Orchard Community Church Sermon Audio

Some jobs are harder than others and some bring more joy than others. This sermon, called "A Difficult but Joyous Mission," looks at Luke 10:1-24. In this passage Jesus sends some of his followers on a mission. It is a difficult mission and he warns them that they might struggle along the way. But ultimately he reminds them that God is the one in charge of their mission. As they step out in faith to spread the gospel, they experience great joy! We look at how we still face the difficulties of this mission and how we need to be reminded of the joy to be found for those willing to serve and the comfort of knowing God is sovereignly in control of the outcome of this difficult, but joyous mission.

The Christian faith can be a roller coaster ride of spiritual states. From the excitement and fire of the newly converted to struggling with the day to day or feeling overwhelmed at the sin and lostness of the world. As we look at Paul's instructions to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:3-14 let us be encouraged and strengthened to guard the deposit of the Gospel  that God has entrusted to every Christian throughout the ages. 

May 11, 2025 - Mother's Day Moms (and everyone) can often struggle with comparisons. We compare ourselves to people who seem better than us and we feel miserable. We compare ourselves with those we think we are better than to make ourselves feel good. We compare ourselves with our own distorted ideas of how life should go and can wrongfully think we are great or terrible based on these false comparisons. We get caught in a trap of defining ourselves and our worth in comparisons. This sermon looks at Luke 9:46-62 where we see some comparison traps that Jesus' followers were struggling with and how Jesus lovingly corrects them. The challenging and encouraging truth of this passage applies to mothers and to all of us.

In this passage we see Jesus perform several more miracles that prove his power as the Son of God. We also see some new themes in the book of Luke. Jesus begins to challenge his disciples with the question of who they believe he is. He compels them to decide if they truly believe in him or if they are going to go along with the whims of the crowds. Then, in one of the most remarkable accounts in the life of Jesus, three of his disciples will see him "transfigured" before them so that they see his divinity and hear a voice from heaven declaring that he, Jesus, is the Son of God. The question for them, and for us, is how we will respond to the greatness of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dave Daye - April 27, 2025Part of "Gospel of Luke" sermon seriesGood questions cause us to really think about something.  Some questions are easy - like "what is your favorite food?" Other questions are tough - like "what is your greatest fear?" or "what causes you the most shame and guilt?" This sermon looks at Luke 8:22-56 which starts with Jesus silencing a storm and his disciples asking the question "Who is this?" The rest of this passage answers this question in several ways that will challenge us to consider who we believe Jesus to be. 

Good Friday and Easter are the celebration of most important act throughout all of history. This is a bold claim, but nothing in history is more significant than the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The far-reaching, eternal implications of what Jesus did for us have ripples in the past leading up to Christ's coming through the prophecies of the Old Testament. The historical event of the cross and the resurrection have ripples into the future, even into eternity!, as we look forward to the restoration of God's perfect creation where His people will be with him in a perfect relationship forever. And all of this is accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is an eternal hope that is securely guaranteed through the life-changing, history-making, act of Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave! This sermon celebrates the resurrection of Jesus by looking at "The Hope of Easter."

This Sunday we had a potential Assistant / Youth Pastor candidate visiting with his fiancée. Pastor Dave took this opportunity to preach a sermon on the mission statement of Orchard Community Church which is "to make and become fully devoted followers of Christ through the renewing and transforming power of the gospel for the glory of God."

Have you ever had someone say to you, "now, listen carefully"? You know that what will follow is going to be important. It will be something you need to remember. It might be something that changes your life. In Luke 8:1-21, there is a repeated idea of listening carefully to the Word of God. God's Word is powerful and changes lives. But we must take seriously our need to listen carefully to what God says because when we are willing to listen, really and truly listen, we hear the incredible truth that God has given us a way to be saved from our sins, for our lives to be transformed, and for us to be part of something so much bigger than we could have ever imagined! 

