages us with the reminder that God is the unseen thing that we are hoping for. Though the world may see us as silly for believing in what we cannot see, the faithfulness of God is steadfast even when we appear to be acting strange. Ryne talks about the story of Jericho and the absolutely outrageous way God chose to bring the city’s wall tumbling down and how his faithfulness was there, with his people, even though the world saw them doing some strange things in the name of faith.

THE FAITH OF RAHAB
RYNE PARRISH - JUN 27, 2021

Who does God use to show his faithfulness? Hebrews 11, which we have been referring to as the Faith Hall of Fame, might lead you to believe that it is those who are strong, mighty, well-known, or well-liked. But what if God’s faithfulness is shown even through those we might think are weak, or undeserving, or less-than? What if God’s faithfulness is shown through us?

A REPENTING FAITH & A FAITHFUL REPENTANCE
RYNE PARRISH - JUL 04, 2021

In this week’s lesson, Ryne encourages us with a message about repentance and its relationship to faith. Faith requires repentance, and repentance requires faith. Repentance is the decision that comes when you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. And in order to repent, we need to trust that God’s faithfulness will extend to us because he has promised that it will. 

FAITH IN THE SOAP OPERA SEASON OF SAMSON
RYNE PARRISH - JUL 11, 2021

God’s faithfulness was on full display during the soap opera that is the story of Samson, who at every turn was led by his own whims. In a stark contrast, Jesus was the model of being an active agent in God’s plan. We are all somewhere on the spectrum between Samson and Jesus—God has purposes to be accomplished both in and through us. Will those things be accomplished in spite of us and our own whims, or because we choose to be active agents in God’s plan?

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
DOLORES HILLAIRE - JUL 18, 2021

Reflecting on the faithfulness of God that we have been studying over the last several weeks, Dolores Hillaire brings the congregation some words of encouragement about our faith in God and the faithfulness of our creator.

FAITH IN KINGS (AND OTHER BROKEN WATER TANKS)
RYNE PARRISH - JUL 25, 2021

In this week’s lesson, Ryne takes us through a look at Samuel and the misplaced faith of those around him. God’s faithfulness was with the Israelites, even when they insisted on putting their faith in a king instead of in God. Don’t we often misplace our faith too? The God we serve is too faithful to abandon his people, so let us cry out for God, not a king.

EVERYTHING WE NEED TO RUN THE RACE OF FAITH
RYNE PARRISH - AUG 01, 2021

Concluding our sermon series on the Faith Hall of Fame highlighted in Hebrews chapter 11, Ryne’s lesson reminds us that the stories we’ve reviewed in this series are highlights of the faithfulness of God to God’s people—they bear witness to us, as we run our own race of faith with endurance, that if God was faithful to them, he will be faithful to us. 

ANOINTED TO BRING GOOD NEWS
RYNE PARRISH - AUG 08, 2021

Beginning a new series on the Good News of Jesus, Ryne’s sermon this week challenges us to understand who the gospel is meant for (hint: everyone) and in what ways the gospel affects us, and to be cognizant how we are the fulfillment of scripture that prophesies that we have been anointed to announce the good news of Jesus. 

THE THESSALONIAN WAY OF EVANGELISM
RYNE PARRISH - AUG 15, 2021

In this week’s lesson, Ryne highlights how it is not enough for us to repeat the words of Jesus, we must repeat his actions. The world is not listening to us, they are watching us. Love is a labor, an action, and Jesus says we should be recognizable by our love. We can’t teach the good news of Jesus to the world if we aren’t living it.

HEALING THE WOUND OF SIN
RYNE PARRISH - AUG 22, 2021

Continuing our series on the Good News, Ryne’s lesson challenges us to think about sin as a wound that requires healing, and the gospel of Jesus as a salve for the wounds we all have. This sermon highlights how the good news of Jesus is rescue, and that Jesus provides it freely, to all who ask. 

NOT A THROWAWAY WORLD
ABBY KAPLAN - AUG 29, 2021

In this week’s message, Abby highlights the Good News of God’s promise of the resurrection. In the resurrection, God will redeem us and transform us. He will set things right in a way that honors our stories, that makes clear the seed-like connection we’ll have to what we see now.

