Calvary Christian Fellowship Ventura

Another Easter Sunday, another year to celebrate the risen Savior; is this just another passing or reoccurring event in your life? In a sermon entitled “Let the Resurrection Shake You, Wake You, Take You”, Pastor Don Modglin reads from Matthew 28 and shows us how the reality of the resurrection does indeed change the life of the believer. Reflecting on the Resurrection, Pastor Don shows us how this singular event in history changes everything and should change even you. Listen close as Pastor Don teaches us how Christ’s Resurrection shakes us from our bed of apathy, wakes us from our slumber, and takes us to our new life in Christ Jesus.

Suffering and in need? Think that you have nothing to give or contribute? In a sermon entitled “He Has Need of Them” Pastor Don Modglin reads out of our verses in Matthew 21:1-10 and tells the story of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Often overlooked though in this story is the call of our Messiah and His need – His need, or even desire, to use us for His purposes and His glory. Notwithstanding His aseity, the Lord’s Self-existence and Self-sufficiency, the Lord has His plans and purposes that include His plans to work in us and through us. Listen in as Pastor Don shows us how we not only have much to receive but even much more to give. The Lord indeed has need for you and can and will use you for His glory. Take courage as Pastor Don shows us how the Lord takes “All Creatures Of Our God And King” and uses them to bring praise to Him.

Are you strong in your stubbornness or do you find strength in your submission? Do you call Him Lord yet tell Him you’re in charge and tell Him what He should do? Reading out of Matthew 26: 30-44, Pastor Dan O’Friel preaches a sermon entitled “Strength in Submission” where Pastor Dan addresses the pride and arrogance that can be so prevalent in our lives. Christ’s call is a call of submission and of humility. Listen as Pastor Dan turns our hearts and ears to the Lord that we would joyfully sing with all the saints “O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross, bids me come and die and find that I may truly live.”

Will the Lord say to you “Well done, good and faithful servant” when you stand before Him? For the believer, we will not face the Great White Throne judgment spoken about in Revelation 20 but rather we will stand before Him for our reward of crowns to be cast down before Him. Hear Pastor Don preach a sermon based on our reading in Matthew 25:14-30 entitled “Opportunity is Knocking” where he clearly draws the lines between works and grace. Pastor Don shows us how we are to work from our position of grace and because of our salvation in our service of the Lord. Pastor Don prepares us so that we might hear the Lord tells us those words “Well done, good and faithful servant ... Enter into the joy of your lord.”

Dry and thirty, hungry and hurting? In Haggai 1 we read that “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Pastor Dan Heard, guest Pastor from Calvary Chapel LAX, brings us a sermon entitled “Be Steadfast in the Lord” where we learn of how not to go wayward and we learn how to be steadfast and faithful to Him who is faithful to His promises.

Signs and times got you worried or anxious? Wondering about the Lord's promised return and the "generation" in which it will take place. In his sermon entitled "Parable of the Fig Tree", Pastor Don Modglin sheds light and understanding on the Lord's words in our reading in Mathew 24:32-35. Continuing his study on Christ's Olivet discourse, Pastor Don shows us how we can take certainty in the promise of the Lord's return.

Ever at a loss because of a faithless friend or even spouse? Adultery and cheating ever been unfortunate issues to deal with in life? Pastor Don Modglin preaches a sermon based on the text in Hosea 2:19-20 where we see how the Lord deals with Israel despite Israel's unfaithfulness. Listen to this encouraging sermon on Gods redemption of sinners as we consider what true love is this Valentine's day and reflect on God's love, mercy and grace. Please excuse the audio quality of this file as the recorder was in need of adjustment. Every effort was made to improve the audio quality but the audio may be difficult to follow.

Are you ready for the countdown to the end? In his sermon entitled “The Countdown Has Begun ... Are You Ready?”, Pastor Don Modglin teaches a study on the end times, also known eschatology, based on our reading in Matthew 24:42-51. The law of entropy tells us that that this world is winding down and will come to an end. If this worries you or if you’d like to know more about how the Lord’s prophecies and words provide comfort for the believer then this sermon is for you.