Many times I hear people say that God could never forgive them. They think that they are too much of a sinner to be forgiven. That somehow their sins are greater than Jesus' ability to save. This sermon looks at a very poignant picture of forgiveness in Luke 7:36-50. In this gripping passage we see a woman who has a bad reputation for being a sinner come to Jesus. Through this interaction we learn the depths of the forgiveness of Jesus toward sinners and we learn the effect that this forgiveness has on our love for Jesus. I hope that we all see ourselves in this account and are challenged to look at the great forgiveness Jesus offers to us.

When I was a Youth Pastor, I had a mom say to me that her teenage son was doubting his faith. I think my answer might have surprised her because I said "good"! It is good to know the truth about Jesus. It is good to learn bible stories and theological truths. But at some point each person has to answer the question of whether or not that person believes Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the World. This sermon looks at Luke 7:1-35 and is called "Dealing with Doubts." John the Baptist sends a message to Jesus with an important question. He asks if Jesus really is the Savior. This is an honest doubt, and John takes his doubt straight to the source and seeks truth. We see from the rest of this passage how the truth of who Jesus is helps us to deal with our doubts.

I once worked as a laborer for a construction company. One day someone gave me instructions to nail some boards together in a certain way. I followed the instructions as I understood them. A while later the same person came and saw what I had done and said "this is all wrong!" I had done it the way that made sense to me, but I didn't understand the big picture of what he was telling me to do. He then took all of my work apart and did it the right way. This was hard, but the job had to be done right. We often work hard to build our lives the way we think makes sense. Then we come to Scripture and are challenged in ways we don't want to hear. We don't want to change. We don't want to be confronted with the truth that we are living out of line with God's Words. This sermon looks at Luke 6:27-49. In this passage, Jesus challenges us to understand that if we truly believe in him and truly accept what he says, then our lives will be changed and the way we treat others will reflect the way that God has loved us. 

What if you found a treasure? What an amazing experience that would be. To know that you were set for life and that all your greatest financial needs would be taken care of. In Luke 6:12-26, Jesus chooses the twelve apostles and then begins teaching his followers about the cost of following him. This sermon, titled "The Treasure of Discipleship," looks at this powerful passage where we see both the cost and the incredible treasure and reward of being a follower of Jesus.

There were people during Jesus' earthly ministry that were always looking to trap him. They watched every little thing he did to try to find a mistake or something that they could judge. They were so busy looking for ways that Jesus wasn't doing what they wanted, that they were completely missing the point of who Jesus is and what he came to do. This sermon is titled "Missing the Point" and looks at Luke 5:33 - 6:11. I pray we are challenged to make sure we are looking to Jesus rather than missing the point because we are so busy with our own ideas.

There are some encounters that change your life. Some experiences teach us meaningful things about our lives or the world around us. Tragedy or near-death experiences can shape our perspectives. Sometimes we are changed by our encounters with other people. This sermon looks at Luke 5:1-32. In this passage we see four people who had a powerful encounter with the Son of God. These encounters changed the lives of these people forever. Through their encounters with Jesus we learn more about who Jesus is. In fact, when we read Jesus in Scripture, we are encountering him for ourselves. These encounters, if we are willing, change us forever as well. 

Have you ever looked at a very bright light and then only seen spots for a while?  Even looking at oncoming headlights of cars at night can have this effect. It can be scary to feel like you can't see what is going on for a little while. Yet sometimes we have ideas or expectations that can blind us to truth. This sermon looks at a time in Jesus' life when people were blinded by their expectations of him and failed to see who he really was.

