Nelsonville Assembly

In Mark 4:21-25, Jesus reminds His listeners that no one lights a lamp just to hide it under a basket. The light is meant to be seen, just like the truth of the Gospel in our lives. Pastor Isaiah challenges followers of Jesus to understand that we are not called to hide our faith. We're meant to boldly make His love, grace, and truth known to the world around us - this is the only proper way to live if we really hear what He is saying!

In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus used a parable to teach that the Word of God is like seed, and the condition of our hearts determines the fruitfulness of what is produced. Pastor Isaiah explains that while some hearts are hard, shallow, or distracted by the world, others are "good soil," ready to receive and respond. The call of Christ is not just to hear the Word, but to receive it, reflect on it, and let it take root in order to produce lasting spiritual growth!

Mark 3:22-30 reveals Jesus is stronger than Satan and all demonic powers, and gives a powerful warning against resisting and rejecting Christ in this life. Pastor Isaiah explains what Jesus warns about in "blaspheming against the Holy Spirit" and urges Christians to be people who regularly practice repentance and experience receiving forgiveness by Christ in this life!

In Mark 3:20-21 & 31-35, we are told that even Jesus' own family didn't understand Him at first. Pastor Isaiah explains how this is comforting when so many of our family and friends may not understand us when we follow Him! Yet, the Good News is that the high cost of following Him leads to the overwhelming reward of being part of the family of God!

In Mark 3:7-19, we see two contrasting ways to relate to Jesus. Pastor Isaiah declares emphatically that Jesus is not a means to an end; He is the end! While many may come to Jesus seeking what He can do for them, the greatest gift is being with Him.

The Pharisees turned gifts from God into burdens. In Mark 2:23-3:6, Jesus confronts this over the gift of the Sabbath. Pastor Isaiah explains how the Sabbath is meant to benefit our souls in learning to trust His provision, His goodness, and His sovereignty. In a world that glorifies busy, God gives His people the gift of rest in this rhythm.

Mark 2:18-22 shows that Jesus didn't come to patch up old religion - He brought something entirely new. Pastor Isaiah explains that what the Pharisees missed in their day was the simple yet profound truth that Jesus brings joy to the hearts of sinners who encounter His grace. Responding properly to Jesus means being ready for the new that He intends to do in and through you!

On Resurrection Sunday, we celebrate the victory of Jesus over sin and death! Pastor Isaiah proclaims the Good News of how Jesus died in our place, rose in power, and now offers eternal life to His followers. The resurrection changes everything—it's not just history to know about, it's hope to live by!

In Mark 2:13-17, we see the Good News on glorious display. Pastor Isaiah shares about how Jesus doesn't just call the “righteous” - He calls sinners. Jesus enters into broken places, meets sinners where they are, and changes everything. As we go through this Holy Week, may God open opportunities for us to see many come to experience Jesus in this same way, too!

At the end of Chapter 1, Mark tells us about a leper who approached Jesus in the early days of His ministry. Pastor Isaiah highlights three key lessons: the importance of believing in Jesus' power, His willingness to help us, and recognizing our deeper spiritual needs.

In Mark 1:32-39, we see Jesus' heart of compassion and His understanding of priorities on full display. Not only does Jesus give sacrificially to serve others, but He also prioritizes prayer. Pastor Isaiah unpacks key principles to challenge believers to follow Christ's example and to receive the benefits of having a growing relationship with God through intentional time with Him.

In Mark 1, we witness Jesus demonstrating His divine power and authority over both the natural and supernatural. He cast out demons, healed the sick, and displayed His dominion over all things. In today's world, many struggle to grasp this authority. Pastor Isaiah challenges us to consider: are we responding to Jesus' authority with awe and worship? Do we truly follow Him, not just know about Him?

The Bible sets the standard for faithful Christian ministry in all generations and places. Pastor Isaiah challenges us to see that just as Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John to leave everything behind and follow Him, Jesus calls us to radical obedience, too. This means turning from the world's way and following Christ wholeheartedly, no matter the cost!