Troubled about the times around you? Eager to see or learn more about the Lord’s return? In a sermon entitled “Birth Pains” Pastor Don teaches us about the Lord’s Olivet Discourse from our reading in Matthew 24:1-8. In our reading we learn more about the prophecies regarding the Lord’s second coming. Pastor Don tells us more about why it is that “for every prophecy about Christ’s 1st coming, there are 8 prophecies about His 2nd coming.”. With all this in mind, we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4 to “therefore comfort one another with these words.”. Listen in as Pastor Don shows us why and how we can be encouraged as the end draws near.

Turned away by the hypocrisy of those around you or even in the Church? In a sermon entitled “Authentic Christianity”, Pastor Don Modglin exposes our hearts and the hypocrisy that we can so easily fall into. Pastor Don calls us to living lives devoted to the Lord and living the authentic Christian life.

Ever turned down or neglected an invitation to a party or event? Preaching from Matthew 22:1-14, Pastor Don Modglin shares the parable that the Lord told about the wedding feast. Pastor Don challenges us on our response to the Lord’s invitation in his sermon entitled “The Great Invitation.” Have you been apathetic in your response to the Lord? Have you met His invitation with hostility? Have you conditioned your response with a wait and see approach? Or rather, have you wholeheartedly committed yourself to He who has committed His very Son to you. No matter what we think or feel, say or do, action or even inaction is a response to the Lord. Pastor Don encourages us to turn our hearts to the Lord and wholeheartedly accept His invitation to enter into His presence.

Struggling to serve or devote yourself to the Lord? Wondering if the God will be fair to you in the end? In a sermon entitled “What is in it for me?” Pastor Don preaches a sermon about who you are in the Lord and why we give and why we serve.

Looking forward to a new year yet weighed down with the last? Pastor Don Modglin preaches a sermon entitled “Moving Upward & Onward” where he shows us how we can not only look upward and onward but move in that way through Christ Jesus. As we look forward to the new year and even back on the last, Pastor Don teaches us to look through the eyes of Christ to see the reality of our new lives in Him.

Ever feel like your just “going through the motions” spiritually? In the doldrums in your walk with the Lord? Byron Morales preaches a sermon entitled “Whole Hearted” based on the text in Matthew 19:16-30. In his sermon, Byron exhorts us to examine our hearts and ask the question “What is keeping you from serving God fully?” Addressing the idols in our hearts and lives, Byron shows us the benefit of living a life whole hearted to God.

Year after year, season after season, Christmas comes and goes but so many of fail to grasp what it really means to worship Him. Reading from Matthew 2:1-12, Pastor Don shows us the meaning of worship and how we can more sincerely bow before the King of Kings and worship Him. In his sermon entitled “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him”, Pastor Don shows us that true worship requires searching, submission and sacrifice. Pastor Don shows us how to go before the Lord in worship and truly give Him our praise and adoration.

Struggling to forgive someone? In need of forgiveness from someone else? In a sermon entitled “The Torment of Unforgiveness” Pastor Don Modglin shows us the standard of forgiveness, the story of forgiveness and the seriousness of forgiveness that the Lord lays before us. So many of us struggle with the torment of unforgiveness and live tortured lives as a result of not taking the Lord at His Word. Pastor Don shows us how the Lord forgives us and how He also calls us to forgive others.

Missing out on the crux of the issue? Reading from Matthew 17:24-27, Pastor Don shares some teachable moments from the story of Peter and the Lord paying their temple tax. In a sermon entitled “Peter’s Fish Story”, Pastor Don shows why this story is not just a detail of minutiae in the history of their lives but rather a story of how the Lord meets the needs of His people down to every minor detail. Here we learn what it means to have a sovereign Lord in our lives. Here Pastor Don teaches us what it means to be a son or daughter of the King. There is meaning in every account and even every word of the Bible.

Trouble seeing the Lord at work in your world and your life? Are you certain you have a proper or appropriate view of the Lord and how you relate to Him? In a sermon entitled “How’s Your Vision”, Pastor Dan O’Friel reads from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, and explains how those verses apply to us even in this day and age. Having a distorted view of these things will put us at a loss of how to understand and explain the times. Pastor Dan shows us how to properly view the signs and times under a Biblical worldview and how we can say “Maranatha – Lord come quickly.”