Speaker Chris Vincent - Sunday, February 9, 2025From Chris:In the neighborhood I grew up in, there was a house that backed up to mine that was very ominous.  It was fenced off, had signs that said "No Trespassing" and a dog that would bark at any and everything that approached the property.  It was not inviting and in the mind of us kids, it was almost scary to approach it.  Many of our baseballs, kickballs, and frisbees found their way into the fenced area...never to be seen again.This image of a closed off and unapproachable place is an idea that Hebrews 12 picks up on when trying to explain the Old Covenant when compared to the New Covenant we enter into with Jesus.  The language is powerful and helps us deepen our understanding of who God is and why this New Covenant is so powerful.  Here, Hebrews 12 uses the image of two mountains to explain our covenant with God.  How does a mountain filled with darkness and gloom explain God to us better?  Is one mountain supposed to be better than the other?  How do these two mountains explain the Gospel on a deeper level?  In this sermon we explore Hebrews 12 and see how our experience of approaching Jesus can be explained using Two Mountains.  

Some people don't believe that Jesus ever existed. Some people say he existed but was just a man, maybe even a good man, but still just human. But what does Scripture say? This sermon looks at Luke 3:21 - 4:13. In this passage we have three scenes - Jesus' baptism, his genealogy, and then his testing in the wilderness. In each of these three scenes there is the repeated phrase "The Son of God." If Jesus is truly the Son of God then he is more than just a man. He is our King, our Savior, and our God.

Are you someone who prepares in advance for things or who just shows up and sees what happens? We see in Scripture that God carefully prepares. Throughout the Old Testament he was preparing the world for the coming of Jesus. After Jesus is born, but right before Jesus starts his public ministry, God has one more step of preparation to do. He gives a message to a man named John and has him travel around telling others to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. The core part of John's message is that people must repent. This sermon looks at Luke 3:1-20 and how repentance prepares us to understand and accept who Jesus is and for the salvation that he gives through his death, burial and resurrection.

There's language thrown around in the church that describes sin in financial terms.  Sin is something that puts us in debt and it is a debt we can never pay off.  Redemption by our own efforts is impossible.  But then, in comes Christ and our debt is paid, our ledger is wiped clean, and we can live out our lives with that burden removed.  But now that we are debt free, do we have any obligations?  Are we just living out our days debt free or is there something more?  Do I owe anyone anything?Paul in the Book of Romans shows us that there is a debt that still remains.  A debt that helps focus a follower of Christ and to give you purpose.  This sermon looks at what that debt is and why living a life trying to pay off this debt can glorify God in incredible ways.

Who should Jesus be and what should Jesus do? We have expectations all the time of what God should do in our lives or in our world. At the end Luke chapter 2 we read of a situation where a 12-year-old Jesus did not do what his parents expected. In the middle of this account we learn something important about Jesus. This sermon is called "A Higher Commitment" and will looks at Luke 2:41-52 where Jesus makes it clear that his highest commitment is to God's highest priorities. The more we understand this important truth the more we will understand God's will for our life and his incredible grace in sending Christ to save us. 

This sermon is an annual tradition of using the first Sunday of the new year to look at an overview of the entire bible. In Scripture, God gives us one big picture of who He is, who we are, the relationship God has created us for, and His plan and work to make that relationship possible. Join us as we look at the big picture of the bible from Genesis to Revelation. 

We continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke as we look at Luke 2:22-41 in a sermon called "Waiting."  Here we meet two people, Simeon and Anna, who were eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come.  While they waited, they faithfully lived in such a way that they relied on God and pointed to His sovereign glory in their lives. They are great examples of what waiting should look like in the Christian life.  There are times we don't know what God will do or when he will act, but we can live faithfully and be ready for that moment.  Because Simeon and Anna lived faithful lives waiting for the Messiah, they are able to see Jesus shortly after he is born and tell Joseph and Mary truths about their son, Jesus.  Their words are recorded by Luke for us and teach us great things about our savior still today!

