Encounter Church DC

How do we make sense of the fact that Jesus comes as an all out war against the devil? A big part of the work of Jesus in the New Testament is to work against the power of the devil. 

We are finally getting around to see Jesus in action. And this is the first story we see of Jesus' adulthood, right before he starts his ministry, he goes into the desert for this 40 day time of prayer and fasting.If you think about it for a second, that sounds like an insane statement; we just saw Jesus be baptized and the presence of the Holy Spirit come to dwell with him. And normally you would think the next thing Jesus would do is something super pious right? Which is true, he goes into the desert to pray and fast for 40 days; but this happens in the context of temptation. The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert with the goal of being tempted. But wait, God is ok with tempting people What is going on? In this sermon,  we look at the role temptation & trials plays in our lives.

Last week we looked at how John starts doing this new thing and saying The Kingdom of Heaven has come near and that God is doing something different now. The first question anybody would have is, well. those are the prophecies about the Messiah, are you the Messiah? And his answer is no. We see two examples this in Luke 3:15-18 and in John 1:19-28.In this sermon, we explore the idea of what He can possibly mean by saying that the one coming after Him would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire.So... who is the Holy Spirit?

Repent means to turn around. Why was the idea of repenting so revolutionary? Because up until that point, it wasn't part of the deal. Not that the idea of repentance didn't exist, but the basis in which the people of Israel were in good standing with God wasn't like that.It was through the law of Moses and the system of sacrifices at the Temple.Baptism is sort of an innovation of John the Baptist- at the time, the concept of a ritual cleansing existed. When a gentile became Jewish, they had to undergo a ritual cleansing, and that was the closest thing to baptism.Jewish people didn't have to do that. So why is John all of a sudden telling people they have to repent and they have to get baptized?What's changed? The key is in his message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”Matthew 3:1-21 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”Mark 1:4-54 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.Luke 3:7-147 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don't collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Most of the time, the interactions someone has with the Church, through friendship, visiting a church service, a small group, whatever… is what God uses to lead people further and further in the journey of faith until they have a life-transforming personal encounter with Jesus.Which means that part of what the church does; part of what we are called to do, is the same thing John the Baptist did, we prepare the way for Jesus. What does that look like today?Passage:Mark 1:1-8John the Baptist Prepares the WayThe beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,  as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:          “I will send my messenger ahead of you,          who will prepare your way” —       “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,          ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,          make straight paths for him.' ”And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.  John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

What role does doubt play in our spiritual development and in our interactions with God? Passage: Luke 1:5-25We live in a time where doubt is seen as a good thing, or at least not a bad thing. And there are a number of reasons why:We've seen so many scandals that we can't help but be skepticalIn a post-enlightenment world, the natural tendency is to always want a naturalistic explanation to everything; so all of a sudden, all the supernatural stuff from the Bible becomes suspect. The default of the world is skepticism.But also in the church we've seen “faith” abused… "you just have to believe"… but the thing doesn't happenSo our natural tendency is to cater to skepticism and doubt. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, we want people to feel welcome. If you have questions, you're welcome, if you're not sure about the whole Jesus thing, you're welcome.However, in the passage we are looking at, doubt is chastised. What's more, other passages in the Bible seem to allude to the same thing,  belief and faith, seem to be key to having a proper relationship with God.Hebrews 11:6John 20:27-29Mark 9:21-27So again, what role does doubt play in our spiritual development and on our interactions with God?

Only when you see God as Father then does the Christian life makes sense. This is the only motivation that will allow you to endure; why be a part of a local congregation, why serve, why commit to spiritual disciplines?It has to be because this is my Father's business, which in a way it makes it my business, your business.

On our journey through the life of Jesus, we are arriving at the story of the visit of the Magi. If you grew up attending a church that is more liturgical you probably know that there is a specific day when the church celebrates this, January 6. In certain parts of Latin America, this is called 3 Kings Day or Día de los Reyes.Because we are taking our time trying to look at the events of Jesus' life in some sort of chronological order, we are a little behind, but this sermon explores that story. Passage: Matthew 2:1-23

We are in a series looking at all the aspects we can of the life of Jesus. And before we get to Jesus' ministry, there's a couple of stories that take place between Jesus' birth and the beginning of his ministry.In this sermon, we take a look at the story of when Jesus is presented at the temple and the impact that event had on two people.

If you missed the online service yesterday, you can watch the sermon here. Pastor Joel spoke on Luke 1:76-79 and discussed how the birth of Jesus has already made a difference in the world for the better, and thus, in our lives.