Serious about your faith? Wondering if your faith is deep enough to whether the storms of the trials of life? Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled "Mega Faith" where he preaches from Matthew 15:21-28 about the faith of a Canaanite woman of whom the Lord said " great is your faith!" Learn about how trials expose the depth of our faith or how shallow our faith is and where the Lord desires us to grow.

In a storm? Trouble always seems to come your way? Sometimes these words are more than just metaphors; these words can describe our very existence. In a sermon entitled “Lessons from the Storm” Pastor Don Modglin preaches a sermon based on our reading in Matthew 14:22-34. In Matthew 14 we read the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water in the midst of a storm and the raging sea. Amidst the waves and rough waters we read of not only Jesus, the perfect Son of God, walking on water but even sinful and fallen Peter walking on water at the word of Jesus – “Come.” Amidst the storms in your life Jesus also says “Come.” Hear how you can not only have comfort but even security because of the Lord and what He has done for us in our lives. Hear what it means to “step out of the boat” and “walk on water”; to do the extraordinary and to live a life without fear. Like Peter did even while sinking in the sea, Pastor Don exhorts us to set our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Having trouble hearing and understanding? Having your full faculties but still not perceiving? Jesus spoke in parables approximately 35% of the time throughout the Gospels for a reason. Listen as Pastor Don Modglin preaches a sermon entitled “What Kind of Soil Is In Your Heart” and expounds on the Lords parable about the Sower in Matthew 13 and how it applies to the conditions of the hearers hearts. Do you have a heart for the Word of God? Do you have a desire for His Word and His Ways? Pastor Don encourages us not to allow our hearts to be hardened by sin and its deceitfulness but rather to humble ourselves before Him. Pastor Don encourages us not to be hard-hearted, nor half-hearted, nor even here-hearted, but rather be heavenly-hearted where we set our hearts on the Lord above.

Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Weary and worn, stressed and strained? In a sermon entitled “What to Do When Worn, Weary, Stressed or Strained” Pastor Don shows us the call of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. Christ invites the tired, the worn, the burdened and broken to come, take and learn. Listen and hear a message about the true Christ of the Bible and how He guides and cares for His sheep. In a sermon showing us Christ in a light that we may never have seen Him in before, Pastor Don shows us how indeed Christ is gentle and lowly in heart, giving us rest for your souls.

Ever felt worthless and useless? Don’t think that you could be used by the Lord for His good and His glory? Reading from Matthew 10, Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “He Uses” where we see how the Lord uses ordinary men to do extraordinary things. In Pastor Don’s sermon we see how Jesus used the ordinary, even stumbling and bumbling Peter, to preach and proclaim His message of salvation. Listen as Pastor Don show us how the Lord makes the worthless worthy and the useless useful. There is hope for every man and His Name is Jesus. Hear Pastor Don proclaim this Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who indeed uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

Can God be glorified in your situation and circumstances? In a sermon entitled “To God Be the Glory” Pastor Dan O'Friel shows us how and why we can wait on the Lord as He gains greater glory in our lives and through our lives. Looking at the healings of the paralytic in Matthew 9 and John 11:4 we see how the Lord loves His holy ones. In our trials and darkest hour Jesus tells us as He said in John 11:4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Indeed, God is glorified even in our hardest times.

Ever felt hopeless and abandoned, without a friend in the world? In a sermon entitled “Friend of Sinners”, Pastor Don Modglin shows us why Jesus was called the “Friend of Sinners” and how He earned that title. Reading from Matthew 9 we see how so many had an attitude of abandonment towards sinners. The tax collector here in our story was someone that most, if not all, avoided at all costs. We find Jesus here not only seeking the sinner but calling all sinners as we are all sinners. In finding Jesus we find not only our greatest Friend but really our only true Friend. In finding Jesus we find our hope and our future.

Hopeless but in need of healing? Pastor Don Modglin shows us how the Healer, Christ Jesus, meets us in our hopelessness and gives us that healing we need. In a sermon entitled “He Still Heals” Pastor Don explains how the Lord heals and dispels many of the myths and misunderstandings of healings.