Sometimes Christmas morning doesn't quite go to plan.  Maybe as a kid you expected that one perfect gift that you asked for and anticipated and it just didn't happen.  Maybe as an adult you had plans for a perfect celebration that were altered at the last minute.  For generations God's people had ideas about how their glorious savior and king would come, but God had other, better plans for the birth of Jesus.  As we look at the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:1-21 in a sermon called "The Glory and Humility of the Birth of Jesus," we see that Jesus came with the glory of God yet in a way that was unexpectedly humble.  These themes of glory and humility continue throughout the life of Christ and are central to the gospel as well.  In fact the idea of glory that is seen through humility becomes something that every follower of Jesus is to display in our lives as we reflect the glory and humility of our savior. 

We are looking at Luke 1:26-56 where Mary learns that she is to have a baby who will be the Son of God and the savior of the world.  The sermon is called "Rejoice in God our Savior" because God tells Mary that the baby she will bear will be "the Son of the Most High" and that she is to name him Jesus (which means "He Saves").  Mary puts all of this together in a song of praise where she exclaims, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."  What a joy and honor it must have been for Mary to be chosen to bear the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  But also, what a difficult burden to bear!  In this passage we learn about the incredible truth of who Jesus is, the fulfillment of God's promises to his people, and the great and sovereign will of God.  But we also learn that God cares about these women and the struggles they are going through as he shows them the tender grace of confirming through each other that God is with them.

Preparations are underway for Christmas!  Christmas trees are being set up and decorated, lights are decorating yards, even some gifts are being purchased. There is a lot that goes into getting ready for Christmas.  But are we truly prepared in the right way?  God knew that people needed to be prepared for the birth of Jesus.  This earth-changing, history-making, and life-saving radical event needed some preparatory work to be done first.  Luke starts his gospel not with the birth of Jesus, but with the birth of another child named John.  This baby will grow to be the one who prepares the way for Jesus.  In a sermon called "Prepare the Way," we look at Luke 1:5-25 and 57-80.  As we look at the announcement of John's birth and the response of his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, I hope we can ask ourselves if we are prepared to truly marvel and rejoice at the gift of Jesus.

How can we know that what we believe is true?  Is Christianity just some made up religion?  Is the birth of Jesus just another story we tell to children along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?  We are starting a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke.  Right at the beginning of his book, Luke tells us why he is writing by saying, "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Throughout his gospel, Luke is meticulous in providing proof for the authenticity of what is being recorded.  I pray that as we walk through this incredible account of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we will be encouraged and challenged to be certain of who Jesus is and the salvation he has purchased for us through his death, burial and resurrection.  This sermon is titled "That You May Know" and looks at Luke 1:1-4 and a quick overview of the entire book of Luke.

We conclude our sermon series on "Fear and Hope" by looking back at what we have learned from Scripture about living in the fear of the Lord and how this ties into having hope in the Lord.  I pray that we will take away from this series a greater understanding of the majesty, power, and awesomeness of our God as well as a deeper appreciation of the love, grace and mercy He has shown to us through the gift of His Son, Jesus. 

So many things clamor for our attention.  We jump from one fear to another and from one hope to another.  For about 10 weeks we have looked at the relationship between the Fear of the Lord and having Hope in the Lord.  This does not happen by accident nor can we be passive about it.  This sermon is called "Growing in Fear and Hope in the Lord" and looks at how Scripture instructs us to grow in both the fear of God and having hope in God.  We also look at practical ways we can build this process into our daily lives.

This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Faithfulness" and looks at how our fear of the Lord and our hope in the Lord are seen in our obedience to God. 

In a world filled with conflict, the desire of every person is to live a life filled with peace.  In John 14, Jesus declares that he wants to give us peace in this world.  But the Peace of God is a kind of peace that is unique and only given by Jesus.  What is this Peace that God gives and how can we experience it?  In a sermon titled "Peace Beyond All Understanding" we explore John 14 to discover this peace.