Mark's Gospel presents a fast-paced, focused account of who Jesus is and what He has done. From Mark 1:9-13, Pastor Isaiah hones in on Mark's emphases of Jesus as the Perfect Son of God. Jesus' identity leads to incredible gifts in the salvation He gives to those who trust in Him!

In Mark 1:2-8, we see that John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. Pastor Isaiah connects the message of repentance and faith that John proclaimed to the greater message of what Jesus gives to those who repent and have faith in Him!

From Mark 1:1, Pastor Isaiah explains the meaning of Mark's claim that his book is about the Good News of Jesus being the Christ and the Son of God. After connecting who Jesus is to what He has done through His life, death, and resurrection, the church celebrates Quade Plunkett's public profession of faith through his baptism!

Pastor Isaiah begins a new sermon series by Introducing Mark, the author of one of the four Gospel accounts in Scripture. As Mark's story demonstrates, failure isn't final with God. He is the One who redeems, restores, and transforms lives!

From II Corinthians 5:1-10, Pastor Isaiah Jesch explains the implications of the fact that this life is temporary and what comes next can be far greater than all this life has to offer. For a Christian, knowing these things gives us freedom to focus on the mission of God here in this life, no matter the cost!

The prayer of Daniel in chapter 9 of his letter is one of profound honesty and openness before God. Pastor Isaiah explains how the way that Daniel approaches confession and pleading for mercy presents a direct challenge to modern Christians who often settle for much shorter and far more shallow prayers in our own lives.

From the first 3 verses of Daniel 9, Pastor Isaiah explains the actions that came from Daniel reading the Word of God given to Jeremiah, and how understanding revelation is always supposed to lead to response in our lives too!

From the first 3 verses of Daniel 9, Pastor Isaiah explains the actions that came from Daniel reading the Word of God given to Jeremiah, and how understanding revelation is always supposed to lead to response in our lives too!

From Daniel 8, Pastor Isaiah preaches on the knowledge of God and what it means for Christians today. Serving the God who knows every detail of every moment, even what is still to come, should embolden and empower Christians in every circumstance that we ourselves face!

In Daniel 5, the foolishness of King Belshazzar of Babylon is presented in vivid detail. Pastor Isaiah explains how the lessons that he failed to learn give us an opportunity to become people who live in wisdom and humility, following after the perfectly humble One True King, Jesus Christ.

The dramatic fulfillment of the dream that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar resulted in a massively changed life for the king of Babylon. Pastor Isaiah declares the incredible reality of who God is from the wisdom that comes when we learn to lift our eyes to heaven and behold God for who He is.

In Daniel 4, we see a case study of the patience of God to produce repentance in some of even the most unlikely of people. Pastor Isaiah helps us see how the work of God in the life of an ancient king is also a call to us today.

The last half of the story in Daniel 3 remains one of the most popular parts of the Old Testament. Pastor Isaiah explains some of the details that help give us a proper picture of what took place and then shows us from Scripture how the gift of God's presence with us is actually far more significant than most of us realize day by day.

From one of the two most famous passages in the Book of Daniel, Pastor Isaiah preaches about the God who alone is worthy of worship and the challenge for us to understand and reject all temptations to worship idols in our lives.

While King Nebuchadnezzar made an impossible demand for the wise men of Babylon, God proved His power by revealing the answers to His servant, Daniel. Pastor Isaiah preaches from the account in Daniel 2:24-49 and challenges us to consider how we view and live in light of our God, the Revealer of Mysteries.

When King Nebuchadnezzar makes an impossible demand, and his wrath is felt by the Babylonian wise men, Daniel and his friends continue to walk in faith. Pastor Isaiah explains the way the example of these men should challenge us to act in faith in our lives today, too.

The radical changes that came upon God's people in the Babylonian exile were first experienced by four young men who were taken captive to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's court. Pastor Isaiah explains some of the initial challenges they faced and how false promises of provision still form the basis of so many temptations for us today, too.

Turning back over 2,600 years, we focus on a pivotal moment in the history of the people of God. Pastor Isaiah helps us understand the context and situation surrounding the Babylonian Exile and this powerful Old Testament Book from the pen of Daniel. Drawing the connections to today, we marvel at the God who is just as active here and now as He was in Israel and Babylon all those years ago.