Without a prayer? Do you struggle with prayer? This great privilege given by the Lord to His believers is the Christians most powerful yet most underused weapon in this fight for our faith. Reading from Matthew 6:5-13 and the Lord’s Prayer, Pastor Don preaches a sermon called “In This Way ... Pray”. Learning from the Lord and His perfect example of prayer, Pastor Don shows us how we can and should pray and wield this powerful weapon that the Lord Himself used.

Heard it a million times already? Hear it fresh and anew from Pastor Dan O'Friel as he continues reading from our 5-5 Bible Reading Plan in Matthew 5-7. Teaching from the Lord's Sermon On the Mount, Pastor Dan gives insight on these words from the Lord that we have often heard but may not have considered much.

Ever felt weary and weak? Ever been tempted to sin? Pastor Don shares a sermon based on the text in Matthew 4 where we see the temptation of Jesus and how we can fight off the temptation of Satan. In Jesus we find the only one who really understands our weakness as He was tempted like we were and in Jesus we have our Advocate and our defense. Pastor Don asks us to turn our eyes to Jesus that the things of the world would grow strangely dim.

Troubled by a darkened past? When we read through the lineage and ancestry of Jesus we find that He too had a genealogy, or even say a family history, of scandal and shame. Reading from Matthew 1, Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “More Than a Name”. Pastor Don shows us how Jesus redeems the foolish, the fornicator and all of our failures. The God-man Jesus walked among the broken and the shamed and in Him we find redemption and glory for all that will place their faith in Him. Jesus was more than just a name and to Him you are more than just a name, you are a soul needing redemption. Take heart as you listen to Pastor Don’s message about the God-man who came to redeem you.

Do you have “A Heart for God?” Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “A Heart for God” in where he challenges us to examine our own hearts. Before the Lord our hearts our laid bare and our sins are open and known and our commitment to the Lord, or lack thereof, is apparent. As such, we must ask ourselves if we truly have a heart for the Lord, a heart for Him and His ways, a heart for Him and His Word, or are we simply going through the motions of church attendance. Pastor Don here encourages to do the heart searching so that we may draw closer to the Lord and remove those idols of our heart.

Ever feel like you want to have the last word? Wondering about who will have the final authority? In a sermon entitled "Who Will Have the Last Word?" Pastor Don preaches a sermon based on the text in Jonah 4. Despite Jonah's rebellious ways, here we see the heart of God for not only Jonah but all those who would rebel against Him.

Short on time and words? Stumbling and bumbling your way as you try to share the light of the Gospel in the dark world you live in? In a sermon entitled “Jonah’s Five Words”, Pastor Don preaches a message about how the Lord can use you in all your weakness for all His glory.

Ever feel like you're running in circles and getting nowhere? Reading from the Book of Jonah and continuing from the sermon from the previous week, Pastor Don preaches a sermon about how our stubborn ways takes us to places we don't want to go and how the Lord redeems our lives and gives us second chances.

Have you been running from God? Have you failed to obey His commandments and decrees? Reading from the Book of Jonah, Pastor Don preaches a message that applies to us all as we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Like Jonah in his running from God’s commands, Pastor Don shows us how we often act in like manner and how the Lord calls us back as He did for and to Jonah.

Reading from Amos 7, Pastor Don Modglin preaches a message entitled “Ordinary”. Like in the case of the prophet Amos, we see how the Lord takes ordinary men and women and converts them to extraordinary sons and daughters of the King. Seeing the opposition Amos faced we see how the world rejects both the message and the messenger. Has the Lord tasked you to deliver a message? Pastor Don shows us how we can take heart and faithfully honor the Lord who sends us.

Is God trying to wake you up? Is God trying to awaken America and the world? Pastor Don preaches a message entitled “Tear Your Hearts, Not Your Clothes”. Reading from the Book of Joel, we hear a message about how Israel was indifferent and apathetic about God and His ways and how we too have become the same. Back then and even now so many had or even have an external appearance, much like an outer clothing, of spirituality and godliness but have hearts that are not broken or torn before the Lord. Pastor Don preaches a message of introspection that we too would “Tear Your Hearts, Not Your Clothes”.

