11/25/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 20

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Jesus and Mary

Easter morning was a pivotal moment in the lives of Jesus friends, followers and the whole world. The direction of history was radically changed that Sunday morning, and most missed the significance of it, at least initially. An empty tomb, started guards, confused friends and a living Savior, oh what a morning it was!

11/11/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 18

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Peter and Pilate; a Study in Contrasts

After being arrested and tried 3 times by the Jewish authorities, Jesus is brought before Pilate. While this was transpiring, Peter was denying that he even knew Jesus. One can feel the coldness of that Spring evening and the darkness of the events; the stress would have been off the charts. Yet the one who is most impacted is calm and reasonable. How can we learn to handle life’s difficulties like Jesus did?

10/28/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 18

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Jesus’ Arrest

Jesus’ arrest marks the beginning of a very chaotic Friday morning. Referred today as “Good Friday”, none of the participants at the time would have called it that. Violence, mobs, insults, cursing and death is what this day would be marked out by; yet in all of this there is good, for you and for me. All of God’s wrath for our sins was poured out upon Him and by His stripes we were healed; good for us but not great for them.

10/21/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 17

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

The Lord’s Prayer

Jesus’ prayed just before the crazy night of His betrayal, arrest, trial and death. His prayer is others focused, as His whole life has been. Too often our prayers are about what we want or need and even those requests for others are often tainted with a self-centered desire. Jesus teaches that prayer should be more God focused and less man-focused. He prays for unity and love to be our defining characteristics and for this all to be grounded on truth.

10/14/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 17

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

An Excursus on Prayer

Jesus’ prayer recorded by John is a profound prayer. Before we look at it in detail, let us pull back and think about prayer as an overarching theme in scripture. We see prayer in every book. It is commanded to us to pray. It is a privilege that should not be taken lightly, yet we often only pray as a last resort. We don’t know how to pray, or we think somehow we are not worthy of approaching God. Today we will look at the subject of prayer before diving in next week to this specific prayer of Jesus...

10/7/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

Communion

Communion

We remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in song, word and by partaking of the communion elements together.

9/30/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 16

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Hidden things Revealed

Jesus and the disciples are almost at the Garden of Gethsemane. He has told about the coming Spirit and once again He tells them He is going away. While we can see that He has plainly and clearly told them what was going to happen, they are confused and uncertain about what He means. Their pre-conceived notions prevent them from really hearing Jesus. We still have the same problem today of not always correctly hearing what He has to say to us, will we listen?

9/23/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 16

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Coming Promised Helper

Jesus has been hinting about this coming helper, in this paragraph He more clearly explains who He is and what His role would be. Remember this is a section describing the resources Jesus was leaving His disciples before His arrest, death and eventual departure back to Heaven. The Holy Spirit was being given to encourage the disciples during coming dark days and to guide them into the establishment of a new organization called the Church.

9/16/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 15-16

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Love Each Other, the World Hates You

For the 4th time in this gospel, John quotes the command Jesus gave: love one another. This was not just to the 11 in the room, it was also to us. Do you love those in your church? Do you love those in the wider audience of the church, you know the ones who don’t think like you or always act as you think they should or worship the same as you? The world hates us, yet we try to appease it, our priorities need adjustment...

9/2/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 15

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

The Vine and the Branches

Jesus uses a very common 1st Century metaphor to challenge his disciples to be found worthy of the calling they have answered. Faith in Jesus is not simply something in our head or in our hearts but is put into action. In a beautiful way Jesus describes not only the relationship between God the Father and Himself; but also, with us his followers. He gives us all we need to be a successful follower; His desire is for us to be worthy...

8/26/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 14

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

The Trinity

Jesus dialogue continues with some confused discple questions serving as the basis for teaching about His true nature. For the first time He plainly explains the relationship between Himself and the Father and the Spirit. He is teaching this as a means of comforting the disciples who are facing dark and difficult moments ahead.

8/19/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 14

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Comfort for the Disciples

Jesus continues to prepare the disciples for His departure. Tucked into this section is the most exclusive statement Jesus makes about who He is and How we can get to God. He also is teaching the disciples to trust, knowing that their darkest days are coming and their world was going to fall apart shortly.

8/12/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 13

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Betrayal and Love

Jesus shows remarkable restraint in the face of betrayal. As His actions of love continue, He prepares the disciples for a shocking act of betrayal. Up to this point, Judas seems to be a well-respected and well-liked disciple. He is the treasurer of the group and even when he leaves to hatch the plot, no one is suspicious. We have all faced betrayal, it is hard to resist revenge and to be bigger, but we are called to it.

8/5/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 13

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Jesus, the Servant Example

One of the most shocking events, at least to the disciples, occurs next. Perhaps outside of the resurrection, this incident was the most powerful visual lesson that Jesus gave, yet sadly we still miss the meaning today. In an extremely simple act of service, Jesus gives the disciples, and us, our marching orders about how we are to live our lives. What does being Christ like (a Christian) look like and how are we to act...

7/29/2018

Pastor Curt Bidwell

Psalm 1

Guest Speaker

The Ultimate Choice

Interim pastor, Curt Bidwell shares with us from God's Word about whom God blesses and whom He judges.

7/22/2018

Pastor Curt Bidwell

Guest Speaker

Christian Living: An Overview

Interim pastor, Curt Bidwell shares with us from God's Word how are relationships influence our Christian life.

7/15/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 12

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Jesus and the Greeks

A seemingly random request for an audience from a group of Greeks is an opportunity for Jesus to explain His purpose in coming to the Earth. Israel wanted a military leader/messiah. The Greeks were curious about what was going on. Jesus was prepared to die for both the Jews and the Greeks and it was time for the world to know the true plan of God...

7/8/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 12

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Triumphal Entry

A story recorded in all 4 gospels indicates it is a serious marker in the life of Christ. Jesus presents Himself as Israel’s Messiah, yet under His terms. While appearing receptive, there is an undertone of skepticism that will explode in just a few days into calls for His crucifixion. This is the beginning of the Passion week.

7/1/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

Communion

Communion

We remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in song, word and by partaking of the communion elements together.

6/24/2018

Pastor Phil Perry

John 12

Who is the Christ: John’s Gospel to the World!

Pure Worship

A powerful story is told about true love and worship of Jesus. Underlying all of this is the building tension between Jesus and His enemies. This story is a continuation of the resurrection of Lazarus story, almost like a post-script. We see in this section what is expected of us if we truly love the Lord and its contrasted with those who are in it all for themselves.