GETTING BEHIND THE GOOD NEWS
RYNE PARRISH - SEPT 05, 2021

In today’s sermon on the Good News of the gospel, Ryne’s lesson shifts the narrative on what we should expect the Christ to look like to Jesus’ own views on the subject. Instead of expecting a powerful king, something that commands glory and praise, Jesus gives us the model of a servant, humble, and submissive to the will of God, even to death on a cross. And the good news for us is that instead of a king with unattainable power we’re constantly chasing after, we have a savior that, if we choose to follow, will lead us closer to God. 

EVANGELISM 101
RYNE PARRISH - SEPT 12, 2021

Continuing our series on the Good News of the gospel, Ryne’s sermon takes a look at how we can share that Good News. Not just for the most faithful or the best public speakers, evangelism is about witnessing Jesus, then bearing witness of Jesus to others. Evangelism is an excitement we have in our Savior that bubbles up and compels us to point him out so that others can recognize Jesus for themselves.

THE 1 PETER BLUEPRINT OF EVANGELISM
RYNE PARRISH - SEPT 26, 2021

Wrapping up our series on the Good News, Ryne’s sermon this week focuses on the good news of hope and why being hopeful as a Christian doesn’t mean just wishing for the best. The hope Christians have is weighty and reliable, based in concrete experience. A person with hope cannot be a slave to the moment because we have assurance in who God will be and what his plan is, based on who he has been, and how we have seen his plan fulfilled. 

THE WRITING ON THE WALL
RYNE PARRISH - OCT 03, 2021

The Bible, full of hope, beautiful poetry, and life-changing wisdom, also contains some seriously chilling stories. This week’s sermon kicks off our series on spooky stories from the Bible. Ryne retells the story found in Daniel chapter 5 about the ghostly human hand that appears during a party and scrawls a cryptic message for King Belshazzar on his plaster wall.

THE FIGURE ON THE WATER
KAREN SEWELL - OCT 10, 2021

Continuing our series on strange and spooky stories from the Bible, this week’s sermon features the account of a ghostly figure seen walking on the Sea of Galilee during a violent storm.

THE GERASENE DEMONIAC
RYNE PARRISH - OCT 17, 2021

This week’s spooky story from the Bible is about the Gerasene Demoniac—a man possessed by so many demons they called themselves Legion.

HEROD AND THE CURSED FAMILY
RYNE PARRISH - OCT 24, 2021

Continuing our series on spooky stories from the Bible, we hear this week about a royal line of Herods and the curse that plagued them for generations.

THE VALLEY OF BONES
RYNE PARRISH - OCT 31, 2021

Wrapping up our series on spooky stories from the Bible, this week’s eerie tale recounts a vision the prophet Ezekiel had where he witnessed dry bones regain their flesh and become reanimated.

CHURCH, WHO?
RYNE PARRISH - NOV 7, 2021

Beginning a new sermon series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, Ryne’s message today focuses on what Revelation says about who the church is.

CHURCH, WHAT?
RYNE PARRISH - NOV 14, 2021

Continuing our series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, today’s message examines what the church is. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 offers a profound explanation that reveals the church to be the dwelling place of God, a holy temple, comprised of the church (see last week’s sermon on who the church is), with Jesus as its foundation.

CHURCH, WHEN?
DAVID HURLEY - NOV 21, 2021

Continuing our sermon series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, David Hurley brings us a lesson that looks at the importance of being the church right now, not the church of the past, not even the church of the future.

CHURCH, WHERE?
RYNE PARRISH - NOV 28, 2021

Continuing our series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, Ryne guides us through a look at the significance of the church being global, as well as the important implications of the church being here, in this place, in this community.

CHURCH, WHY?
RYNE PARRISH - DEC 05, 2021

Continuing our series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, Ryne encourages us with a lesson that examines the church as a global and local entity, and what the church’s purpose of worshipping God looks like in both of those formats.

CHURCH, HOW?
RYNE PARRISH - DEC 12, 2021

Concluding our series on Church: the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, Ryne preaches about how the church accomplishes its purpose of worshipping God through both bodily and spiritual worship.

THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER
ABBY KAPLAN - DEC 19, 2021

Abby’s lesson this week highlights parallels from the Old Testament with the account of Elizabeth and Mary, pregnant with John the Baptist and Jesus and how through Jesus, we see these stories retold as they should have been, relived in a way we can also live them, through Jesus’ example.

For other sermons, visit our sermons page or our sermon archive.