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In this sermon, Pastor Mark Deering teaches on Revelation chapter 12, using a sports analogy to present it as a "scouting report" on Satan (identified as the dragon in the text). Pastor Mark analyzes the chapter through three sections that depict the woman representing God's people, the war in heaven resulting in Satan's expulsion to earth, and Satan's continued attacks on believers. He makes three key points: Satan is a master deceiver who misleads even faithful Christians through misconceptions about his power and nature, Satan has already decisively lost through Christ's cross victory and heavenly defeat, making believers victorious, and Satan actively targets Jesus' followers on earth. He concludes by urging us to recognize where we've been deceived, maintain a victorious rather than fearful posture, and remain aware of spiritual warfare while standing firm through prayer and community.
In this week's sermon, Pastor Jacob Michalski focuses on The Beatitudes and what it means to "live the good life." He explains that the word "blessed" in the Beatitudes equates to "happy" or having "the good life," and then contrasts Jesus's unexpected view of who has the good life with common perspectives. While people typically think of the good life in terms of comfort, security, and material success, Jesus declares that the good life belongs to those who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaking, and even persecuted. Pastor Jacob emphasizes that this seemingly paradoxical teaching reflects Jesus's eternal perspective rather than a temporal one, and points out that the Beatitudes aren't a checklist but rather an assessment tool to see if one's heart aligns with God's perspective on the world. He concludes by encouraging his congregation to reflect on these teachings and compare their own definition of the good life with Jesus's vision.
This week at Epikos Church, we celebrate 20 years of being a church! During this week's message, Pastor Mark Deering walks through the past 20 years of the church, sharing stories of connection, growth, and life change from various people who call Epikos home.