Did you know that we become like what we worship?  The bible tells us that we were created in God's image and created to worship God.  When we do this, we reflect God's character in our lives.  But when we turn away from God and give priority to something else we begin to reflect the values of that person or thing in our lives.  Worshipping something other than God is called idolatry.  We might be tempted to think that idolatry is only an ancient problem that involved worshipping statues, but idolatry is still a big problem today.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Idolatry" and looks at how our greatest fears and hopes not only shape what we worship (which is what we looked at last week), but also that placing our ultimate fear or hope in the wrong thing is idolatry...and the bible has a lot to say about the dangers of idolatry.  I pray that this sermon will challenge us to evaluate the idols in our own lives.

What is the purpose of our lives?  This question has consumed philosophers through the ages.  The biblical answer is actually fairly simple.  We exist to worship God.  Worship is more than just an hour long activity for Sunday morning.  It is more than singing songs, praying or reading the Bible.  It is certainly more than just a spiritual feeling that we get when we feel close to God.  Worship is about the direction of our lives, our hearts, our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Worship is about our highest priority and the reason behind everything we do.  This week we will be looking at how our Fear of the Lord and our Hope in the Lord lead us to lives lived in true worship.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Worship" and continues our sermon series on "Fear and Hope" in the Bible.

We have spent the last five weeks in our sermon series looking at the relationship between the fear of the Lord and our hope in the Lord in Scripture.  In this sermon we see how these important concepts impact our day to day lives as we seek to see everything in our lives and in our world through the lens of who God is.  In Scripture, this perspective is known as wisdom.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Wisdom" and looks at how living in the proper fear of the Lord and the secure hope in the Lord lead us to live wisely.

The beating heart of the Christian faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel is the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and then rose from the grave conquering sin and death and offering eternal life to all who believe in Jesus as their savior.  Without this truth, Christianity becomes a self-help movement and the church becomes a civic organization.  But with the gospel we become an outpost of hope in this world.  In the gospel we see the perfect union of the fear of the Lord and the hope in the Lord.  God's fearful and just punishment of sin is poured out on his Son so that we are given the secure hope of salvation.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and the Gospel" as we continue our sermon series called "Fear and Hope."

Hope is a powerful thing.  In moments of dark despair hope can be a shining beacon.  But we must be careful where we place our hope because the source of our hope must be stronger than our struggles.  Greater despair comes when we realize that the thing in which we have put our hope is weak and ineffective.  We  continue our sermon series on "Fear and Hope" where we are looking at the relationship in Scripture between our fear of God and our hope in God.  This sermon is simply called "Hope" and examines how the same understanding of God that leads us to a proper fear of God also gives us an incredible hope in God. 

Fear is usually thought of as a negative thing (unless you are one of those strange people who enjoy horror movies).  We try to avoid or overcome fear.  We want to feel safe, certain, and secure rather than fearful.  We often cry out to God because we are afraid of situations in our life so we ask for God's help.  Yet when we dig into God's Word we learn that there is an important emphasis on fearing God!  How does this make any sense?  How can God be both loving and gracious and yet someone whom we should fear?  Our understanding of the idea of the fear of the Lord has a profound impact on our relationship with God and our perspective on the world around us.  We continue our "Fear and Hope" sermon series with a sermon called "The Fear of the Lord" in which we examine what God's Word has to say about this important concept and how this should impact our daily lives.

We use the word great with casual frequency.  A movie is great.  That new ice cream flavor is great.  Our favorite pro athlete is great.  What do we really mean by saying something is great?  Great compared to what?  In Isaiah 40, God's people are struggling and God is sending them a message to comfort them. He does this by giving them an immense perspective of his greatness.  This sermon is called "The Unfathomable Greatness of God" and is part of our "Fear and Hope" sermon series.  I pray that we will open our eyes to the incredible, unmeasurable, and incomparable greatness of our sovereign God.