Concluding the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the great power of God to rescue His servant! While Darius's remorse and regret still left him powerless to fix the past, the God of Daniel is the all-power Rescuer & Deliverer!

As we enter the new year, we look at the importance of prayer through a familiar story in Daniel 6. Pastor Isaiah examines the consistency and commitment in Daniel and challenges us to consider our own lives and ask God to grow us too!

In our final gathering of 2023, Pastor Isaiah sets our focus on the Second Coming of Christ and His Future Advent that Christians eagerly long for. Hearing Jesus speak of this great day from Matthew 25 serves to motivate and challenge us to live intentionally to the glory of God knowing that He sees and will speak to all that we do in this life.

On Christmas Eve Day, Pastor Isaiah proclaims the incrediable reality and signifiance of the fact that God entered into this human world in the Incarnation. This central belief of our faith challenges and moves us to worship, especially, but not just, at Christmas time!

Human beings are more than what we can see. These physical bodies that we possess are important, but it is our deeper selves that comes from our souls which make us truly unique. Pastor Isaiah discusses in this sermon how we need to engage our souls to truly glorify God with all that we are.

In our second week of the Advent Season, Pastor Isaiah explains the importance of the doctrine of embodiment. Looking to Scripture and considering the specific challenges of our modern age, we are called to embrace the physical aspect of how God has created us in order to glorify Him in how we live in this material world!

As we enter into the 2023 Advent Season, Pastor Isaiah begins a new series on how God has designed us, and desires for us, to engage in both Body & Soul (or Spirit) this time of year!

Covenants are key to really understanding the commitment of God to His people. In this sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains the concept of covenant and how the Apostle Paul uses this idea to give assurance and strength to believers in every age and place!

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday here in America, Pastor Isaiah takes us to Psalm 113 to help us think more deeply and properly about true thanksgiving and the command to Praise the Lord for who He is and what He has done.

At the end of Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul put forward a powerful theological argument drawn from the contrast between Sarah and Hagar. Pastor Isaiah explains the text and how the contrasting principles of either being self-reliant or having faith in the promises of God impacts what we do in our lives today too.

In Galatians 4:12-20, Paul breaks from his theological arguments into an emotional appeal to relationship. Pastor Isaiah takes us through this text to see the importance of how we as Christians think and act in our relationships today too.

Idolatry is not just an ancient problem. Though this problem takes on different external forms, in every culture and time human beings struggle with the same enslavement. Pastor Isaiah proclaims the message of freedom in Christ and how once true freedom is experienced, everything else pales in comparison.

In this second sermon, Pastor Isaiah talks about the importance of being part of the mission of God. After laying out a theological foundation, Pastor shares a vision for the future as Nelsonville Assembly seeks to build upon the legacy of our last 100 years of missions giving and going.

In the first of two special sermons, Pastor Isaiah shares the theological foundations for increasing our focus on church community connections outside the church building!

In our September Family Sunday, Pastor Isaiah shared with our kids the three images that help us understand the ongoing purposes of the Law of God in our lives before turning to explaining what Paul meant by the Law being a "guardian until Christ came." Exploring the contrast between being Students of the Law vs. Sons of God, we were challenged to consider how we are going to live as believers today!

Wrapping up a three week focus on the role of the Law of God in the life of the Christian, Pastor Isaiah explains how the Law can function as a window that reveals Christ and motivates our own pursuits of Spirit-empowered holiness.

Continuing to look at the purposes of the Law of God, Pastor Isaiah draws upon the beloved third verse of the great hymn Come Thou Fount. As Pastor explains, the second purpose of the Law in both the civil society and in personal lives is the restraining of sin and evil deeds.

Christians must understand the three main uses of the Law of God in order to rightly handle this crucial matter in our lives. Being people who understand that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, lies at the heart of the Gospel and true Christianity, but learning to see the continuing uses of the Law of God is necessary for everyday life. In this first sermon, Pastor Isaiah explains the primary use of the Law as a Mirror into our own souls.