Matthew 1:18-23This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, t because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The word messiah means "anointed one". In Hebrew culture 2 types of leaders: priests and kids. Last week we talked about how Jesus was a different type of king, this week, we dive deeper into how he is a different type of priest.

If you hear the word Jesus, what's the next word that comes to your mind? Probably either the word cross or the word Christ. In some pop culture references, people use Christ like it's Jesus' last name, but it's actually not. Christ is actually a title and it's probably the most famous title that Jesus has. But have you ever wondered where that title comes from?Passage: Isaiah 53:1-111 Who has believed our message    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,    and like a root out of dry ground.He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faces    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.4 Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering,yet we considered him punished by God,    stricken by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,    each of us has turned to our own way;and the Lord has laid on him    the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and afflicted,    yet he did not open his mouth;he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,    so he did not open his mouth.8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.    Yet who of his generation protested?For he was cut off from the land of the living;    for the transgression of my people he was punished.9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,    and with the rich in his death,though he had done no violence,    nor was any deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,he will see his offspring and prolong his days,    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.11 After he has suffered,    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,    and he will bear their iniquities.

"This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David…" - Matthew 1:1.  "... the son of David..." = One of Jesus' most famous titles

We don't know what to make of the Bible, so we either read some passages and are horrified and walk away from the book, or we use it to abuse and hurt and oppress others, or we try to use it as a fortune cookie...But Jesus says the whole point of the book is that it should point you to Him.You get to meet Him in the book, the whole point of the Bible is a way of meeting Jesus, of getting to know him, that's evident in the Gospels, but it's also true in the Old Testament. The scriptures help us make sense of Jesus, of why he had to come, and why he is doing what he is doing,  and the more you do that, the more you fall in love with him.And that makes all the difference.

One of the key truths about Jesus is that He is God. He is part of the community of self-giving self-sacrificial love, what we call the Trinity, and as God, he has always been present and active in the World, even if we don't notice it.

Who is Jesus to you? A friend, an acquaintance, a far off God, a Savior? All of the above? Have you at one point or another thought of him as each one of those things and even more? What if we told you that at some level, you are right? He is some of those things... he is the Savior, he is a friend, he is the Son of God, he is a religious teacher and a historical figure, he is more… but what does that mean for us?Join us for the launch of a special sermon series as we dive into a months long exploration of who our Savior was and is. 

All hallows eve...⠀⠀All hallows day or all saints day...⠀⠀Historically this is the day the church remembers the saints and martyrs; it's a day where we think and talk about death as well as those who've gone before us. These last couple of years have been marked by death, we've seen it all around us with the COVID-19 pandemic especially. In this message, pastor Joel looks at it from a biblical perspective.

Have you asked yourself that question as we've been going through our Renaissance series? What would the future look like, for the Church, for Encounter, for yourself even if we were open to change? If we were open to confronting the hurt, the ugly, the sin and allow God to work through it to reveal His glory through what His intention for the Church was in the first place?

At the start of this sermon series we talked about how the main metaphor the writers of the New Testament use to describe the Church is that of a body. This means that Church is not something you do, or something you attend, it is something you belong to. That the proper way of engaging in the Church is not as an external entity or as an event, but as a collective that you become a part of. A lot of the unhealthy or dysfunctional ways we engage with church are a result of making church into something other than what it is supposed to be. In this sermon, we look at 3 of those ways:The SpectatorThe ConsumerThe Consumed

The Writing on the WallGuest Speaker, Austin Hedge, from our sister church, The Foundry Church in Baltimore speaks on Daniel Chapter 5 and the mysterious "writing on the wall."

If the church is ultimately the body of Christ, what should the church do? The Ecclesial minimum is the irreducible minimum of the church, but what is it? There are four aspects to it:1. Worship2. Formation3. Community4. Mission

What is church?A concert and a TED talk…? For the most part, it is something you attend, and if you're special you get to perform at it or if you are a volunteer, you get to be involved.It's meant to do something for me… made me learn something or feel something. Or it's a means to meet and connect with people.Somehow, church helps my walk with God; it gets God off my back, or is meant to make following God in my personal life easier.Believe it or not, a lot of these things are true, in part.. But at the same time, they are not that compelling.A concert and a TED talk can be delivered online, there's a ton better preachers and singers/musicians out there…The church is known for its abuses or its hypocrites or its entanglement with politics or the culture wars. To be honest, who wants to be a part of that?In this message, Pastor Joel attempts to help you expand your vision for what this thing called church is and consider why it matters and why we shouldn't give up on it.