What are you afraid of?  Fear is rampant in our society today.  We are barraged by images and ideas that stir up a sense of lostness, hopelessness, and fear.  We grab onto those things that we think will fix our fear.  We put our hope in things that promise an answer to, or at least some sense of relief from, our fears.  Where we put our hope reveals our fears and what we fear will determine where we will seek to find our hope.We are starting a new sermon series called "Fear and Hope."  The concept of having hope in God is all over Scripture.  This seems obvious because we are told that God loves us, protects us, saves us, and shows us grace and mercy.  These are all reasons for great hope.  It would seem, then, that a Christian understanding of hope in God would drive out all fear.  Yet there is another equally strong teaching in Scripture which instructs us to fear the Lord.  It seems that in Scripture our fear of the Lord and our hope in the Lord are actually related.  When we allow lesser things to consume our fears we will allow lesser things to satisfy our hope.  But if we truly understand and live with an ultimate fear of the Lord then we can also live with an ultimate hope in the Lord. This sermon is simply called "Fear and Hope" and looks at these themes in Psalm 34 as we begin to dig into these important concepts in the Word of God.

Worry, anxiety, fear, and cruelty seem to be the prevailing spirit of our culture and all too often within the church.  The media, advertisements, internet personalities and politicians prey upon these emotions and are constantly fueling the fire in our hearts.  It is easy for us to fall into the trap and get swept along.  In a sermon titled "Guarding Your Heart", we look at Philippians 4: 4-7 and Paul's instructions to the Philippians on how these truths cause us to live radically different lives than the world around us to the glory of God.

Someone humorously lamented, 'I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.'  How do you want people to view you? How do you identify yourself when asked?  How do you portray yourself on social media?  Often people's identity is wrapped up in their job, their hobbies, their kids or grandkids, their ministry or volunteering.  But a believer, a follower of Christ should have an overriding identity.  As believers, we need to understand our identify in Christ, the doctrine behind our identity, and the life purpose that identification in Christ brings."  In a sermon titled "Who am I?" we look at Titus 1:1-3.

First impressions are always tough to navigate. You want to leave the people you are meeting with a good representation of you. But what can make those first impressions difficult is when the people you are meeting come in with preconceived notions of who you are. They might assume things, misunderstand you, and even attribute actions to you incorrectly.  In this sermon, we look at a very similar story in the Gospel of Luke, where the disciples carried assumptions about who Jesus is and what he came to do. With these assumptions it even led them to become blind to Jesus Himself.  How can we avoid the same blindness? How can we humble ourselves to live in the new reality Jesus calls us to?  We'll explore the Gospel of Luke for answers.

We conclude our sermon series on 2 Peter with a sermon simply called "Growing in Grace." We look back on the main themes of this letter and explore how we can and should continue to grow in grace today. 

How do we grow in grace?  This would seem an impossible task since grace is something that is given to us.  As we look at the final passage in our 2 Peter Sermon series called "Growing in Grace," we will see that Peter gives us several ways that we can grow in grace.  We need to nurture a focus in our lives on what Christ has done for us through his death and resurrection.  While we cannot save ourselves or make ourselves worthy of salvation, we can continue to grow in the grace that God has given to us through Jesus Christ.  This sermon looks at 2 Peter 3:14-18 and is called "How to Grow in Grace."

I've called this sermon on 2 Peter 3:8-14 "Preparing for the End of the World."  (How's that for an attention-grabbing, click-baity title?)  I have found that there are basically two types of Christians: those who get obsessed with studying the end times and those that want to avoid anything to do with it (largely because they want to avoid talking about it with the first group of people!).  Unfortunately, neither of these extremes are helpful nor are they biblical.  In this passage, Peter briefly writes about some things that will happen when Christ returns, but his emphasis is not on a sequence of events nor on trying to figure out a date.  Peter wants us to understand that everything we see in this world and are tempted to get caught up in or make a priority will pass away.  He wants us to live our lives with the priorities of eternity in view.  My goal is not to convince us to stock up on emergency food or to draw fancy end-times charts.  My goal is for us to understand what Peter means in 2 Peter 3:11 where, based on what he says will happen to the world, he asks "what kind of people ought you to be?"