Pastor Dan O’Friel preaches a sermon entitled "Return to the Lord" based on our reading in Hosea 14. As the last chapter in the Book of Hosea, we read of the Lord’s healing hand working even in their faith in the Lord and to the Lord. In the previous chapters, chapters 3-13, we read of Israel’s waywardness and faithlessness. We read of Israel’s wickedness in their sin and find that like them, we too have gone astray. Ultimately though we read of God’s unfailing love for His people and how He “will heal their backsliding” and “will love them freely.” We see that the Lord did this for His people there and then and how He still does this for His people here and now.

Pastor Don begins a new sermon series in what Bible scholars call the “Minor Prophets” in the Old Testament. Reading from Hosea 3, we find the scandalous love story of Hosea and his cheating wife Gomer. In the same way that Hosea loved Gomer, the Lord loves us even as we have been unfaithful and adulterous against God.

Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “Three Words About Daniel” based on our reading in Daniel 9. Here we find a man who set himself to live his life purposefully in his faith. Here we see a man of God constantly in prayer as we should be. Here we see a man of God looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s Word and Promise. These three words; Purposeful, Prayerful, Prophetic, describe Daniel but does this also describe you and your life? Pastor Don shows us the example of Daniel and how and why we can and should follow in his example.

“… and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.” Pastor Don preaches a sermon about the believer’s integrity based on the text in Daniel 6. Can you stand in your faith before God and man and remain unscathed? Pastor Don expounds on the examples Daniel set in Daniel 6 and how we should follow those same examples in a sermon entitled “Shining a Bright Light.” In the same way, we are called to uncompromisingly stand strong in our faith and make our stand for Christ who stood in our place on the cross. Doing this we may find that those who oppose us, like in the case of Daniel, will say “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” When the light we shine is the light we reflect from the glory of the Lord, souls will be won.

Have you heard the pleadings and warnings of God and His Word? Reading from Daniel 4 and the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and humiliation, we find the story of a man who did not listen and did not turn to the Lord until the Lord humbled him. Here Pastor Don shows how the Lord seeks to restore us, as He did to King Nebuchadnezzar, from the effects and consequences of our sin.

In a sermon entitled “​Burned Out, Burned Up, or Fired Up”, Pastor Don shares the familiar story of the trial of Daniel and his three friends. Reading from Daniel 3, Pastor Don preaches a sermon about how the trials and tests of life can change us for better or worse. Through these tests and trials we are called closer to the Lord and upward in their faith. Pastor Don shows us why “Faith in God is more important than faith in His works”.

Guest Pastor Dan Heard from Calvary Chapel LAX (http://www.calvarychapellax.com) preaches a sermon called “The Cure for Fearful Paralysis”. Reading from John 20:19-31, Pastor Dan shows us how fear often paralyzes us and how Jesus cures us of this through His presence, purpose and power.

Starting a new series in the Book of Daniel, Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “Dare to Be a Daniel.” Reading from Daniel 1, Pastor Don shares a lesson about faith and obedience in a culture that pushes you to compromise and conform. From his sermon, we see how we can and should, trust and obey in all the Lord’s commands.

Pastor Don concludes a sermon series on this Resurrection Easter Sunday about the seven statements of Christ on the cross. Reading from Luke 23, Pastor Don preaches on the last statement that the Lord declares on the cross.

Pastor Don preaches opens a sermon series this Palm Sunday about the seven statements of Christ on the cross. Reading from Luke 23, Pastor Don preaches on the first three statements that the Lord declares.

Today’s headlines are filled with stories of war and rumors of war. Closer then ever to the “last days” we find many current events matching Biblical Prophecy. Reading from Ezekiel 38, Pastor Don preaches a sermon entitled “He Holds the Future” that will give us hope as we see Christ’s coming approaching. With all these signs increasing and the guarantee of God’s Word we must ask ourselves the following; are you ready for His return?

Guest Pastor Dan Heard from Calvary Chapel LAX preaches a message about the pruning that the Lord does in the life of a believer. In a sermon entitled “Fruitfulness”, we are reminded of the importance of abiding in the Lord.

Pastor Don preaches a message entitled” Dead Brought to Life”. From our text in Ezekiel 37, Pastor Don shows us how the Lord brings hope to the hopeless and brings the dead to life.

From his sermon entitled "Pride Before a Fall", Pastor Don preaches on the dangers and pitfalls of pride.