There is something that happens in the moments of profound crisis that reshape so many things; from how we see the world to how certain things work to our priorities, it exposes what is not working which creates the ground in which the next thing can flourish.This is a principle that you see all over the Scriptures, particularly in the stories of the people of Israel in exile.

Have you noticed that almost everyone feels exhausted and weary these days? Even if we were able to get a vacation of some sort? What if the reason for that is that maybe we need a deeper kind of rest that we cannot manufacture ourselves?What if the reason we feel so exhausted and worn out is because we need a type of rest and refreshment that comes from outside ourselves. In this sermon, we take a look at a Bible story that is precisely about that. A prophet on the run for his life who is absolutely exhausted and doesn't think he can go on… that is until he meets someone who gives him the strength to continue.

In the last sermon of the Summer Fruit series, guest speaker, Sean Cronin from Passion for Planting speaks on Self Control.

Gentleness is one of those words that because of how we use it currently, we can either dismiss its importance, think it only applies to certain people, assume it's not for us, or even worse, see gentleness as a bad thing. But what exactly is gentleness in the Bible?

Throughout all of the Scriptures, one of the things the writers of the Bible seem to be in full agreement is that God is a faithful God. But what does that mean exactly?

In week 7 of our Summer Fruit series, guest speaker Kati Hubbard speaks on Goodness.Kati Hubbard is the Worship Director at The Foundry Church - Baltimore. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she now resides just outside of Baltimore with her husband Jake, two preschoolers, two cats, one dog, and 37 houseplants. Kati's life goal is to be an interpreter of sorts, helping translate the language of faith to those wrestling with doubt. She is convinced that honest questions lead to honest worship, and that when it comes to winning our trust, no one is more patient than Jesus. 

What happens when we realize we are the recipients of God's kindness? How does God's truth of being fundamentally a kind God, enable us to show kindness to others? In a world full of harshness and cruelty, Jesus shows us that kindness is the best antidote to the ugly we find in the world.

How we can see the same patience that God has, bear fruit in our lives, thus helping us become patient people?

What does peace look like in the midst of the crazy world we live in today?

How can we have joy that lasts even in the midst of adverse circumstances?

What are we talking about when we talk about love?

Have you ever considered what it actually looks like to live like Jesus would have? We talk about this all the time but... the life of Jesus is vastly different from our life. We've never seen Jesus have to deal with the pressures of a job on the Hill, or juggling a professional career while also trying to raise children. Or navigating the dating scene in DC. So if the call for Christians is to live like Jesus. What in the world does that look like?The answer, according to the Scriptures, is being guided and changed by the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit who leads us into a Christlike life. And the result of that work, is what the Apostle Paul called the fruit of the Spirit, 9 virtues that the Children of God display in their life and that we can see present in the life of Jesus.This sermon kicks off a 10-week series where we are going to look at what it looks like to live by the Spirit, how we can see each fruit of the Spirit present in the life of Jesus, and how different that is from how the world today lives.

If we are a new creation in Christ, what are we to make about the fact that we still sin? The Apostle Paul explains this in terms of what he calls our sinful nature, that a part of us, by nature of being human in a fallen world still has a tendency toward sin. But this should no longer be the defining element of who we are, and it does not mean we are powerless against sin. Being a new creation in Christ means we are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to have victory over sin. This means that the Christian life is a life of living into our identity. We are declared righteous in Christ, but God's desire is for this to match up with how we live our lives. The journey of following Jesus on Earth is a journey of being transformed into the type of people who live like Jesus.

For Christians, the defining element of our identity is who we are in Christ. Our sin has been forgiven and we have been given a new nature. While we still struggle with sin, we are a new creation, adopted into the family of God. We are who God says we are, His children, and this should be how we see ourselves.

Part of understanding who we are is understanding our sinful nature. We tend to either overvalue sin, making it the defining characteristic of our identity (and not the fact that we are made in God's image), or undervalue it (seeing sin just as character flaws and not as rebellion against God). The Scriptures show us sin for what it is,  how insidious and serious it is, while at the same time showing us that it is not the defining element of our identity, and giving us hope for redemption in Christ.

What’s the starting point for our identity? Is it our abilities? Our flaws? Our sin? A big part of the problem is that we start conversations about human identity, particularly in the church, in the wrong place. We either start from our sinful state… which makes it seem like we were meant to be broken from the start, or we start from the place of our character and virtues, without actually ever addressing our brokenness. But the vision of humanity that we see in the Scriptures is different: Humans were created in the image and likeness of God, out of love and for love. Before anything else, this is the starting point of human identity. We are who God meant us to be. Understanding this distinction helps us frame our brokenness and sin properly, but it also illuminates the potential of humanity and God’s vision for what He desires us to become.