Some people struggle with feeling like God just doesn't care or that he really isn't involved in the affairs of this world.  Just over 2000 years ago Jesus ascended into heaven and said he would come back to take us to be with him.  But where is he? As time goes by, it is easy to give up hope.  In a sermon called "The Power of God's Word" we look at 2 Peter 3:1-9.  In this passage, Peter mentions that people will doubt the return of Jesus because so much time has passed and it seems like things aren't getting better.  If the people he wrote to were experiencing this back then, how much more so do we struggle with this today!?  Peter's answer is to remind us to go back to the Word of God.  God has a track record of fulfilling his promises!

In all of the political turmoil going on right now, never once have I heard someone say,  "You know what we need? We really need to go back to being a British colony!"  Can you imagine going through the Revolutionary War, fighting for freedom, winning, gaining our independence... and then just going back?In a sermon called "Trading Treasure for Trash" we look at 2 Peter 2:13-22.  In chapter 2 of 2 Peter, Peter calls out false teachers who are taking people who have been set free by Jesus and tempting them back into a life of slavery to sin.  I pray that we will not allow ourselves or any false teachers to cause us to trade the treasure of joy and hope in Christ for the empty and hopeless promises of sin.

In a sermon called "A Problem with Authority," we look at 2 Peter 2:1-12 as part of our sermon series on 2 Peter called "Growing in Grace."  In chapter two of this letter, Peter highlights some false teachings that have infiltrated the church.  He warns the people against these teachings and these teachers.  We look at the first aspect of their false teaching, which is that they did not accept the authority of God!  This is still an ongoing issue that we struggle with today so I hope we will prayerfully prepare to dig into this challenging chapter.

We continue our sermon series called "Growing in Grace" on 2 Peter by looking at 2 Peter 1:12-21 in a sermon called "Reminded of Truth."  We all need to remember important things.  In his letter of 2 Peter, Peter says again and again that he is writing to remind his readers of important things.  We look at why we need reminders and why it is important to be sure that we are reminding ourselves of truth and not just something we, or someone else, has made up.

Sin is rampant.  There is war, disease, and natural disasters.  In addition to this, the world is against God and his church.  At best Christians are seen as foolish, naive or backwards.  At worst, the church is hated and persecuted.  Within the church, there is corruption, abuse and false teachers.  As we look around it seems overwhelming and we wonder how can the church continue in this dark world? As we look to Phillipians 2:1-18, we will see how God's people are to continue on, in the face of overwhelming circumstances, to faithfully carry forth the Great Commission to the glory of God.

As we continue our "Growing in Grace" sermon series on 2 Peter, we will look at 2 Peter 1:5-11 in a sermon called "Faith in Action."  Grace is not something we can know but remain unchanged.  If we believe in what Jesus has done in our lives then we cannot remain who we were when we were saved.  Peter challenges us to "make every effort" to live out our faith.  We seek distraction in our world today but the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ challenges us to focus and to put forth effort to live by faith in the incredible salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.  Take some time to read and pray through 2 Peter 1:5-11 and ask the Lord to help you accept the challenge that he is giving us in these powerful verses.

Have you ever packed for a trip and then had that feeling like you were forgetting something?  I feel this way every time I pack!  I can't imagine leaving the house for a trip and being absolutely sure that I had everything I needed.  In our "Growing in Grace" sermon series on 2 Peter, we are looking at 2 Peter 1:1-4 in a sermon called "Everything We Need."  In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter tells us that God has given us everything we need to live for him.  This incredible promise changes our entire relationship with God and with the world around us.  No longer do we have to live in fear hoping we measure up to God's standard - He's given us everything we need in Christ!  No longer do we have to seek our happiness or fulfillment in the fleeting things of this world - He has given us everything we need in Christ.  I pray we are amazed at the powerful truth with which Peter starts this brief letter.