We all to a certain degree struggle with our identity. Both in how we perceive ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world. We either ignore our brokenness and dysfunction, or we are crushed by the weight of it and don’t realize the beauty and wonder of being humans made in the image of God and loved by Him. This crisis of identity not only affects our inner mental state, but it spills over into our relationships, both with other people and even with God. It is then crucial for us to get a real grasp on our identity because it is only when we are honest about who we are that God can begin the work of redeeming and healing what’s broken in us, but also where we can live out of our identity as children of God and live into the life God has for us, as C.S. Lewis would say: “How can [God] meet us face to face till we have faces?”

How does Christianity remain compelling and inviting in a world that rejects more and more the tenants of the Christian faith? By a radical commitment to hospitality, to inviting and welcoming people regardless of who they are, what they’ve done and what they believe because this is how Jesus has invited and welcomed us. This does not mean a capitulation to the Christian tenants, but entering into the tension of continuing to be inviting and welcoming even when we disagree with those we are inviting and welcoming and even when they reject us.

One of the worst consequences of individualism is the loss of community. This is something we’ve seen in particular in the last year, as the lockdowns made us more and more isolated. Christianity offers an alternative, a group of people committed to radical community where we can truly belong, be seen, and loved. 

Faithfulness to Jesus is not just a matter of adherence to His teachings, but of obedience. Jesus’ goal is for us to “put into practice” his teachings. One of the core ways in which we do this is by engaging in spiritual practices, establishing rhythms were we practice our faith and are formed by the Spirit of God. This obedience to the teachings of Jesus will orient our heart and our affection towards Him so that our character is formed in such a way that withstands any sort of ideological pressures.

In the first episode of the Self/Less series, we talked about how there are 4 postures; four ways of orienting our lives that can allow us to love God and love our neighbors.They are, faithfulness, obedience, community and hospitality. The first two postures are about our relationship with God and the last two postures are about our relationship with others.This sermon takes a look at the first posture, faithfulness. 

We live in a tumultuous world. Marked by extreme polarization between ideologies, increasing secularism and a tainted reputation of the church in the aftermath of a tumultuous year where Christianity has been associated with some of the darker moments in the life of our country and where the Christian faith is being co-opted by different political ideologies. How can we live as Christians in a world like this? What we see in the Scriptures is the call of Jesus to live lives that are characterized by love, love of God and love of others. In other words, in a world that is defined by extreme individualism, Jesus calls us to live a life beyond ourselves, a selfless life that focuses on God 

The questions for us Christians after the incredibly difficult year we have all been through is, what does the story of Holy Week, of the death of Jesus that we remember on Good Friday and the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate today on Easter Sunday, what do these two events have to say to the time we’ve been through but also to the season we have ahead of us?

In difficult moments of profound and almost inexplicable suffering and pain, like the ones we have gone through in 2020 and then this year as well, we start looking for some sort of answer and explanation for what’s happening.These are the moments when we ask, if there is a God how could He allow this to happen?Those of us who are Christians wonder the same thing… God why is this happening? Where are you?And today, when we remember Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Roman Empire, those questions become particularly poignant.Because we believe that the Good Friday story has something to say to us… something to say to our suffering and our pain.

One of the reasons we are doing this series is because we want to become a praying church. We want to be a church where everything we do is fueled by prayer.And that is something that we can’t do individually, that is something we do together. There is a type of prayer that is about private intimacy between us and God individually. But there is also a corporate dimension to prayer. There are prayers God answers individually and there are prayers that God answers when His people come together.

How long should we pray for? Not meaning how long in a day, bur for how long should we be praying for something?Sometimes we pray and it seems that our prayer gets answered immediately, some times it feels like it takes, weeks, months, years.What’s the average delivery time on prayer?Because there are people that have been praying for the same thing for years and still haven’t seen an answer.An illness to be cured of, a relationship to be restored, a partner.And if this is you, at some point you’re gonna ask yourself, "should we just give up? Why keep praying? Maybe God is never going to answer this prayer"

Why do our prayers matter? And how do we process the fact that sometimes our prayers don’t get answered?

The thing that we keep coming back to over and over and where the name of this series comes from is that we need to be taught how to pray. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray and he goes on to teach them The Lord's Prayer.We don't believe Jesus meant that we should recite it every time we "pray" but there’s gotta be a reason why He taught it.In this message, Pastor Joel discusses the Lord’s prayer is the archetypal prayer. How the elements of this prayer teach us the basics that we need to know about a prayer time.He goes through it line by line.